Tire Sizes

DAMIEN

DAMIEN

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Hey everyone,
I have recently purchased a 1998 Honda CBR600F3. I is a beautiful bike. anyhow I need to change the rear tire. The size currently on the rear is 180/55zr17 however the manual states it should be 160/60zr17. Can anyone tell me what the difference would be if i went back to the o.e.m size or should i stay with the size that is currently on the bike.
Cheers!
 
A tire that's too wide for the rim has less contact area because it's pinched to fit in the smaller rim. A 160 will give you the best handling.
 
Is it still the stock rim? if it's the stock rim, go back to the stock size.
 
daught said:
A tire that's too wide for the rim has less contact area because it's pinched to fit in the smaller rim. A 160 will give you the best handling.
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What?!? This is simply not true. If a tire is too wide or too narrow for a rim then you won't be able to seat the bead on the rim. The contact patch is unaffected and will not be "pinched". Don't make things up if you don't know.
 
Smutty said:
What?!? This is simply not true. If a tire is too wide or too narrow for a rim then you won't be able to seat the bead on the rim. The contact patch is unaffected and will not be "pinched". Don't make things up if you don't know.
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this is incorrect,

you can easily seat the bead of a 180 tire on the 4.5in rim the bike in question has.
 
Smutty said:
What?!? This is simply not true. If a tire is too wide or too narrow for a rim then you won't be able to seat the bead on the rim. The contact patch is unaffected and will not be "pinched". Don't make things up if you don't know.
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You are correct, but only if the tire is significantly wider. At which point, you'd be an idiot to even try mounting it on the rim. But you can move up in tire width while using the same rim. For example, on my Ninja 250, I use a 150 rear instead of the stock 130. The bead is fine, but it is definitely pinched. It doesn't seem to have a detrimental impact on my contact patch (not like I can measure that) nor the handling. I went for the 150 simply because the tire was a better compound/choice than the ones I could otherwise use.

But daught is correct in this case. It seems that a 180 rear fit on this rim without having issues with the bead, so the other impact would be on the contact patch. I agree that the 160 rear tire is the better way to go. That being said, using a 180 opens up the option of using used scrubs, and cheaper tires overall, since that size is more common.
 
HorizonXP said:
But daught is correct in this case. It seems that a 180 rear fit on this rim without having issues with the bead, so the other impact would be on the contact patch. I agree that the 160 rear tire is the better way to go. That being said, using a 180 opens up the option of using used scrubs, and cheaper tires overall, since that size is more common.
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There are lots of 160 scrubs available as well

using the 180 on the OEM rim will affect handling and make the bike potentially unsafe.
 
Hey Horizon how your chicken strips looking?? I've had the 150 rear for about 1000km, and they're pretty big even compared to what they were on the 140. 130s I had none left, about a quarter inch with the 140 and about half inch with the 150s.

I love the feel and handling too, sooo much more stability and when I let go of the handlebars they don't flail all over the place.
 





That 11.1% difference in size of width is why the stock rim is not meant for the wider tire. If the rim has been changed to a wider one, then the rest of the values are pretty close
 
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Stick with stock size unless the rim has been changed to a wider one.
 
reciprocity said:
this is incorrect,you can easily seat the bead of a 180 tire on the 4.5in rim the bike in question has.
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I'm not saying it won't fit, what I'm saying is that any tire that can be mounted on any rim is fine, the contact patch will not be affected. It will not be "pinched" as mentioned. What I did say is that if, for example, you try to mount a 190 in place of a 130 you cannot seat the bead of the tire on that rim because the rim is not wide enough. If on theory the 190 would fit the rim, the contact patch would still remain the same.
 
Thanks everyone for your advise and comments. based on what i have read i think that sticking with the O.E.M size tires on the O.E.M rim would be the safest and best bet for me at this time. At least until I gain some experience and build my confidence with this bike, then maybe do some mods..
Ride Safe Everyone!!!
Cheers!
 
My kat takes 110/80 and 140/80 OEM but after reading some forums, they recommended i put 120/70 and 150/70. So I went with it.
Tire guy was skeptical but was surprized how well they fit over the OEM tires.
Not sure about your bike but it might be something worth looking into more.
 
so maybe if i increase the width one size and decrease the profile one size i should be ok overall???? some of the previous threads stated safety would this be a safe alternative.. i always thought that with a wider tire that there would be more surface contact..maybe thats only with cars and not bikes.. having the tire fit on the rim is not really the issue, ive been told that its not safe especially when cornering.. today i was out at the forks of the credit and the bad lands, it was an awesome ride. The o.e.m size tires (pirelli) held up great even on some loose gravel( wrong turn, got lost lol) but these tires are just about done or so i have been told. looking at a set of tires.. choices after i determin the size would be the brand. i have found metzler M5, avon storm2 and bridgestone bt-016 all with in my budget or very close to it.. i am looking at brand new tires..
 
there are hundreds of different tires available in the OEM size for your bike.

Are you out riding the OEM tire size and require a larger tire for traction reasons(this is doubtful in street conditions)

The larger tire will slow the handling of the bike and make it very lazy to turn.

Stick with the OEM size you will not be disappointed.
 
The only reason I'd consider upsizing is where your OEM tire is 140. I switched to 150 for one and only reason ... better tire selection. A lot of them start at 150 or even 160.
 
We are gonna be putting a bigger rear tire on my vstar to help with bringing my rmps down at highway speeds. Its along the same idea as putting a sprocket with more or less teeth on it.
 
Cat13 said:
We are gonna be putting a bigger rear tire on my vstar to help with bringing my rmps down at highway speeds. Its along the same idea as putting a sprocket with more or less teeth on it.
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A BIGGER tire won't necessarily do this.

You need a tire with a larger outside diameter to significantly effect the final drive ratio.

The problem is, installing a tire to perform this function will also increase rear ride height which will effect handling.
 
I had this issue with a 1990 cbr 600 back in the day. It came with bias ply tires and a 130 on the rear. I wanted to go with radials and a larger rear tire. Since I was hearing all sorts of conflicting info from different sources I contacted a couple of tire manufacturers. After asking me what type of riding I was doing, they gave me their recommendations on sizes and air pressures and it worked out great.

Bottom line, they have people for this who want you to get the most out of their tires and know what they're talking about. They are the best ones to ask.
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