'82 XC 430 tire and parts help

As Kartwheel68 has stated, these tires work well, probably not worth going to the trouble of converting to 18. I have a 4.50x17 on my '82 250xc and it hooked up well enough to win 50+ Intermediate.....

I will comment that for a bike with the non conical rear hub which I think a 1982xc is converting to an 18 inch rim is worth it. I did one a long time ago bought a used wheel for $75 with the proper rim that I had to drive a good way to pick up and the spokes I damaged/destroyed were $4 each and the nipples were $2 each of which I needed about four of each. I had a wheel with never seize on all the spoke/nipples when done. I think I tried to discuss whether aluminum nipples was a good idea as that has become the norm at least with modern dirt bikes it seemd but no one wanted to discuss.
Good luck finding a used set of friction spikes in 17". The rim and spokes should be compatible up to 1988.

I am with you on the alloy nipples , I have some Bultaco wheels with them and they have nearly completely corroded away.

alloy nipples do not even begin to sound like a good idea...whats the benefit there??

save some rotating weight .
my 82 cr500 came with a spare 18 inch wheel . not sure what it is off . was same dimension but non floating brake hub . i ran it for a while then eventually just dis assembled both wheels and laced the 18 to the floating hub with all the original spokes .so its the best of both worlds.all period looking / "original" but an 18.
common tires was prolly half of my motivation . the other half was i dont like the look of the massive 17 inch tire

I would add the Bridgestone M22 to the list. Excellent tire for intermediate to hardpack terrain. The IRC is good also. I have each on 430's.

The Bridgestone M22 is a great hardpack tire, in the 80s that is what everyone ran at Saddleback and Carlsbad, the IRC will be better everywhere else.

The 17" tire has a higher side wall so the side wall absorbs some of the shock as the suspension works. I like the 17" & 18" doesn't matter to me.

Here's a gift, my misses does coupons. It's rubbing off on me.

Go to ebay,

Search for,

130-90-17 m68 maxxis tire. It's $35/$39 plus shipping $53 each total.

It's not a giant tire size wise but it will work. 130mm =5" 90mm is under 4".
130-90-17" for under $40 each?

This is how I buy tires. I play/fun ride. Any decent new tire will do for me.
I understand racing is different.