Non Hodaka question

[Jakefoo]

Hey all, looking for answers to a non Hodaka issue. Theres alot of motorcycle knowledge on this forum so i figured id ask.
Buddy of mine has a 79 Suzuki GS750. It has factory mag wheels with tubes. They came that way from the factory. He just bought a set of tires. Bridgestone Battleax 46. They say "tubeless" on the side of the tire.
So the question is, can he run these tubeless tires on a wheel with a tube?
I say yes. What say you?

[thrownchain]

Yes, just make sure to get them balanced.

[JPark]

You see this question asked a lot on thegsresources.com. If he isn't already 'there' he should be. It is possible to run those rims tubeless if you machine the holes for a tubeless stem. However, you don't have the little ridge that keeps the tire beaded up if you lose pressure; those came out in '82. If the tube goes flat, you're not beaded either, so I don't see how you'd be any worse off.

I've run tires 'unbalanced' for years on GS's. It isn't as critical as a car. BUT, you can get a fore and aft pulsing that will shake the fork at about 45 mph that goes in and out of phase as the different diameters mess with each other or cancel out. It's easy to just put the axle in a vise and see if it has a heavy spot.

I hope he bought the right size tires for the bike. The rims are skinny and 100/90 is a wide as you can go on the front. 90/90 is actually 'better', but it's a wide tire world these days. 110/90 is right for the rear and a 120 will go on; past that you're on your own as to whether there's even clearance.

The weak spot on the GS is the charging system. The regulator/rectifiers shunted the excess current back through the stator which burnt them up. Not the only bike to have this problem. Luckily, there is a fix which uses a modern regulator that just chops the voltage off so the stator lasts indefinitely. Way cheaper and more reliable to upgrade than stick with the stock system.

Everything he'd ever need to know and then some at GS Resources.