well, i know this use to be suggested quite often, however, why don't you just run the 190/55's being offered now?? bridgestone and dunlop both offer a super sport tire in that size now...

 

why don't you just run the 190/55's being offered now?? bridgestone and dunlop both offer a super sport tire in that size now...

I don't think it'll fit inside my swingarm. A 190/55 is appriximately 3/8" bigger all around, or 3/4" when stood side by side with a 190/50. As the tire expands a bit when it's up to operating temps, I'm not sure I there'll be enough room between the leading edge of the tire and the inner face of my swingarm.

I just watched a show about various motorcycle crashes and their causes, and Barry Sheen had a bad, bad crash at Daytona one year when the bike (Suzuki) engineers failed to take into account for the expansion of the (Dunlop) tire. The tire made contact with the inner portion of his swingarm and down he went.......hard. BTW, the show was on the National Geographic channel and it was called "Crash Science" if anyone's interested.

 

To be honest the 180/55 on a literbike is popular for one reason.


1) ITS CHEAP!

end of story.. lol

But seriously man. The quicker turn in you gain is like adding a drop of water to a bucket. There difference is very slight. Especially on current literbikes that are very nimble, have aggressive handling geometry and weigh close to what 600's do.

Not to mention you do lose part of the contact patch going to a 180/55 because you a smaller width tire. Any 2004 or newer japanese literbike is putting out atleast 150rwhp.. and the 2007 models producing atleast 160rwhp. This is definitely not to time or place to be DECREASING your contact patch. The contact patch of a sportbike tire is only about the size of a credit card to begin with..

The better tire for a literbike is a 190/55. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Anybody who says anything else is making up excuses. And in case you havent noticed manufacters have started putting the 190/55 on their stock literbikes versus the 190/50.

Another tell-tale sign that the 190/55 is the best tire for a literbike. Is that street versions are becoming pretty common. Especially in the high performance street tires that are also very capable on the racetrack. Off the top of my head I believe there are 3 street tires available now in a 190/55 size.

Michelin PP CT
Pirelli Diablo Corsa III
Bridgestone 002 ST

 

To be honest the 180/55 on a literbike is popular for one reason.


1) ITS CHEAP!

...

and #2 reason, which is the number 1 reason for the squids and those who say 'you don't even have to counter steer to take corners on my bike':

2) It is easier to get to the edges of the tire, eliminating those shiny chicken strips. The squidly riders always look for ways to make it look as if they ride better than they actually do. I put a 180 on my rear tire once and after it is used up I am going back to 190/55. Period. :chair:

 

I cant stand a 180/55 on my R1s. I even run a 190/50 in the Pilot Race.

 

Back in 2003.. I tried a 180/55 Metzler M1 on my '02 R1 because

1) It was cheaper
2) The hype of how much quicker it turned it

It did indeed turn in quicker.. but alot of it could be contributed to the 2 things:

1) the geometry of the bike itself
2) the stock Dunlop 208 190/50 i had on the bike

What I noticed most though.. was that alot of the stability I had doing wheelies was now gone. 1st gear wheelies up to about 60 mph were still pretty stable. But 2nd and 3rd gear wheelies over 100mph the bike was TOTALLY different. And would move around and sway to one side alot more.

Once I switched to a 190/50 Metzler M1 on the 2002 R1. Things went back to normal with the wheelies.. and to be honest.. I didnt think the turn in became all the more slower.. going to the bigger tire. I think the relatively round profile of the Dunlop 208 is what was the biggest different.


Moving on to more current times. On my 2005 trackbike I had only ran 190/55 Supercorsa DOT and Slicks. After changing the gearing.. running a bigger rear sprocket for more acceleration.. the 190/55 started rubbing the swingarm. So I switched to a 180/55 Michelin Power Race as a quick fix versus ordering a longer chain.

And I gotta tell you.. I really didnt feel a big difference in turn in. Granted the 2005 chassis is a MUCH better handling package than the 2002 chassis. I still didnt notice as big of a difference in turn in as I did when I did the switch on my 2002.

What I did notice most is the bike was no where near as stable getting on the gas hard out of corners. I had to apply power later and I couldnt apply as much. I dont know if the was the smaller tire or switching brands or a combination of BOTH.. but the confidence I had with the 190/55 SuperCorsa certainly wasnt there. I felt like it was a highside waiting to happen.

 

I think entirely too much thought was given to this topic...lol This is an "Oil Topic" which means personal preference in the end.

 

I think not..

Tires are the ONLY thing actually touching the ground.. so just changing tire brands from manufacter to another.. can have a HUGE effect on your bike.. thats without even changing sizes

but as far as Changing the type of oil you use?

 

Very true but unless you are demanding optmum performance for races I don't think it really matters. I go to the track every now and then but I'm not going to change manufacturers or tire size just to maimize my performance. If I'm not getting paid to race I see no point. Just m opinion though

 

I love the 190 rear tire is looks nice and fat. =)

 

There's really not that much of a point of running a 55 profile on the street.
Just personal preference, but I like running Corsa III 190/55's on the track... supercorsa's on a race.

I run PP 190/50 on the street.

 

I think that's arguable...but I don't want to argue.

 

I have rear 180/55 and front 120/70 = I love them on my R6.

 

I have rear 180/55 and front 120/70 = I love them on my R6.

Of course you do since you have a 5.5 inch rim...

 

lollll

 

Oh please.. I ride the living SHYT outta my R1 on the street.. You just dont hear me talking about it alot because why should I incriminate myself.


lol

I thought you knew!




My whole point was.. theres not a good sensible reason to do HALF of the shyt we do with sportbikes on the street.. but its damn sure fun to do it!

 

Now I completely understand what you meant. You're like me!!!! HEHEHE

Speaking of the need to speed, I had a car with lights that appeared behind me wih the siren yesterday and in 15 seconds I completely lost him dead serious. lol

I have to be honest- damn it was fun Daekwan

Pure Adrenaline

 

no hot chix

you must be going to the wrong tracks...lol....i tell you what..there are hot girls at most all the cmra events...the only bad part is many of them are taken......oh well....i am too...

 

You want fast turn in? Try the 190/60

 

i switched from my stock dunlop to another dunlop and now i just put on a set of PP's about 2 weeks ago and what a difference, the tires are much more rounded and i actually am very slightly higher even because of it. i Use to be flat footed and now im not quite flat... I think this contributes to the much faster turn in rates that im getting. Its a stock 190 sized PP btw. the smalest body signals and the bike wants to turn much more aggresively. Took a few miles to get used to but im sticking with the 190 PP's now.

 

So I'm not the only one who adores the PP's. I have them and love them. They made me a loyal michelin man.

 

My contribution...

 

Donnie,

That shows the profile for the various tires on a 5.5" rim. The 180 won't be as rounded when stretched across a 6" rim. It will be flatter. That pic is from the Sport Rider web site where they were discussing tire size on, I believe, a CBR600. Which uses a 5.5" rim.

 

When in Jerez last week i started the week on a 190 Diablo, moved to a 180 Racetec and then a 180 Slick, never noticed ANY difference in all 3

 

May I be the first to say Im sick with Jealousy...

Your a lucky sod.:bow :bow

 

If you check the 1st page of this post.. Forum member YaoMatt said "There's really not that much of a point of running a 55 profile on the street."

My reply directly to him was "so is using a 180hp literbike on the street". Theres not much point of running that on the street either.

The point is................

both technologies.. the 190/55 tire and the 180hp literbike are made to perform at their maximum on a racetrack.. But we still use them on the street. And given the right time and circumstance.. it can be ALOT of fun to use them.. even on the street.

 

LOL I'm just giving you a hard time man. It's your toy do what you want with it.

 

What size do they run in Moto GP? Just curious.

 

Most people I know who are serious about racing prefer a 180. They are less slugish and switch back faster. In my experience 180's are alot quicker and easier to put in a full lean. 190's take a little more input because of the shape but they feel more stable. Obviously if you want to run a 180 you have to convert from the 190 6" rim to a 5.5" rim otherwise the crown will be off and won't handle as it should. As far as I know the professional cicuits all run 180's. I may be wrong on that one.
I think the 916 was the first mass production bike to run a 190 and the japanese followed because people thought wider was better and they looked cool.

 

Most racers on 600's run a 190 these days and I can't think of anyone running a 180 on a liter bike at the races.

 

i am definitely a Michelin man. i run PP on the street and pilot races on the track. i am only waiting for my Corsa's to wear out so i can put the PPs on my new R1

 

ok so to jump on the topic. I caught a nail and it was time for new tires anyways. i wanted to try some dual compounds but noone had them around in stock around here. I was looking for 2ct's and found a place that had the corsa III. He said he had em in stock so i took the wheels off and drove an hour to get em. When i got there it turned out he didn't have the 190 just the 180 and so i got talked into buying them from a guy there who runs lots of track days and seemed to know what he was talking about. He did say he had an r6. So now i am concerned about the 5.5" rim vs the 6" rim as i came home and searched the forum, and here talk of instability in the turn. The quicker turn in sounds ok but i would rather be more stable mid turn than turn in quicker. Since i understand the significance of confidence while riding i am already considering just takin the hit and ordering a 190 and sell this one with 0 miles on ebay or something. i dont ride real aggressive, but do get a knee on some corners that i am familiar with. should i ride it or sell it?