Tire Sizes

[Kokosun]

OK. I know that tires have been discussed endlessly - makes, sizes, best for different conditions etc.

But I'm interested to hear what tire sizes people have on their bikes.

Me, I've got the standard 100/80-16 on the front and 130/80-16 on the rear. Since they're becoming increasingly difficult to find, I'm probably going to go with 90 profile for my next set, which provides a few more options. I was also thinking of going with a 140 width on the rear, because that'll provide a few more options too, but it'll also slow me down a little.

[n4mwd]

The 90 profile is fine. I'm not sure about the 140 on the rear though.

Pirelli makes the 80 profile and is not hard to find. But the 90s are actually better for the bike IMHO.

I have used:

Pirelli Diablo Scooter -> 80 profile -> lasts about 7K miles
Pirelli Sport Demons -> 90 profile -> lasts about 12K miles

Pretty much any manufacturer except Dunlop will work fine. Although the demons are better tires, they have a little more wobble than the scooters when you let go of them at about 40 mph. Since normally you wouldn't do that, they are fine.

I have heard people say the scooters are stickier to the road than the demons, but I can't really confirm that. Seems about the same to me.

[az3200]

I have the sport demo 90 on my bike.i like them so far except the chicken strips. I've scraped the pegs and still have 1/2 inch strips on the rear?

[infinitewhiskey]

Originally Posted by az3200

I have the sport demo 90 on my bike.i like them so far except the chicken strips. I've scraped the pegs and still have 1/2 inch strips on the rear?

Scraping pegs is usually a sign of bad body positioning. I ran the same set up before I went over a nail and was able to scrub off the chicken strips.

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by infinitewhiskey

Scraping pegs is usually a sign of bad body positioning.

If you scrape the pegs hard enough the whole rearset will snap off. I found that out the hard way.

I had a tendency to stay upright during a turn and relied exclusively on countersteering to negotiate the curve. However, this is wrong.

The whole countersteering thing can be confusing. You have to countersteer to turn the bike, but you also have to lean if you want to do it right. Leaning causes your center of gravity to change so that you can make the same turn with the bike in a more upright position. Thus not scraping the pegs.

Leaning doesn't turn the bike, it just makes it more efficient.

[az3200]

I understand it's not good to scrape the pegs lol. It's only happened once or twice on both sides. After it happened i got excited to look at the rear tire hoping the strips would be gone. but nope, still there. Bad body positioning or not, if you're scraping the pegs on a turn how can you get the bike any lower? It it because the tires are slightly bigger than what's recommended? If I was running the 80 would there be a smaller strip?

n4wmd: you said your bike has sport demon 90.. Do you have strips?

[n4mwd]

I have my old tires still. The chicken strips are about 1/8"-1/4" wide on both sets. One set is 90 and the other is 80. Both are Pirelli. I'm not counting the dunlops that came with the bikes.

Since my accident I have been a lot less wild in the corners so the new tires on there now have 1.5" wide chicken strips. I have 80's on there now.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Kokosun

........But I'm interested to hear what tire sizes people have on their bikes...........

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showt...light=pressure