Sportbike Tires

[djalbin]

There's a very good article in the December 2005 issue of Sport Rider magazine on sport bike street tires (not sport-touring, street/track, or DOT race tires). They tested on a GSX-R1000 and a CBR600RR. Tire sizes were 120/70, 180/55, and 190/50. They rated each tire according to 31 parameters in four different categories (General, Braking, Traction, Steering) along with an overall rating. There is a write up on each tire along with the scoring and a description of tire wear. The tires tested include:
Avon Viper Sport
Bridgestone BT-014
Continental Conti-sport Attack
Dunlop Qualifier
Maxxis Supermaxx M6029
Metzeler Sportec M-1
Michelin Pilot Power
Pirelli Diablo
Tomahawk T3 Sport

They also include a description of how to decipher the codes that are on the sidewall of the tire, and a table listing the size, dimension, weight, contruction, and MSRP for each tire.
The circumference of the tires are listed in this table. This is useful if you are going to switch from one tire brand to another or switch tire sizes within the same brand. The circumference can be used to calculate how much adjustment you need to make to the front, or rear, suspension to compensate for the difference in tires.

The formula is:
C = circumference in mm

[C newfront - C oldfront] + [C oldrear - C new rear]
-------------------------------------------------------------
6.28

If the value is positive, raise the fork tubes in the triple clamps accordingly (i.e. lower the front or raise the rear).
If the value is negative, drop the fork tubes in the triple clamps accordingly (raise the front or lower the rear).

Don

[FZRDude]

Thanks to Don for sending me the PDF. It can be found here.

[djalbin]

I noticed the comparison table at the end of the article was spread across two pages. Here's a single image of the complete table. Makes it easier to match up the last three columns. An interesting item is the weight. Some of the manufacturer's 190/50 are lighter than their 180/55. That was a surprise to me.



Don