Honda put 11 inch rims on the back because it was suppose to make it ride better, at least that is what I was told by a Honda mechanic. Personally I thought it was stupid to put 12's on the front and 11's on the back. The wife complained that when she was going around sharp curves that the bike felt tippy so we swicthed to 12 inch rims on the back and a little bit bigger tire and that solved the problem.