Best Tire Size for Handling

[Joesmoe]

Thank you ! @1olbull

And some folks run the one size smaller Michelin Pilot on the front.

 

[IMFASTTOO]

Rear tires often have three compounds with the firmest in center and softer moving towards outer edges. This can give more grip when leaned over than a mono compound front tire. The 150-70 profile also matches well with the 240 rear reducing "understeer" from a narrower 140 profile.

I dont use mono compound front tires and the 140 front quickens the steering great for running the twisty tight turns on our back roads a big improvement over the 150 And I weigh 170 lbs 100 lbs lighter than the big boys

 

[John Miller]

Lots of us are running AVON Cobra Chromes, myself included- in the stock sizes - a lot with stock suspension and some with modded suspension - read the threads relating to the Cobra Chrome's and you can see what is being said about those who are running with them - plenty of good reports (haven't seen a bad one yet). Avon did have a recall for the rear 240/50/16 that's over with now I think.

 

[barbagris]

Rear tires often have three compounds with the firmest in center and softer moving towards outer edges. This can give more grip when leaned over than a mono compound front tire. The 150-70 profile also matches well with the 240 rear reducing "understeer" from a narrower 140 profile.

I'm now on my 3rd "rear on front" - From this experience it's not JUST the 150/70 size in itself. I had a Bridgestone 150/70 after the Azaro but the Road-5 outclasses it by a lang margin. Not just the grip, but it's the roll in - The Crown Profile imo makes a huge difference- it seems to match the 240/55 better.

My personal belief is that a slightly narrower rear would improve things. But I'm past the stage where I am going to try and make the R3 handle like a Sports Bike - because it can't.

 

[Speedy]

The Avon Azaro was the first rear tire I used on the R3 front as well. And no, I wasn't the first running rears on the front. Barbagris" comments on his experiences pushed me to try the Azaro. I moved from a 140 profile to a 150 to put more rubber on the road. I will be using a Road 5 next as well.

I love to experiment. Because I have the skills to do so, I change and try things often. If it works all is good: if not I move on to something else. (I don't try stuff stupidly however. I am seldom surprised.)

 

[IMFASTTOO]

This is NOT a new thing and has been done by many, many riders with great success!
It not only works well, you will also get much better mileage with it.

THE COMMANDER II gets great mileage I did try a rear on the front on the CF wheels that came with it and it had a CT rear and it handled like POOP, HORRIBLE , CRAPPY

 

[MIG]

Ya just had to put my butt to work . . .

THANKS!!!
-MIG

 

[MIG]

I asked you some years ago when you put out this wonderful gem -- if you would parametrically provide the equivalent chart for your Touring brethren. Did you ? Would you ?

@Boog -- you "know" this answer.

When a vehicle is accelerated by a turning force (as opposed to a rocket engine), there is (not nice to fool Mother Nature) an equal and opposite reaction.

Power delivered, in our case, to the rear wheel, causes the well-known squat in the rear, and in the extreme, a lifting of the front as the rear wheel attempts to rotate the bike about the rear axle. In practical terms, what we understand is that there is an effective weight transfer to the rear, so the rear benefits from more traction, and during acceleration is when you want the most traction, and because of the weight transfer, that makes sense to do in the rear.

So the tire designed for the rear, can be be advantageously biased to improve grip in that direction, as the cat has claws on the front of its paws to help it pull itself forward.

Change the vector of the acceleration to the opposite direction as we attempt to slow and stop, and the same physics is working, this time trying to remove energy from the system using the brakes to turn that energy into heat. Similarly, the brakes are attempting to rotate the bike forward over the front wheel, resulting in the well known dive when braking. This is effectively weight transfer to the front, improving traction in the front - as much as 90%. Designers of front tires can bias the the grip in the "backup" direction to improve braking. Using the example of the cat and its claws, one method a cat *could* use if it thought its rearward bias were useful for braking, is jump up in the air and swap ends, once landing, all claws would be facing aft -- still "pulling" by their original design, though in this case, pulling in the negative direction to help it stop.

So a tire designed for the rear, to pull like the cat's claws, needs to be reversed if put on the front.

As for mileage, that is not related to the direction of the tire on the axle -- more an endorsement of using that tire.

Great analogy... appreciate this! Learning has occurred...
-MIG

 

[1K9]

Lots of us are running AVON Cobra Chromes, myself included- in the stock sizes - a lot with stock suspension and some with modded suspension - read the threads relating to the Cobra Chrome's and you can see what is being said about those who are running with them - plenty of good reports (haven't seen a bad one yet). Avon did have a recall for the rear 240/50/16 that's over with now I think.

I looked at the chromes and I can buy two Exedras for the price of one chrome How much gooder can it be? Keeping the exedras.

 

[John Miller]

I looked at the chromes and I can buy two Exedras for the price of one chrome How much gooder can it be? Keeping the exedras.

Well you will never know then.

Oh I forgot to add that all the new Rockets have Avon Chromes fitted as standard...