Motorcycle Repair: Rear tire for Suzuki Savage Motorcycle, air escapes, tubeless tires

Question
Can I replace my old rear tire, which has a tube, with a tire that is tubeless? My bike is a 1997 LS650 Suzuki Savage. Also, do you know if I can put a slightly bigger tire on it? It currently has a 140/80-15. I was wondering if I could put a 140/90-15 or a 140/85-15. Thank you for your help.


Answer
Running tubeless tires on a rim designed for tubed tires is generally not a good idea, even if you still use a tube. The inside of a tubeless tire can chafe against the inner tube, wearing it away until the air escapes and it goes flat. Having said that, though, there are several manufacturers out there that do make tires suitable for tubeless and tubed applications and will mention that in the specs. Best thing to do is research all the brands until you find one that suits your needs.

As for installing a larger tire on the rim, I will not answer that question for liability reasons.