What really is the benefit of a 180 vs 160?

[LQQKR]

I am curious what the benefit is of a 180 or 190 tire on the rear compared to a 160. Wouldn't the contact patch still be the same size? I am about to go from a 4.5" wheel with a 160 to a 5.5" wheel with a 180 on my 900SS CR. What will I notice to be different? Thanks.

[xseal]

The benefit relates in having enough rubber to "match" the power of your bike, on the appropriate rim/tire. More rotating weight (ie, bigger tire) is generally bad, but you wouldn't run a 110 rear tire on the bike either. If you look at the HP of race bikes and how it correlates with tire/rim widths, you see some matching up.

SV650s and 250GP bikes run 160 tires (around 70-90hp?)
600/750s and bigger twins run 180 tires (100-130 hp?)
Open bikes run 190 tires (140hp and up?).

Obviously, lots of exceptions (ie, most AMA factory supersport teams run 190 tires on 5.5" rims).

So, unless you have a pretty built 900 engine, my hunch is there isn't any real performance benefit to going to a 5.5/180.

[Nick D.]

I love how the 100 looks on my SS and Monster. The OEM tire on my SS was a 170 with the sidewalls almost vertical to the rim bead. The Metzeler Sportec M-1 in 180 size which is on there now is not-that-much wider than the stretched out 170.

Different brand tires will have actual tire widths which vary from the stated size. For example a Metzeler M-1 in 180 is (if I remember correctly) 176mm where a Michelin (IIRC) is a few mm larger than 180.

Riding on the street I really didn't notice much of a difference between the 170 and 180 sizes...except the looks.

[Desmomaniac]

basically not much at all...

imo hp is all good and dandy, but torque is more of an impact to how the rubber hits the road. the 900 may be wheezy on hp but it's quite respectable in the torque department.

you're trading a larger contact patch for a heavier wheel and tire combo. is the additional weight noticable? doubt it. is the larger contact patch noticable? doubt it... tire compound does more for traction than dimension. does the 180 look cooler than the 160? hell yeah. i don't sweat the dimensions i just buy the cheapest tire that fits my rim... which is usually the 180/55 because it's more common; not to mention my other ride uses the same size stock, so i buy in "bulk".

that said, all the above work out just fine whether 160, 170, or 180 series... the only tire size that matters imo is the front. my advice is to stick to 120/70's on the front if the bike is anywhere near speed bumps or pot holes; because the 120/60's will give you a dinged rim. 120/60's fine for the track but not nice on the street.

Originally Posted by LQQKR

I am curious what the benefit is of a 180 or 190 tire on the rear compared to a 160.

[funonone]

I have used all sizes and on a number of bikes, Ducati's and BMW's and the first thing you'll notice is turn in quickness. The larger tires (both front and rear) will effect this dramatically.
The 180 will slow you down and flickabilty will be harder although not unpleasant. Yeah, they look better and on a higher hp bike exit speed will benefit as the tire tries to spin and has a little more contact patch.
The front is also dramatic form a 120/70 to 120/60. If you are used to the high speed stability on regular highway riding, the 120/70 is the tire you want.
I have also found the the rear rim sizes dictates what tire to use. Although the 170 can be used either on the 4.5, 5, 5.5 rims the 180 wants a 5.5 . The 160 should have a 4.4 or 5 inch rim.
Hope this helps, or yeah, Don't buy those tires @ JC Whitney! Better tires are always worth it.

[LQQKR]

Awesome info. I failed to mention I prefer to have the bike set up for track days.

Thanks everyone.....

[Ducman851]

Will the larger wheel and tire combo fit the steel swingarm?

[Desmomaniac]

Originally Posted by Ducman851

Will the larger wheel and tire combo fit the steel swingarm?

yep... hub sizes are the same.

[Ducman851]

Originally Posted by Desmomaniac

yep... hub sizes are the same.

I know the hub sizes are the same but is the width at the rim good, I remember that the 5.5 will only work with the SP alloy swingarm. Then again Im old

[funonone]

I switched a 5.5 that came from my 95SP900 aluminum swingarm to a newer 99 SS750 with a steel swingarm with no problems, bolted right up?

[xseal]

If you're focus is track days, then another big factor is the availability of tires. There are no good tires available in 170.

In 160 Dunlop has nothing except a slick, Pirelli has lots of options and I'm not sure on Michelin.

180 has the best choices of all, track day, racing DOT and slicks. It is also where all the "development" work from racing trickles down to the fastest (along with 190s).

[Ducman851]

Originally Posted by funonone

I switched a 5.5 that came from my 95SP900 aluminum swingarm to a newer 99 SS750 with a steel swingarm with no problems, bolted right up?

There ya go then

[Desmomaniac]

Originally Posted by Ducman851

I know the hub sizes are the same but is the width at the rim good, I remember that the 5.5 will only work with the SP alloy swingarm. Then again Im old

bad memory... old = when what you know is less than what you've already forgotten.

either wheel will mount on either swing arm.

[cugno749]

Michelin pilot powers and Bridgestones BT 012ss come in 170's. Not bad track day tire choices? I'm thinking about the whole contact patch thing and wondering if 180's are a better choice. Ya, there more available but don't want to sacrifice a ch in flickability.

[Ducman851]

Originally Posted by Desmomaniac

bad memory... old = when what you know is less than what you've already forgotten.

either wheel will mount on either swing arm.

lll go with that

[xseal]

Originally Posted by cugno749

Michelin pilot powers and Bridgestones BT 012ss come in 170's. Not bad track day tire choices? I'm thinking about the whole contact patch thing and wondering if 180's are a better choice. Ya, there more available but don't want to sacrifice a ch in flickability.

Not bad, ... but not good either. You'll want access to better tires as you get faster.

[LQQKR]

Originally Posted by xseal

If you're focus is track days, then another big factor is the availability of tires. There are no good tires available in 170.

In 160 Dunlop has nothing except a slick, Pirelli has lots of options and I'm not sure on Michelin.

180 has the best choices of all, track day, racing DOT and slicks. It is also where all the "development" work from racing trickles down to the fastest (along with 190s).

I am currently running Michelin Pilot race tires 120/160 and like them a lot, so I plan on sticking with those after installing the 5.5" wheel with a 180.

[galaxy]

Here's a problem I had...MY '04 came with a 170 mounted on a 5.5" wheel and I could easily run out of tire. Did not have enough lean angle with the 170. Now, I will admit this could have very possibly been the brand/style of tire as I never tried a different 170 when I ditched them. That was not a very confidence inspiring feeling and it wasn't hard to do on that bike. I ran out of tire before the body work started dragging and for the guys that have late model SS's, you know that doesn't take much. Doubt you'd experience this with a 170 or 160 mounted on a 4.5" wheel, but that's what happened to me.

[Exarius]

the 160 pilot power is an excelent tired, absolutely one of the best ive tried so far.. much much better grip than any dunlop ive tried so far... Pirelli diablo isnt that bad either...

[aldejoria]

Bit of a late reply..sorry. Anyhow, I run a 160 Pilot Power, and it's awesome on the track. As mentioned before, I ran out of ground clearance before I ran out of tire, and she's super agile thru the tight, twisty bits. All those guys who are laughing and pointing at the "little" tire, ended up following it thru turns three thru seven. 120 up front, so turn in is very linear and predictable. It's a nice combination, if you don't let your ego get in the way. And, as mentioned before, if you start going faster, bump up the hp and torque, you may NEED to go to a bigger tire, but until then, you'll have a lightning quick track weapon that will catch a lot of people off guard. Just my two cents.....