| Author | Message | ||
     Cycleaddict |
in an effort to save weight, i'm thinking about a smaller rear tire. my "chicken strips" are approx. 10mm wide. so i figure i'm not using that much tire so why carry all that "extra" rubber around ? has anyone tried a smaller rear tire ? what would be the disadvantages to running a 170/60 or? ? | ||
| Redponcho |
I dont see how much weight you will save switching to a 170/160. Try to find the lightest 180. I think you will greatly hurt the handling of the bike. | ||
| Isham |
Weight savings is probably less than 1 measly pound. If you want to save weight get on the treadmill. I don't think it's a good idea to mess with a smaller tire. I don't know why anyone would want o save an 1 pound here and there unless your racing and even then you still wont be able to get it down by much. | ||
| Cycleaddict |
we are talking about "unsprung rotating" weight ! kinda like carbon fiber wheels etc. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Actually, I think it is a pretty good idea. The Ducati 750 SuperSport comes with a 160 rear, and a friend of mine who has one is going very well on it with 6 year old tires. Smaller tires handle better if they have enough traction, because they more closely match the profile of the front tires, so the bikes attitude changes less as you lean. That is why you see much smaller tires on the GP 125 and 250's both of which are much faster than you can go on your Buell. I hope you will give it a try, and report back. It is still important to use matching tires front and rear, and to replace them together. One thing to keep in mind is that if the diameter of the tire is different than the 180, you may need to adjust the suspension to suit. That could be a bit tricky as you are in uncharted waters. | ||
| Glitch |
I'm thinking the consequences could out weigh any benefit. You may just find yourself needing that extra little bit of contact patch one day. Be safe, stick with factory sizes with your tires. If your worried about weight, think carbon fiber replacements for your plastics. Get the Carbon Fiber Drummer, I think that'll save you 18lbs. You could always fill the tires with helium.  | ||
| Glitch |
Jon, those smaller bikes haven't the torque of a Buell. | ||
| Djkaplan |
Think of the chicken strips as a 'cushion'. A cushion that might save your bacon one day. Mmm.. chicken strips and bacon. | ||
| Cycleaddict |
yeah , i gotta check diameters , and then decide which size to get , i'm thinking if i have to compromise on height , i'll go "shorter" ! | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
If you go shorter, you will probably lower the rear. This will in turn, increase rake and trail at the front, making the bike turn in slower. You might want to measure the attitude of the bike before the swap. Sit on the bike, have a friend mark equal heights on the front and rear of the bike. This will give you your attitude. Then with the new tire, measure the bike with you aboard to see if you are still at the same attitude. If not, you can reset the attitude parallel to the original attitude by adjusting preload, either in the front or rear or both, or by raising or lowering the forks in the triples. Keeping in mind of course, that changing these settings will also have other consequences, which may or may not be beneficial. As you can see, we are getting into uncharted waters here, so it will be just a easy to make the bike handle worse than better. That being said, it might be your idea of fun. It is mine. I have greatly enjoyed reworking the suspension on my bike. I changed the wheelbase, rear shock, ride height, re-sprung and re-valved the front forks, and added a steering damper, and non stock tires. Of course I didn't do them all at once. The result is a bike that I feel more comfortable with in the twisties, and my riding buddies have been good enough to flattered me by saying I seem to be going a little bit faster. (Not fast, just faster:-) On the other hand, if you don't like doing this kind of thing step by step, keeping notes, and spending a few bucks, it might not be a great idea. As my log shows that I have worked on my bike over a hundred times, I guess you could call me a tinkerer.  | ||
| Djkaplan |
"...and my riding buddies have been good enough to flattered me by saying I seem to be going a little bit faster. (Not fast, just faster:-) I did notice that you rode Lil' Blackie considerabley faster than rode Old Yeller, but I have to disagree on the last part, Jon. You're a fast rider, man. By any definition of the the word fast, you are it. You might not be the fastest fast guy, but you're definitely a fast guy. Revel in it, man. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Big Kiss, Danny. You are too kind. At least you won't catch me wheeling up " Wheelie Hill" at the Gap like some 18 year old! | ||
| Reepicheep |
I went from 170's (stock) to 180's, then back to 170's on my M2. I noticed a difference, but no more then the difference between moving from different profiles of different brands (D205 to D220 to MeZ3 to MeZ6). So I don't know how big a deal it would be to go from a 180 to a 170. That being said, I think weights vary more between manufacturers technology then they do size. Check the weight of a 180 Pirelli Scorpion Sync against just about any 170 you can buy. Those scorps seem impossibly light, I think as a result of some Pirelli new generation tooling and new processes. The D208 180's were also made to be extra light, kinda like the Pirellis, but the difference is that the Dunlops suck | ||
| Cycleaddict |
oh yeah i forgot about the stock dunlops that came on my 03. the 208's were some "special" 2 ply version , that didn't last long enough for me to "learn" the bike ! and now i'm running z-6's and to be perf. honest i could'nt tell any differance in "unsprung" weight. hmmmm !!!what to do ? i'm gonna take my fish scale & tape measure to the local bike shop and do some comparisons. (sometimes a"mental" advantage can be better than a hardware advantage) | ||
| Crashcourse411 |
It is proven on the Jap bikes that the narrow than stock tire has better turn in due to the smaller radius cross section of tire. Many 600's and 1 liter bikes have stepped back a size when racing for this reason. A few years ago all the OEM's were getting bigger and they stopped at 190 and went back to 180 for racing. The biggest benefit is when going through a tight set of turns without the straights, because the bike will "flick" from one side to the other without having to man handle it. So I say try it. you'll only have to put up with it for 4k-5k any way and then you'll need a new one. | ||
| U4euh |
Cycleaddict-How aggressive a rider are you? I think that would play a role in my decision process. Like someone said, if your a real aggressive person, that extra cushion might help. I'd hate to go into a corner and at that split second have a fleeting thought of 'oh yea narrower tires, I might be in trouble here' on the other hand, if your mildly mannered when you ride, it might be interesting to see how the bike's handling is changed, and how good or badly. Never know till you try. If you choose to, I'll be looking to se what you find | ||
| Lovematt |
I personally prefer a more round tire so I have been running a 170 ever since I replaced the stock dunlops. It just makes the bike easier to lean...I really don't like the feeling of the bike resisting when leaning which I sense with a wider tire...especially when riding a buddies bike with a 190 on it. |
