Tyre Sizes on 600 Sports

[robbieguy2003]

Hey All,

Spoke to my local tyre company yesterday as my BT-014s are near the end of life at the moment.

I've got on with the 014s and liked the grip they give, only issue I've had is some squaring when I've used the bike to commute, the new 016 has a multi-compound so I've ordered them.

Only oddness I had is my current rear (on a CBR600RR) is a 190/55/ZR17.

Bloke in the tyreshop who seems to have a fair clue about bikes tells me that profile is wrong for my bike and really I should go with a 180/55/ZR17.

The recommendation from Bridgestone for my bike is the 180 but I quite liked the handling on the 190.

Obviously looking forward to new tyres but does anyone think I'll notice much of a difference on the 180 profile? I'm pretty sure the last two sets of tyres I've had have had 190 profiles.


Cheers

Rob
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Current Bikes: Honda CBR 600RR - '07, Suzuki GSX1250 FA ST '11
Old Bikes: Suzuki Intruder 125 LC - '2001, Honda CBR 600F - '92, Honda CBR 600RR - '03

[G]

Modern 600s always have 180s. A 190 may slow the handling down a little. Some litre bikes which are specced with 190s are shod with 180s for race use for that little bit extra turn-in speed.

Presuming you haven't tried a 180 before, I'd give it a go and see how it feels .

[robbieguy2003]

Cheers G.

Thanks for the feedback, I thought it was the other way around (i.e. that a 190 made the turn in quicker but was less stable at speed).

If its the way you describe I think i'll be happier.

I've had a 180 in the past but to be honest the last time I was on 180s I wasn't really using that much of the tyre and used to crawl round a lot of corners, I've only been quicker on the 190s (but mainly as my experience/miles have increased).

I've ordered a front and rear BT-016 with the rear being a 180, the shop should have then in Monday or Tuesday and I'll get them fitted Thursday (by the shop).

Once done i'll post back once I've got a feel for them.
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Current Bikes: Honda CBR 600RR - '07, Suzuki GSX1250 FA ST '11
Old Bikes: Suzuki Intruder 125 LC - '2001, Honda CBR 600F - '92, Honda CBR 600RR - '03

[ram_doom]

My TL comes with a 190 50 rear standard. I changed it to a 180 55, and it flips side to side much quicker.
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TL1000s, KDX200

[MattEMulsion]

It should be a 180 anyway so give it go and see how you get on with it.
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[neatbik]

You'll like the 016's mate, im using them at the mo and the confidence they inspire is unbelievable

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

As said it should be 180 section on the rear anyway.

2CTs or Corsa IIIs for fast road and trackday use, Road 2s for most other things.

Never used 016s so can't really comment.
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[Noxious89123]

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[robbieguy2003]

Hi all, cheers for the replies, have got the 016s on now, had a quick 50 mile run to give them a careful runin try, they seem really good and the response on turn feels really nice and stable. The grip seems good, they did feel a little slippy but I think that's the protective stuff coming off, near the end of the run they felt fantastic. Thinking of going for another run tonight.
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Current Bikes: Honda CBR 600RR - '07, Suzuki GSX1250 FA ST '11
Old Bikes: Suzuki Intruder 125 LC - '2001, Honda CBR 600F - '92, Honda CBR 600RR - '03

[robbieguy2003]

Had another run last night - was still light and roads were warm and dry.

Am actually really impressed with the tyres, really really grippy and very stable at speed (nothing too stupid but enough to feel a difference).

Only done 150 miles on them so far but I'll be taking it to work rather than the car now. It'll get 140 miles roundtrip for a few days on it this week with a nice mix of twisties/straights - Hastings > London Docklands and back.

Cheers for the advice, think i'll be sticking with the 180s now, the 016s are very very good. If you feel the rubber it gets stickier on the sides and then really really sticky on the very edges (last 2cm of tyre).

Overall pretty impressed but have never had the balls to experiment and try other tyre makes and have always ended up with bridgestones so dont really know how good other brands are to the bridgestones.
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Current Bikes: Honda CBR 600RR - '07, Suzuki GSX1250 FA ST '11
Old Bikes: Suzuki Intruder 125 LC - '2001, Honda CBR 600F - '92, Honda CBR 600RR - '03