What about a 180 rear for mileage????

Phil_RC_1

Phil_RC_1

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Just thinking that a 180 rear is 10mm narrower then the stock 190 so when mounted on the rim it would flatten the tread area a little and give more straight-line mileage, more tread on the road so it may flat-center slower. I know it wouldn't help handling if you're a knee dagger but may not be too bad for those of us that commute and tour.,,,, just think'n out loud....Anyone tried it??
 
It wasn't very long ago that bikes with nearly the same power as the FZ1 were running 150 and even 130 rear tires so I do wonder how much difference 1cm could make
 
Dustin said:
It wasn't very long ago that bikes with nearly the same power as the FZ1 were running 150 and even 130 rear tires so I do wonder how much difference 1cm could make
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I agree. Plenty of liter bikes had a 180/55 tire and were fine with it. However that being said a better choice might be a 190/55 as that will drop the revs a little bit, while improving the handling.
 
NJFZ1 said:
I agree. Plenty of liter bikes had a 180/55 tire and were fine with it. However that being said a better choice might be a 190/55 as that will drop the revs a little bit, while improving the handling.
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Do you think the different profile would change the contact patch much? enough to effect miles per set of tires?

After only 7K, I'm about ready for a new set of tires. As much as I hate it, most (99%) of my miles are straight line commuting and the sides of the tires are still brand spanking new!! with tread wear markers showing in the center. I WISH I could spend more time on twisty roads but my schedule just doesn't allow it veryoften, so if I get to ride my bike,,,,, back and forth to work "is" my riding time.

Dustin said:
It wasn't very long ago that bikes with nearly the same power as the FZ1 were running 150 and even 130 rear tires so I do wonder how much difference 1cm could make
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Yeah, back when R1's and GSXR's had about the same power as the FZ1 they all had 180's or narrower. BTW: The new Honda CB1000R wears a 180.

CrazyBiker said:
literbike power would chew the hell out of them I think but for normal commuting should be fine!
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I'm not sure the difference in contact patch width of a 180 vs 190 mounted on optimal wheel width, would really cause the 180 to get shredded. "If" mounting the 180 on a wider then optimal wheel will flatten the tread a bit (wider contact patch), it would stand to reason that it would hold up under straight line accelleration better then a more rounded tread, and hopefully more miles per tire (is what I'm hoping for).
 
Phil_RC_1 said:
Do you think the different profile would change the contact patch much? enough to effect miles per set of tires?

After only 7K, I'm about ready for a new set of tires. As much as I hate it, most (99%) of my miles are straight line commuting and the sides of the tires are still brand spanking new!! with tread wear markers showing in the center. I WISH I could spend more time on twisty roads but my schedule just doesn't allow it veryoften, so if I get to ride my bike,,,,, back and forth to work "is" my riding time.
...
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I doubt that the profile would affect the mileage that much. I would think that tire compound would have the biggest impact on wear, especially in your case.

What kind of tires are you running now? I would think that a sport touring tire like the Michelin PR3 (or PR2) or Bridgestone BT-23 would give you more than 7k miles of wear and acceptable grip.
 
NJFZ1 said:
I doubt that the profile would affect the mileage that much. I would think that tire compound would have the biggest impact on wear, especially in your case.

What kind of tires are you running now? I would think that a sport touring tire like the Michelin PR3 (or PR2) or Bridgestone BT-23 would give you more than 7k miles of wear and acceptable grip.
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That's the rub,,, I got 6K out of the original Pilot Roads, which from what I have read on here, is the low side of normal, but in the normal range none the less. My current tires are Metz Z8's which are ST tires also. I'm not to the wear markers yet but they're close, so maybe I'll get another 1K out of'em but that'll probably be pushing it.

I run air pressures on the low end of recommended, 38psi rear 36 front and check it regularly. The idea is that the lower pressure within the recommended air pressure range makes a wider 'center' contact patch.

I think the biggest issue is that I just don't get to do twisties. The side treads have thousands of miles left on'em :)
 
Phil_RC_1 said:
After only 7K, I'm about ready for a new set of tires.
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7K is likely an average amount of miles, but I understand since you are only putting miles down the center of the tire.

I am a Pirelli guy, but have you looked into the dual compound tires, with the longer life compound down the mid and softer compound for corners on the outer portion such as these in the image?
 
Phil_RC_1 said:
That's the rub,,, I got 6K out of the original Pilot Roads, which from what I have read on here, is the low side of normal, but in the normal range none the less. My current tires are Metz Z8's which are ST tires also. I'm not to the wear markers yet but they're close, so maybe I'll get another 1K out of'em but that'll probably be pushing it.

I run air pressures on the low end of recommended, 38psi rear 36 front and check it regularly. The idea is that the lower pressure within the recommended air pressure range makes a wider 'center' contact patch.

I think the biggest issue is that I just don't get to do twisties. The side treads have thousands of miles left on'em :)
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Well I don't do as much highway riding as you, but my original Pilot Roads have 9500 miles on them and have plenty of thread left. They should be good for at least 12-3k miles, but I'm not sure if I'll keep them that long since they are already 6 years old.
 
NJFZ1 said:
I agree. Plenty of liter bikes had a 180/55 tire and were fine with it. However that being said a better choice might be a 190/55 as that will drop the revs a little bit, while improving the handling.
Click to expand...

I ran nothing but 180's on my R1 track bike.
 
Phil_RC_1 said:
That's the rub,,, I got 6K out of the original Pilot Roads, which from what I have read on here, is the low side of normal, but in the normal range none the less. My current tires are Metz Z8's which are ST tires also. I'm not to the wear markers yet but they're close, so maybe I'll get another 1K out of'em but that'll probably be pushing it.

I run air pressures on the low end of recommended, 38psi rear 36 front and check it regularly. The idea is that the lower pressure within the recommended air pressure range makes a wider 'center' contact patch.

I think the biggest issue is that I just don't get to do twisties. The side treads have thousands of miles left on'em :)
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this how i thought for longest time more rubber on the ground the better the wear. this is wrong for best millage put highest recommend psi. because when you run less air you have more rubber on the ground getting more heat into tires and putting wear on them faster
 
I don't know the allowablew size for the rim, but I do know that it is very unwise to mount a tire that is larger than the rim is designed to handle. It totally changes the profile and the handling dynamics. Might not be so important for sedate riding, but I wouldn't want to try to get rid of chicken strips on such a set-up.
 
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