tires and handlebars

i have an 81 440 ltd. i need new tires and am wondering if it would be possible to go wider with the rear tire than stock. i know there isnt alot of extra clearance back there but just curious if anyone has tried anything like that.

next up, i would like to add some drag style handle bars, and am wondering if the controls will all work with the new bars or if i would run into any major problems.
thanks in advance for any help.

Wider than stock for the rear tire is not necessarily good.
The Kawi engineers designed the bike with certain sized tires to begin with, after lots of testing.
Wider tires sometimes can have an adverse effect in handling.

As far as the handle bars, lower bars than what you have now should be an easy swap.
The control cables may be somewhat too long, and need re-routing or to be able to stick out forward and loop back.
The master cylinder may hit the instruments, so check for clearance issues there.
Also the handlebars may hit the gas tank, so watch for that as well. If this is the case, the steering stop/s may need to be built up to stop the bars from hitiing the gas tank.
Stick with 7/8" thick bars, if that's whats on the 440.

www.motionpro.com could make up custom cables for you when you go to different lower bars.

sweet, thanks guys