| Author | Message | ||
     Nallac |
Lucky me won a set of free Metzeler Z6's from the good guys at Dury tyres here in ole NZ when i went to BOS in Paeroa, http://www.battleofthestreets.co.nz/ Now all i've got to do is decide on the rear size,so share with me your choice, a 170 or 180 tyre, I'm not worried about the looks side just the handling side. the X1 currently has a 190 pilot road 2 on it,was on there when i got the bike. It looks good,excepting the huge chicken strips i can't get rid of. I am used to how it handles, i know when i swapped from a 190 to a 180 on my old R1 it made a huge difference, basiclly had to relearn the cornering. so dropping two sizes is gonna make a big difference... sorry should have said its got standard rims... (Message edited by nallac on March 02, 2010) | ||
| Brinnutz |
Stock wheels I'd say 170. PM's 180. | ||
| Spiderman |
170 will get rid of the stripes easy, and will feel awesome! 180 will have a bit left but you will only feel a bit of handling change. Nothing horrible but you can tell the diff between the 180 and 170... The only reason for this is your rim is 5 inches and the largest size that is specified for that rim is 170. For a 180 you would need a 5.5 inch rim. The narrower rim brings the tire beads in just making the tire a tad bulbous. | ||
| Nukeblue |
170 | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
Personally, I prefer a 180 on the cast wheels. It's hard to explain why, because the 170 feels more flickable. The 180 takes more effort to keep the bike held down in a corner and its hard to get all the chicken strip scrubbed off, but there's something I like about it anyway. My lack of suspension knowledge may have a lot to do with the handling differences I've felt between the two sizes. | ||
| Cyclonemick |
I have run a 180 for a couple of years now and am happy with the way it handles! Plus I like the look of a 180 too! | ||
| Nallac |
so far an even split, two for 170 and two for 180... | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
I have never ran a 170 on my m2 as it came with a 180 on it when I got it and my dad had bought my first set of tires and he bought the same size that was already on it so it still has a 180 on it. I am curious as to how it feels with a 170 on it but I am afraid I may never know as I will probably be selling my M2 when I get home. | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Nallac, Congratulations! Are there pics up in their gallery yet? I'd go with 170, I've been running a 180 and am going to swap back to 170 soon. Turn in is better and requires less effort to stay turned in. In my experience spec tire size handles the best. Don, you're looking at XB's? (Message edited by littlebuggles on March 04, 2010) | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
I now own a 2003 xb9r I bought about a month or so ago. I don't want to sell the M2 but for 9 months when I get back from Afghanistan I will be living in an apartment with no garage so I won't have a place to really keep the M2 and the XB unless I put the m2 in storage until I Get out of the army and go back home. If I do keep it I will be completly rebuilding it from top to bottom. | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Ah, bummer to sell due to storage. Sorry for the thread jack Nallac, I gotta watch my internet etiquette a bit closer. | ||
| Nallac |
thanks and no worrys LB, nice looking M2/S1/X1 hibrid you've got there... I'm just worried about going down 2 sizes after knowing how 1 size affected the R1. | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Thanks for the compliment, Don's bike turned out nicely with the XBR windscreen too. On that tire it really depends, what was spec on the R1, 180? if so the bike went to how it should turn in with the change and you should expect a similar change on the Buell. It will certainly affect how the bike turns in, it may feel like it really transitions fast. Compared to a 190 it may turn in a lot faster, but it should be better in general and perhaps give more stability in corners. My experience is that even though the 180's I'm running now stick great (and are more supple than the Conti's I had) they don't feel as solid and predictable when leaned over. So I don't have the confidence to [safely] run my local favorites as fast as I could on the 170 tires. If you do much knee dragging don't point your knee down and throw the bike in like you normally have to, be gentle. Your tires, your choice, but be careful. I tend to give advice on the conservative side having taught the basic rider course for a while, I tend to prefer to not change from factory specs too radically. | ||
| Nallac |
the R1's stock size was 190, cheap skate me went for 2nd hand tyres,180 was what i went with/got. With out knowing how a 170 vs 180 feels like, i'm leaning towards a 180. I haven't scraped the pegs yet,(my feet plenty of times tho)I'm happy with the 190. | ||
| Jon960 |
Hey Nallac, riding the same sort of roads you do I reckon the 170 is the way to go, in my opinion easier to throw around | ||
| Nallac |
Cheers David,nice lookin M2,I like that colour. Have you used a 180 on yours?. | ||
| Jon960 |
Yes I did try one but found I preferred the 170, especially on the back roads we have around here |
