Tube or Tubeless? '78 KZ1000 Ltd. mags

I know the helluva time I had breaking the bead free from the lips of all the tires I have changed over the years not to mention the helluva time we had getting the bead to pop on I just don't know if I agree with that line of thinking. Hitting a pothole well that is one scenario that could happen.
In my 22 years experience of riding I have never run in to a pothole that would threaten breaking the bead. I would say you would have to not really be paying attention to your riding at which point I would question your abilities as a rider.
I know for fact that I have slammed the throttle hard enough to make the tire slip on the rim causing the inner tube stem to rip. This scenario has happened twice to me and as a result have lost all air pressure. With a tubeless setup I doubt that would have even been an issue. I have absolutely no idea how that happened either as my air pressure is never low on my bikes. Could have been happening a little bit at a time and gradually stretched the tube till it ripped from the stem.
I won't disagree with you guys about running tubes on your rims but I also won't agree that it's bad to go tubeless on 79-80 rims. Other than that I have no experience so will leave it at that. It stands to reason that innertubes are a much thinner membrane that the rest of the tire and therefore your safety assuredly is resting on the viability of that tube. If you could go tubeless and it was safe to do so why wouldn't you want to?

Sometimes a pothole filled with water is invisible on a wet road.

Ker-whop! :pinch:

With tube style rims, instant tire deflation is believed less likely with tubes fitted.

Am thinking a tube would offer more disadvantages than advantages if proposed for use on a tubeless style wheel.

Tire slippage on rim presents separate issues, dealing with such matters as pita rim-locks, metal versus rubber valve stems, etc.

Good Fortune!

As it concerns tire slippage on teh rim, I'd just like to point out that my old spoked, tubed rims on my 650 had these rubber dealies bolted in to help hold onto the tire. I'd imagine most Kawi spoked rims were similar, as is usually the case.

Patton wrote:

Sometimes a pothole filled with water is invisible on a wet road.

Ker-whop! :pinch:

Ok if you like riding through standing water be my guest. As hydroplaning on two wheels is not a proposition I take lightly I would never ever ride in to a spot covered with water but I get your point. There are people who throw caution to the wind and for them they need the protection an extra rubber gives them. :blink: :blush:

T_Dub wrote:

As it concerns tire slippage on the rim, I'd just like to point out that my old spoked, tubed rims on my 650 had these rubber dealies bolted in to help hold onto the tire. I'd imagine most Kawi spoked rims were similar, as is usually the case.

The spoked tube-type wheels typically have rim stoppers or bead protectors to lock the tire onto the rim. My 81 650-CSR has them. The tubeless wheels I've seen - KZ440 & KZ550 - don't have the holes for installing rim stoppers (bead locks)...
However, the diagrams at Kawasaki.com show that the 78 650-SR w cast alloy wheels uses tubes but doesn't have bead protectors (bead locks).

The factory manual for the 81-82 KZ650 states: "Never install a tube on the rims on this motorcycle. They are designed for tubeless tires only." (the quote is in reference to the cast alloy wheels).

A tad confusing....

the bead lock is in place to keep the tire from rotating on the rim under hard accelerating or hard braking same as on a dirt bike but it will also keep the tire up on the rim in case of a flat. last thing you want is the tire coming off the rim and winding up jammed up in your swingarm or forks.

Then why doesn't the KZ550 have 'em?
Its rim profile looks the same as the 650-CSR.
Or the 78 650-SR?
My understanding is that the bead locks are supposed keep the tire from spinning on the wheel so that the air valve stem doesn't get ripped off the tube. But, if that were so, it seems like the SR would have them, since it has tubes.

My stock MKII mag wheel (rear) came stock with the bead lock and an inner tube. I also have a 78 650 SR but can't remember if it has them or not - sounds like it won't.

Is the tire bead so wide that that inner ridge keeps the bead seated against the sealing surface (outer lip of rim)? It doesn't seem like it would. If it doesn't, how does that inner ridge help to keep the tire on the rim? Or how does it help to prevent the tire from quickly deflating?

saxjonz wrote:

Patton wrote:

Sometimes a pothole filled with water is invisible on a wet road.

Ker-whop! :pinch:

Ok if you like riding through standing water be my guest. As hydroplaning on two wheels is not a proposition I take lightly I would never ever ride in to a spot covered with water but I get your point. There are people who throw caution to the wind and for them they need the protection an extra rubber gives them. :blink: :blush:

Sometimes you get stuck riding in the rain and a water-filled pothole can blend right into a wet road, expecially at night.

it was a factory thing nobody back then had ever tried running 80 horsepower plus in a bike so they did it to prevent possible problems then they where already tooled up for it so they kept doing it on certain models even after they realized it wasn't needed. mostly it was on the higher horsepower units. as you have probably noticed they don't do it any longer.

When using a tube, are you supposed to use some sort of rubber liner on the mag to protect the tube, or just clean up/debur as needed? Thanks.

The rubber rim strips are used to protect the tube from the spoke nipples, so you don't need them. The diagrams at Kawasaki.com don't show them for the 78 650-SR which has cast wheels.