tire size revisited
 

hi,

i know that somewhere this has been discussed 100 times over. i went through a couple threads that came up in searches, but the one in this section was a "what tire? thread". i
already know i wanna put Michelin Pilot Power 2CT rear and maybe just the regular Pilot Power on the front.

i also read through as much as i could take of the 'unusual' thread someone started about trying to find the circumference of their particular tire. whoa.

my question. stock size is 120/70 17 front, 180/55 17 rear.
stock front and back?

i don't race, but i ride fast and plan on using these tires for road-trips on curvy roads down by the river. i will not use this bike very much for commuting on our wonderful expressways or in town.

thank you very much!

--fred

haha not so clear on your question there, but if you were asking if stock size is 120/70 and 180/55 on 17" rims, then yes.

you CAN fit a 190/50 rear on, which would pinch the tire and make the profile a little taller and steeper probably.

i didnt like the pp2ct's that came with my rc51, way too soft of construction that it made it feel squirmy, but thats just me.

a 180/55 should already have a pretty tippy profile that makes steering pretty easy. 190/50's are a bit flatter.

measuring the circumference of a tire i believe is the most accurate way of measuring tire size for purposes of geometry and gearing. different tire sizes will affect that to some degree.

personally, id probably stick with 180/55. they work fine, turn quick, and are a bit cheaper than 190/50's. 190/55's are much taller and i would suspect too tall for the SH. would probably make the bike very twitchy for road use.

i have the stock size up front pilot power and 2ct rear pilot road in the back 190/55 and I get some good lean in angles, very happy with that combination.

with the HP available there isn't any great reason to go to a 190 aside from looks and if you like to spend more. The handling effects are not usually as predictable - some tires profiles are more/less affected by going onto the narrower rim than ideal.

i'd put the sticky tire up front ( 2ct ) and the regular PP on the rear.

tim

+1

Yeah you always want the stickier tire in the front. It's not a whole lot of fun to run out of front grip before you run out of rear grip...... at least IMHO

:iagree:

Put 2CTs on both and then you won't have to worry about which is more sticky than the other.

If you want longevity, you could also consider Pilot Roads. I know a guy that runs them on an FJR and scrapes footpegs regularly, so unless you're dragging your knee, they should provide you with plenty of grip, and last longer. Kinda depends on what you mean by "trip".

I have been running pilot roads, they grip great but they don't let you know that very well. Their feedback to the rider is not very good. I have a feeling that once they let go there won't be any warning and down you go. I haven't proved this concept myself but it is something to consider with the higher mileage sport touring tires. I am going to spoon on the Pilot Road 2's next. Springbubba was running those side by side with me last summer. It seems as though the middle compound is the same as the original road tire and the sides are similar to the compound on the Pilot Power I don't know if this is actually true just my observance. His tire wore out the same rate but more evenly across the profile no flat spot vs mine having a flat spot.

FWIW the only slipping my road originals have done is when I down shift to aggressively.

thanks so very much everyone for all the interesting replies!
i've not used this forum much and took a peek now, but didn't really expect any replies until this evening or tomorrow.
i'll stick with stock size front and back then.

there's one thing i'm a bit confused about. i was under the impression that the pilot power had better grip over its entire geometry than the pilot power 2ct. i have pilot powers front and back on my other bike. that's why i was planning on going with the 2ct in the back, so i'd maybe get a bit better wear with the harder compound in the middle of the tread.
am i wrong about the PP and the PP2CT?

No, the PP does not have more grip than the 2CT... The compounds on the 2CT is harder than average in the center and softer than average on the edges... The PP is average all over... So in theory you get both more miles and more grip on the 2CT... Not entirely true in practice though... Especially not on the rear...

My advice if you want a nice compromise of longeviety and grip, stick a 2CT up front and a Road2 or 2CT in the rear... The PP is "old" tech, as in really old... The 2CT is also getting old, the Pure is the replacement... The road2 is like cornandp said an upgrade on the road... Lots better grip and very good wet grip... But decent life, much better than the 2CT and a lot, lot, lot better than PP...

i'm glad i asked.
thanks, Man.

I am running Perelli Angels (180) on my SH, and love them. A little vibration on break in, but goes away after 400 miles. They get sticky quick, and love the rain. Love the mileage too. Maybe take a look at those before you jump into PP!!!!!

ok newbie question here I guess. Only had my bike 2 years so still learning alot.I had to go out to the garage to dble check. I am running a Bridgestone bt-021 190/50. I don't remember looking at the owners manual when it came time for a new tire . I think I just asked some a friend what tire he recommended and then got the same size as was on there. Is there any positive or negative to running the 190 instead of the 180 and would I really notice the difference?

Thanks

Jim

Yes, you will notice it... A pinched 190 tire will likely be lazier on turn in, but fall down more agressive once into the turn... The profile and wearpattern will be a bit off...

sounds good. i'll take a look at them. and "love the rain" is important sometimes, too... like when it rains. :-)

How's tire life on the Angels?

Reviews say that your can get 8000 out of tires. I have 1200, miles and no sign of wear at all.

Excerpt:
On March 15th 2009, 15 Journalists and 12 Pirelli Testers set 7 FIM World Duration Records at Nardò Technical Center in Southern Italy. On just one set of Angel ST tyres they covered a distance of 5,135 km at an average speed of 214 km/h in a tough 24H non stop trial which proved the consistency and the performance of the new ANGEL ST.