1980-- Rear end too low?

[Carl Cooper]

Hi folks-
I'm rebuilding a 1980 Special... It's a disaster-- no wiring harness, lots of pieces missing, etc...
Would love to hear your opinions/recommendations..
It's got spec wheels (18' front + 16" rear). 3.0-18 tire in the front (also spec) but a 100/80-16 in the rear (spec is 120/90-16).
It seems to sit REALLY low in the rear. It's so low, that it's almost impossible to put down the center kickstand, and the bike doesn't lean at all (very dangerous) on the side kickstand. It's got the original rear shocks (12.5") and they seem fine. I'll probably replace them, but the measurement should be about the same.
Depending on what online tool I look at, the sidewall difference between the spec tire and the 100/80 is a little more than 1 inch. That's better, but I don't think it'll be enough to make a significant difference with the kickstands.
Any thoughts? Besides tires & shocks, is there someplace else I should be looking to raise the rear a bit? As far as I can think, my options are:
1. A new rear tire-- spec-size
2. A new rear tire that has a larger than spec sidewall.
3. New rear shocks that are longer than spec.
4. Swap out to a larger wheel (18' rear??)

BTW- I'm going to re-wire using all Motogadget (m-Box, switches, etc). First time using an M-box and I'm looking forward to it. Any gotchas that you guys have run into?

 

[xschris]

Stock size tires will make the bike handle the way it should. Fixes your problems with your stands also. Not sure why people feel the need to give them self an engineering degree when working on bikes.

 

[Carl Cooper]

Stock size tires will make the bike handle the way it should. Fixes your problems with your stands also. Not sure why people feel the need to give them self an engineering degree when working on bikes.

Thanks.. I kinda figured stock tire sizes would help solve this problem.
Does anyone have a recommendation for online tire-sellers? I've used Bikebandit in the past, but their selection in these sizes is pretty lacking..

 

[xschris]

I buy all my tires from a local yamaha shop. The prices where even a bit cheaper than on-line sites because of no shipping and the date codes are new. I had a tire from a on-line shop show up once that was nearly 8 years old. I think all my tires are kenda now.