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V50 rear wheel width.

R

remfanuk

Just got it firing!
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Hi. I am building a 1979 Mk2 V50 special and wonder what the widest rear tyre could be had on the standard wheel rim please? I have had the rear drive powder coated so want to use that. Would another MG model's rear wheel fit the swingarm and give me a slightly wider wheel? I believe I have the option to go up a size in terms of tyre for the rear, going from 100/90/18 to a 110...would a 120 fit my standard wheel? The whole purpose of this is because I have a modern front end on the V50 and will probably need to use the corresponding wheel which has a tyre size of 120/70/17 which I could reduce to 110 I believe. I want to avoid having front and rear tyres the same width if I can. Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks
 
AFAIK for V50 the problem is fitting the tyre in the gap between the cush drive splines & the swing arm (& the rear mudguard but at least that's possible to loosen etc); I don't think it's the wheel itself that limits the tyre width - so changing the wheel won't solve the limitation. I run standard 100/90R18 on the back & it's already tight....you MIGHT be able to go up to 110 but that might involve letting the air out to get it in....120 probably not.
 
Paul Brice said:
AFAIK for V50 the problem is fitting the tyre in the gap between the cush drive splines & the swing arm (& the rear mudguard but at least that's possible to loosen etc); I don't think it's the wheel itself that limits the tyre width - so changing the wheel won't solve the limitation. I run standard 100/90R18 on the back & it's already tight....you MIGHT be able to go up to 110 but that might involve letting the air out to get it in....120 probably not.
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Or remove the rear drive with the wheel every time.
 
Someone told me that they think they fitted a 120 rear tyre to their V50 but had to let air in/out to do so. I won't be running a mudguard so that won't get in the way. For the amount of miles I will do on it, taking the wheel off with the bevel drive won't be much of a hardship. I guess what I need to be mindful of is whether a 120 rear will rub at all on the swingarm.
 
remfanuk said:
Someone told me that they think they fitted a 120 rear tyre to their V50 but had to let air in/out to do so. I won't be running a mudguard so that won't get in the way. For the amount of miles I will do on it, taking the wheel off with the bevel drive won't be much of a hardship. I guess what I need to be mindful of is whether a 120 rear will rub at all on the swingarm.
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You may find it handles better with the stock sizes front and rear.
 
What you need is back rim from a V50 or V65 Custom they took a 130/90 - 16 and fit in the swingarm. It is a 2.5" rim not 2.15"
Not many running around anymore. I just gave away an exhaust from one, sat on my shelf since late 80's.
 
V700Steve said:
What you need is back rim from a V50 or V65 Custom they took a 130/90 - 16 and fit in the swingarm. It is a 2.5" rim not 2.15"
Not many running around anymore. I just gave away an exhaust from one, sat on my shelf since late 80's.
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So a V50 or V65 Custom rear wheel was wider than the non custom versions? That's interesting information Steve. But it is a 16" wheel compared to the 18" I have, or did I read that wrong? Would I need the whole swingarm, bevel box, etc. too? Should I look at V65 Florida's or is that something completely different? Do they take a different axle too? Sorry for all the questions but this might be the solution I have been looking for. Thank you
 
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Sigh.....as I already said, the V50 wheel R18 (Mk2/3 std) WILL take a bigger tyre easy...that's not the problem & in fact if I measure the rear wheel width of my V50 Mk3 (running 100/90 R18) and my V65 Florida (running 130/90 R16) the Florida rear wheel is barely 7mm wider.....the problem is the size of the swing arm on V50 as it's small & narrow inside width.

Custom versions & bigger engine variants had wider inner width swing arms & mainly longer swing arms (with longer driveshafts & often different splines on shafts); my V65 Florida has at least 4cm more inner swing arm distance at the wheel axle cross/section (it has a much longer spacer section between the wheel cap & swing arm to compensate).

I did measure the internal swing arm end distance & looks like any swingarm will fit the V50 gearbox, but the V50C swingarm is longer (& has more room for bigger tyre); so you are likely to have to check out driveshaft length/splines to see whether you could go that way.

PS I checked & although my V50 mk3 has 12 spline driveshaft, the V50 mk2 had 10 spline driveshaft....so you could fit a V50 Mk3 box & then a V50C driveshaft & likely lengthen the rear suspension to compensate the longer back end
 
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i appreciate your knowledge Paul...i don't have that where MG is concerned...i ask these questions because i wanted to clarify if Steve meant the V65c wheel would fit my swingarm as that's how i read it but was aware of what you had said previously that a 120 would probably not fit with my standard V50 swingarm. it's not unknown on forums for people to have different opinions on the same matter and state these as fact. i think GTM's suggestion of removing the rear drive if the tyre needs changing is likely the best route.
 
Agree on that - I haven't had to change a rear tyre on my V50 since I rebuilt it in early 2020, and taking the rear drive off is a lot easier than all the changes needed for a bigger ID swing arm !
 
indeed...i will give a 110 tyre a go on my rear wheel...sadly i think i will end up with a 110 front on the ZXR wheel and accept the handling will be slightly compromised.
 
remfanuk said:
i appreciate your knowledge Paul...i don't have that where MG is concerned...i ask these questions because i wanted to clarify if Steve meant the V65c wheel would fit my swingarm as that's how i read it but was aware of what you had said previously that a 120 would probably not fit with my standard V50 swingarm. it's not unknown on forums for people to have different opinions on the same matter and state these as fact. i think GTM's suggestion of removing the rear drive if the tyre needs changing is likely the best route.
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Just letting you know there are wider wheels that fit, swing arm got wider w/650 & the Custom model just like Paul said. The 16" tire is tall & almost the same total diameter. A plus would be it's same as any older Harley usually cheaper in price. Swing arm change is easy if you find one. Here in USA , not so easy to find.
 
Swing arm change isn't easy for a V50 Mk2 because V50C (& other wider/longer swing arms) use longer driveshafts & 12 spline driveshaft; the output drive from gearbox on a std Mk2 V50 has 10 splines. It may be possible to strip down the driveshafts & swap the gearbox end joint but it isn't easy (& bike is longer, so rear shocks/mudguard etc may need tweaking)
 
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