Anyone running or has used a 190/60/17 rear on the 14?

Pro's...Con's?

Thanks in advance

Who makes a 190/60?

They do make 190/60s. I thought this was exclusive to racing tires though.

I see only two choices for that size, both cruiser tires. Avon AV72 Cobra's and Bridgestone G850's.

so two questions. Why would you want to? and what would be the advantage of running this size and type of tire on a bike that needs at least a sticky sport touring tire to keep up with 200hp?

If you need the taller tire for gearing, run a 190/55 and change sprockets. LOTS more choices available in that size.

* Last updated by: rod442 on 3/19/2016 @ 1:41 AM *

I have never gone back to 190/50 after going to 190/55. The 190/55 does make the bike tip in easier but it's still such a big bike for cornering, I doubt if I really need the increased flickability a taller tire offers. I don't want to make very aggressive changes in cornering angle even if the tire makes it easier. The taller tire should decrease wheelies and many people think the side contact patch is larger and that this increases cornering grip. I guess the laws of of physics do not agree with that if you look in the textbooks. Static friction (or stiction) is the same regardless of the area of contact between the objects. This is the case in lab experiments but I find it hard to believe there are not several other forces at work in a tire's cornering grip in the real world. For myself, I think a 55 is better looking and stays looking rounder (for those of us who wear the center faster than the sides) than 190/50. A 190/60 is probably even better in this regard. It might still look round up to the point it is worn out on the middle.

Yes rook that's right, consider this simple experiement. A 700 lb bike with 2" sq of contact with the pavement. That'd be 350 lbs per sq in. Now, let's say you had 100 sq feet. Now it would be 7 lbs per sq in.

Consider removing gravity all together. It would matter, 2 sq in or 100 sq ft. No

There are tires if you're crazy enough to use them. Rook might since he's definitely crazy!

http://stores.racetireservice.com/DUNLOP-D211GPA-190-60 is an example

I think my new 200/55 will be close to a 190/60, maybe not quite as tall as some. Regarding the contact area and its effect on stiction, I can accept the idea that a skinny tire against the pavement will resist gravity just as well as a fat tire when there is no motion involved. So stand both tires on a tilt table and raise it --skinny and fat will both slip at the same angle. With a bike moving around a corner, there is torque being applied to the wheel and centrifugal force as well as the bike's orientation to gravity. Also irregularities in the road surface and suspension movement and who knows what else? Hehe--if there is an engineer out there who wants to trust in a small contact patch as much as big one, have at 'er. There's got to be a reason tire engineers make road racing tires with a wide contact patch and lower tire pressure to make it even wider.

Often cited yet interesting race tire fact: dragster tires do not provide better grip because of larger contact patch; heat from the tire is dispensed through the larger contact area and that prevents total loss of traction from melting rubber. If it weren't for the heat, a small tire would work just as well.

In any case the proof is in the pudding- how does a given tire of a certain size preform in the real world? Comparing race tires to street tires is tangerines to oranges. Race tires are designed to perform over a very narrow range of conditions and temperatures- the latter of which must be attained to elicit max grip. Street tires must perform in wet, dry, hot, cold and sketchy pavement conditions.

If anyone has spooned on a 190/60, please chime in and do tell how it performs compared to a 190/50 or 190/55 of the same ilk.

* Last updated by: Danno on 3/19/2016 @ 7:12 PM *

HaHa, love it....

Yes, I believe the original person who proved friction vs contact patch demonstrated
it with a brick on a table tied to a weight hanging over the table edge.

It took the same amount of weight hanging over the edge to move the brick
whether the brick was on it's end or laying flat.

Something like the surfaces are much like a bunch of hills and valleys. The brick
on it's side the hills and valleys only protrude into each other so far, flip the
brick on end, increasing the weight and the hills and valleys protrude deeper into each other providing
equal grip.

When people talk about cornering and trail braking into to the corner and that
helps to flatten the front tire out to increase contact patch and grip, it's really
just adding more weight on the front tire that's increasing grip not size of contact patch.

Running lower tire pressures I'm sure is not about increasing contact patch as much as it
is about getting heat into the tire and changing the rubbers surface tension, adding other
dimension to grip. I would guess if the brick above was made out of rubber that changing the temperature
of the brick thus it's surface tension would require more weight to pull it off the table.

I'm sure there's a fail point to any of the above, contact patch size, weight, surface Material, etc.

It's been discussed repeatedly, using track tires on the street. What I read is consistent generally not recommending it for the big 4 or 5 common reasons (building heat, increased wear, limited heat cycles, cold/wet traction, etc.). But it is possible even with all the caveats of doing so and maybe it not even making sense for the most part. Most likely someone would be better off with Q3s or Supercorsas compared to using a track tire, maybe the same way (with enough experience) of using a track tire on a track > using Q3s or Supercorsas even if the differences are small in terms of performance.

Why don't they make street tires in 190/60? Heck if I know. I suppose tire manufacturers don't think the market would support it OR maybe the tires would be too unstable for the mass consumer market or some other reason altogether.

Running lower pressures increases the size of the contact patch and that's what gives more grip, just as you would run lower pressures on a dirt bike or 4x4 when mud plugging or in snow. Obviously on a high speed road machine there are limits and trade offs to running lower pressures, the most problematic (and dangerous)being tyre flex/deformation. I'm talking road tyres here. Full on race tyres are a whole different ball game, having a much greater response to temperature differences.
Speaking of race tyres I find it hard to believe that in the litigious society the US, and most other countries seem to be these days, anyone would even consider running race tyres on the road. OK until you get pulled or something worse happens. Over here in the UK your insurance cover would be void for a start and you'd be hung out to dry. JMO

Yes, in the US we are lucky to have such minimally enforced laws about modified street vehicles. All they do is look the bike over and if they think you are an ok guy, they just give you the speeding ticket. I've never had a single question about the legality of my mods. yet--we'll see if anyone gives notice to the NOS bottles.