Tyre help please.

Soon I'm gonna be chopping out my SV front end and replacing it with the front end from a 07 GSXR Thou so I'll have the gixers front wheel and a standard SV rear.

At the moment my wheels are wrapped in a pair of Pirelli Diablo tyres and they have too much tread on them to discard just yet but probably not quite enough that anyone would want to buy.

My question is that as my front tyre is a 120/60 and the GSXR wheel is recommended for a 120/70, is it possible to utilise the 120/60 tyre on the new wheel or would I end up becoming quite intimate with the tarmac?

The bike wont be going on track until I've got two new tyres but what are the implications of using the above mentioned tyre combination on the road.

Also could someone recommend a set of tyres for dry roads and track days. The only recommendation I've seen so far is from JHS racing for Avon Viper Sports.

Cheers.

will be fine, its only the height of the tyre that is diff not the width

and avon storms would be fine i should think, seem fine in the dry to me not sure about TD use though

Originally Posted by barwel1992

will be fine, its only the height of the tyre that is diff not the width

and avon storms would be fine i should think, seem fine in the dry to me not sure about TD use though

Happy days. When I come to get the new tyres do I need to match he height of the front and rear tyres.

If I go to Avon and ask for a front to a GSXR and a rear to an SV, I'll end up with a front of 120/70ZR17 and a rear of 160/60ZR17.


Will this effect things like wear, handling and stability. If so should I purchase a 120/70 and a 160/70.

Scratch that... it looks like avon don't make 160/70 tyres

[jambo]

Originally Posted by Chris Bird

Scratch that... it looks like avon don't make 160/70 tyres

Not a great suprise, I'm not sure anyone does.

The tyre reads thus:
160/60R17 -> 160mm wide, hight is 60% of width , Radius of wheel 17 inches

so a 120/60R17 front tyre is a different height to a 160/60R17 rear anyway,

You could fit a 120/60, 120/70 or split the difference and fit a 120/65 front tyre, all will be safe, all will fit the rim (same width & radius) but have slightly different characteristics.

Jambo

Cheers Jambo. That's really helped, even if it highlights the rookie in me.

Without actually having done a track day yet, I think I'd let like to have the bike turn in well and have the largest contact patch possible whilst cornering.

Would the taller tyres provide this?

[jambo]

Originally Posted by Chris Bird

Without actually having done a track day yet, I think I'd let like to have the bike turn in well and have the largest contact patch possible whilst cornering.

Would the taller tyres provide this?

Probably. The taller tyres have a "pointier" profile (cross-section) this means they feel like they're dropping in faster as you start to lean and have more outright rubber on the road at big lean.

At least as relevant to the handling will be the length and characteristics of the GSXR forks. I've ridden and SV with a 120/60 and a 120/70 tyre and the difference isn't big enough to get too upset about

Jambo

Cool beans... Cheers guys, all good advice.