How bigger tires can reduce handling.

everyday3 · December 17th, 2008, 09:17 AM

Here is an article in 2 wheel tuner December 2008 issue p84, on how putting a larger tire on than recommended can actually give the opposite results than your looking for. Hopes this helps anyone struggling with what to do.

Alex · December 17th, 2008, 10:50 AM

I was kinda hoping the article would be more detailed, showing the actual contact patch differences between a couple of different size tires of different construction. I'm not sure anything in the article is conclusive enough to change anyone's mind, no matter which side of the discussion they came in on.

everyday3 · December 17th, 2008, 11:03 AM

Yeh its not alot of info or comparison. but you can see in the second page there is a notasable difrance between contact patch. one is big and fat the other is thin and narrow and the tires are only 10mm apart in size. Just thought people would be intreasted. so if it dosnt help o well.

Alex · December 17th, 2008, 11:08 AM

It helps, don't worry!

And glad you posted it. What I'm hoping some magazine does is similar to what one of the car magazines did a few years back. They put together a comparison test of a number of different tires of different sizes on the same car (stock, +1, +2, -1). They then fully tested the car's performance in as many areas as possible, and reported on the difference, if any, in steering feel and anything else of note.

I think it would be great if a motorcycle mag attempted the same thing at some point. "Here's what the bike feels like with the stock 180, here's the average lap times. Here's what happened when we put a 190 on, and here's the average lap times we had, and here's what it felt like. And when we put a 160 on, here's what we discovered". Something like that. I realize the logistics of such a test are daunting.

everyday3 · December 17th, 2008, 12:54 PM

Ya that would be really sweet if some one did that. Till then I guess will have to do it the old fashion way with trial and error.

Mista Bob · December 17th, 2008, 05:01 PM

I read one article from a magazine awhile that was like that.
They did a comparison test with performance tires on a super bike.
Showed lap times on each tire and some other stuff. Sadly I cannot recall the name of the magazine.
Pretty sure it was a British bike mag though.

December 17th, 2008, 10:50 AM	#2
Alex ninjette.org dude Name: 1 guess :-) Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 7	I was kinda hoping the article would be more detailed, showing the actual contact patch differences between a couple of different size tires of different construction. I'm not sure anything in the article is conclusive enough to change anyone's mind, no matter which side of the discussion they came in on. __________________________________________________ Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered)

December 17th, 2008, 11:08 AM	#4
Alex ninjette.org dude Name: 1 guess :-) Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 7	It helps, don't worry! And glad you posted it. What I'm hoping some magazine does is similar to what one of the car magazines did a few years back. They put together a comparison test of a number of different tires of different sizes on the same car (stock, +1, +2, -1). They then fully tested the car's performance in as many areas as possible, and reported on the difference, if any, in steering feel and anything else of note. I think it would be great if a motorcycle mag attempted the same thing at some point. "Here's what the bike feels like with the stock 180, here's the average lap times. Here's what happened when we put a 190 on, and here's the average lap times we had, and here's what it felt like. And when we put a 160 on, here's what we discovered". Something like that. I realize the logistics of such a test are daunting. __________________________________________________ Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered)

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December 17th, 2008, 11:03 AM	#3
everyday3 ninjette.org member Name: Andrew Location: alpharetta GA Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): 08 Ninja 250 Posts: 10	Yeh its not alot of info or comparison. but you can see in the second page there is a notasable difrance between contact patch. one is big and fat the other is thin and narrow and the tires are only 10mm apart in size. Just thought people would be intreasted. so if it dosnt help o well.

December 17th, 2008, 12:54 PM	#5
everyday3 ninjette.org member Name: Andrew Location: alpharetta GA Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): 08 Ninja 250 Posts: 10	Ya that would be really sweet if some one did that. Till then I guess will have to do it the old fashion way with trial and error.

December 17th, 2008, 05:01 PM	#6
Mista Bob Über n00b Name: Bob Location: Alberta, Canada Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): Triumph TT600, Honda NS50F, Kawasaki ZZR-250 (sold) Posts: 225	I read one article from a magazine awhile that was like that. They did a comparison test with performance tires on a super bike. Showed lap times on each tire and some other stuff. Sadly I cannot recall the name of the magazine. Pretty sure it was a British bike mag though.