The Ahole who owned the bike before me put on a Michelin Macadum in rear 170/60/17(Then a dunlop on the front which pisses me off lol i hate having mismatched tires) on my f4i and I know the stock size is 180/55/17. Since i got the bike(end of last summer) I put about 1500 miles on her. Does this smaller tire effect anything? I mean the bike rides great but this is my first bike so I guess I wouldnt really know how its suppose to ride. Im thinking about just braking down and buying a new set but since it still has good tread I might try and get another summer out of it. What do you guys think? Thanks

 

it's going to have a little quicker turn in. I wouldn't ride with it. Our bikes are engineered to have what they are on them. You start changing tires sizes and profiles and it just isn't going to be the best that it can be. Is it dangerous? Probably not

 

That's blatantly false. It is all rider dependent. Style and type of riding dictates what is going to be the best.

 

If thats the case, then we should put on some 19F/16R cruiser wheels. It wont hurt anything and it may even be better if the rider prefers.

Please quit the shenanigans. You can ride with what you got but more than likely it will not handle well nor operate how HRC expected it to.

 

There is nothing in the least blatantly false about that statement. Even when taken out of context. Honda builds the bikes that way they are for a reason. The rim size and tire size, contact patch, and profile, coincide with the suspension geometry of the bike they are put on and dictated that way because it is what offers the best combination of cornering, traction, and handling.


Edit: Before you start telling members that my statements are false go throw a 190 or even a 200 rear tire on your bike then come back and tell us it doesn't change the way your bike handles for the worse.

http://www.sportrider.com/tech/tires...ize/index.html : read this

 

Thats rediculous to generalize tire sizes and the results of changing them like that. Tires sizes are the result of what you want the bike to do. If he wants better gas milage and quicker turn in then the smaller tire is perfect and makes the bike do it better then the original tire, therefor not keeping the bike from being the best it can be. If he wants to race and needs more tire for leaning over then a larger rear rim and 190 series tire is a good choice and will again make the bike better. When you change tire sizes it does throw off the factory geometry of the bike, but again this means nothing as you can adjust the suspension for the change [not to mention most people change the suspension and factory geometry as soon as they get a bike].

OP: I wouldn't worry about the tire mis-match [I replaced tires as they died and had a pilot sport front/power rear, then a 2ct rear with a power front, and finally a pure front with a 2ct rear with no problems at all] but I myself would change the rear back to a 180/55/17. Its the perfect all around tire size for a 600cc sportbike.

 

Finally, someone who gets it...thanks bored!


Trevitt is talking about the 190/50 (which in my opinion is a big mistake in that article), not the 190/55 or the 200/55 (which I have on my race bike). The aspect ratio of the tire is what keeps the profile close to being the same. Read more about tires. Dunlop's heavily touted champ of tires (at least in club racing) the NTEC doesn't even come in a 180 because most racers at that level don't run them on their motorcycles. And none of the guys I know in the CMRA are running different sized rims...all are on 5.5" which comes stock on so many bikes.

The motorcycles come from the factory with the most affordable package that will benefit the most people in a broad range. That in NO WAY means it is ideal for one rider over another. Some will need touring tires with a skinnier, flatter profile and some will need bigger tires with more contact patch. All these changes can be made to the bike without any problem because suspension can be changed to accomodate them.

I'm starting to realize there is a LOT of "if Honda did it, it must be infalliable" thinking on this website and that's just false. And it's also false for every single motorcycle manufacturer out there. Go take a look at a properly set up 600RR for racing and compare it with one on the showroom....they're completely different. Different strokes for different folks. Think outside the box.

 

If you are going to change your tire size to 170 or 190 in order to get the most out of it for your preference you should really change your rim size as well to match that width of that tire.

I completely agree with JP that if you put a different width on your bike it will not run to its full capabilities, But then again if you don't care about the best performance on your bike and want better millage then by all means run the smaller lighter tire, But my question is Why would you buy a high performance machine to have it not run up to its potential because you want to save a couple cents at the pump.

 

Wow thanks everybody for the great info! With that being said since I dont race at the track or knee drag I should be ok then right? If so ill try and get one more summer out of the 170 since it still has good tread and i spent too much already this winter on the bike lol

 

the tire size isnt gonna affect you so much on the streets as long as like said above you arent dragin a knee or racing track style.. of course you should always try and keep the original size on but if not it wont affect you much..