so i got a new tyre....BUT

[cammo]

well anyways, i went to cyclestread in wanganui, and the guy there said my tyre looked to big for my bike, and i was like OK...mind you he knows a lot more then me...and after ringing up a few people and checking his books he told me to go to one fo the bike stores and get them to have a look, and sure enough my back tyre was...wait for it...3 SIZES TOO BIG for my bike!!! so after that he showed me a perelli (? i duno how to spell) sports demon in the RIGHT size, i just told him to fit it, $175 later it was done, and the rest is history as they say!!!

so i went from a 160/60/17 to a 130/60/17...

bike goes much better too...

[loosebruce]

I bet it would be better. Surprised someone squeezed a 160 between the swingarm on the ZZR. Crazy.

[bugjuice]

wow, someone was optimistic when they chose that! Like you said, it'll feel better now the tyres are right, corners will be smoother and more predictable etc.. Well, you won't need us to tell you what for, you'll find out for yourself, but you should be able to feel that bit more stable and confident when push comes to shove..
Glad you got it now to get used to instead of getting to grips with it on the track!

[Two Smoker]

Good man for going the tyre i recommended lol

[erik]

That's really interesting to hear. My brother's 1991 zzr250 has a 140/70/17 on the rear, I wonder if he should try getting a smaller tyre next time.
My Zeal also has a 140/70/17 on the rear, when I was fitting it, I noticed that the beads were a fair bit wider than the rim where they're supposed to go so that when I put the tyre on, it gave it a more curved profile than when it was off the bike.

Anyone know how to measure rims to see what sized tyre they should fit? As I understand it, the 17 is the diameter of the rim in inches.
The 140 is the width of the tyre, but it's the outer edges (I know 'cause I just went and measured my tyre to find out). And the 70 is the depth of the tyre as a percentage of it's width.

But how does that relate to the rim width? My rear wheel has "J17 XMT 3.50 DOT" cast into it. The 3.50 looks like it might relate to the rim width where the beads seat, but I can't measure it accurately with the tyre on.

Anyone know?

[MacD]

But how does that relate to the rim width? My rear wheel has "J17 XMT 3.50 DOT" cast into it. The 3.50 looks like it might relate to the rim width where the beads seat, but I can't measure it accurately with the tyre on.

The 3.50 is the rim width in inches. If you look up any of the major tyre manufacturer's websites you should find a fitment guide for your bike which will give the recommended tyre width and profile. You should also be able to find a generic recommendation for a 3.50 inch rim.

For example, the Bridgestone Fitment Guide recommends a 110/70-17 front and a 140/70-17 rear (BT39 or BT45) for the Zeal, so your rear tyre looks to be fine for size.

[erik]

Thanks for explaining that

It looks like the zzr250 is also supposed to have a 140/70/17 according to the bridgestone site.
I was kinda hoping my tyre would be the wrong size so I could look forward to trying something else when this one wears out.

I had a look on the pirelli site (tyre catalogue pdf document), and it looks like I could fit anything from a 130/70/17 to a 150/70/17.
Hmmm...

If I tried a narrower tyre, it wouldn't be squished in so much so maybe the profile would be less rounded, which might make it easier to get rid of the chicken strips.

[gav]

You need to find out what the tyre manufacturers recommend for your bike, bit like show sizes, they vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. As you've found Bridgestone may recommend a 140/70 and Pirelli a 150/70 but once fitted onto the rim, may find very little difference in size. Can't go wrong with a specified tyre for your bike!

[cammo]

yeah the guys at the bike shop i went too looked through a few books before they came to agree on the right size for my bike. the 130 feels really good, the bike rolls from side to side through corners much nicer and i dont have to sort of pull the bike up after a corner beofre the next. and with my chicken strips...only got half a cm left and be a bit cautious while scrubing in the new tyre...should be gone before the track day...if not, thats my goal for the day! haha.

the ride home through the twisties was real awsome, i learnt heaps about my bike and found that by pushing/pulling the handel bars in the right dirrection the bike would just fall into corner really nicly (im just new to riding, i assume thats like common practice?? if not then ahh well works for me, lol) and gave me heaps more confidence in cornering at speed and through right hand corners which i am not soo confident in, so it was really good!

so yeah a great improvment over all!!

p.s thanks TS for the recomendation...but i forgot all about that, thats just what the shop had and recomended...well actually i think thats the only tyre they had...so ummm yeah... u get my drift anyway!

[BNZ]

Yeah a 130 or 140 is what you would want on the ZZR. Any fatter and it will seriously effect your cornering ability in a negative way. Also when you have such a light bike you can aquaplane on wet roads if your tyre has too much surface area on the road.

[flyin]

I run a 140/70/17 on my ZZR, same as the original and thats what it says in the manual too (got it in pdf if u wnt it..)

i'm down to 1.6mm on my rear already (went for a wof yesterday) so will need a new tyre in the next week or so..... guess i betta go do sum burnouts to get ma moneysworth and all.... hehe

i'm running IRC rx o1's front and back and can get them fairly cheap from tss in the hutt. however ive heard a few not so nice comments about these and am thinking about goin for the Pirelli, how much softer are they and any idea what sorta kms i could get from them?...... ride fairly hard... and i got 12000km outta the IRC rear

[James Deuce]

the ride home through the twisties was real awsome, i learnt heaps about my bike and found that by pushing/pulling the handel bars in the right dirrection the bike would just fall into corner really nicly (im just new to riding, i assume thats like common practice??

That's called countersteering.

Push on the left bar to turn left, and the bike rolls around the tyre as the wheel deflects to the right.

It's counter intuitive, but it's how "it" works!

Well done on getting that sorted .

[Hitcher]

It's counter intuitive, but it's how "it" works!

Ye cannae change the laws of physics, Jim!

[vifferman]

i'm running IRC rx o1's front and back and can get them fairly cheap from tss in the hutt. however ive heard a few not so nice comments about these and am thinking about goin for the Pirelli, how much softer are they and any idea what sorta kms i could get from them?...... ride fairly hard... and i got 12000km outta the IRC rear

Welp, I had IRCs on the VFR750 when I got it, and they didn't last any longer than the tyres I replaced them with. But (BUT!) they felt a lot crapper: more unsettled, less feel as to what the bike was doing, and I wasn't confident in leaning as far.
So, I reckon (on the basis of that statistically invalid, unscientifically evaluated, single-measure sample) that it's a waste of time going for cheaper tyres, unless you ride very very carefully and slowly and money is more important than ride quality.
Oh - two measures: I had an oversized IRC on the back of my VF500 too, and it was crap (CRAP! I tells ya). It were hard and not very grippy.
Oh - you might have to make that three (3!!). I cannae remember noo (me brane's fecked) what tyres were on the XBR500RS Mutant, but I have a strange feeling. I also suspect that they may have been IRCs, as I spent stuff all money on them, and they was shite. Memorable, they was, for their shiteness.

The Spanish Inquisition will doubtless be along soon.
Just as soon you think it's safe.
Shod with IRC sandals, prolly....

[cammo]

I run a 140/70/17 on my ZZR, same as the original and thats what it says in the manual too (got it in pdf if u wnt it..)

yeah bro that would be wicked..can you pm me that or do you need to email it or sumthing...

i'm running IRC rx o1's front and back and can get them fairly cheap from tss in the hutt. however ive heard a few not so nice comments about these and am thinking about goin for the Pirelli, how much softer are they and any idea what sorta kms i could get from them?...... ride fairly hard... and i got 12000km outta the IRC rear

i have no idea how many k's you get out of a perelli tyre but ive herd bad thing about irc tyres..."can you put a price on your life" as a lot of people say around these parts...and my back tyre was only $175 fitted so its not heaps compared to bigger bikes. i sure wouldnt buy cheap tyres, i like to make out of each corner i go into!!(lol)