Tyre sizes

[Darth]

First off apologies for newbie style questions.

Bike - '97 GSX600F
Front tyre - manufacturer spec 110/80-ZR17, currently a battlax bt 45 with plenty of life in it
Rear Tyre - manufacturer spec 140/80-ZR17, currently a battlax bt 45, pretty squared off, very little tread left in the centre

So looking for a new rear.

Questions - How much can you deviate from the manufacturers specs size wise(width and height)?
Would like a slightly wider tyre for looks but how would this affect handling?
What are the typical symptoms of increasing/decreasing the width and height of a tyre?
Since i am only intending on replacing the rear at the moment would it be wise to just get a another BT45 to keep the same tyre front and rear?
Any recommendations on a good / better substitute for my bike?

It is only used for commuting and weekend blasts.

[bikedemon99]

The manufacturer will have worked out what is best for handling so changing it aint always a good idea, its fine when your making a bike from other bikes that your going to ride greaser style but if you want knee down cornering then personally I wouldnt mess about with it, good luck
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[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

A wider rear will make it steer more slowly.
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[Kickstart]

Hi

Do expect it to screw up the handling if you go too far up in size as you will pinch the tyre in causing the profile to be a bit wierd.

It depends on the bike as to how far you can get away with. Check the widths of the rims. Fairly good chance you could get away with going up 10mm in width, but it all depends on the original tyre size compared to the rim width.

All the best

Keith
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[Jaloopa]

What do the numbers actually mean on tyres? I know the third one is diameter, but I'm in the dark about the other two. My rear tyre is a 180/80, which is apparently a really weird size, hence being £60 plus VAT to replace.
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[McJamweasel]

The first is the width of the tyre in mm.

The second is the height of the tyre as a percentage of the width.

So your tyre is 180mm wide and 144mm high.
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[bikedemon99]

https://www.denniskirk.com/jsp/tpl/tire/tiresizeexplain.jsp

this should make it clear
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