brianmacza Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I had a rear wheel blowout about 2 weeks ago on the way home from work - pissed me off a bit as my Pirelli Angel rear still had about 4k miles left in it. The only tire I had available at short notice was an ex track Metzeler Racetec M1 which I shoehorned on in a bit of a hurry. The tire had done 2 qualifying sessions at a national race event on a ZX10, so the sides were still fine and the main tread in the middle was pretty much virgin territory - no heat cycle damage and I felt pretty much OK with putting it on. What a change - the bike feels like a truck in a straight line, and takes REAL muscle to turn in even at reasonably sane speeds. What happens next is the interesting part tho', as once its in the turn, the bike feels like it wants to keep leaning over and you have to muscle it out the turn. NOT a nice feeling at all. So... from someone who is not a racetrack guru, this is a really bad idea unless you need the extra rubber for straightline acceleration (and even that is dubious because the pinched profile of the tire on an XX rim means that you probably have a smaller contact patch than a 180/55 unless you drop pressure waaay down) so D O N ' T D O I T New Pirelly Angel on order, will put that on this weekend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaygermeister Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Yep, bad idea.... but will get you home. Now the real question is why did the Angel "blow out"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmacza Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 Yep, bad idea.... but will get you home. Now the real question is why did the Angel "blow out"? A big chunk of metal I didn't see until the last second - front passed it, rear hit and it sliced a 4" gash in the sidewall. Was quite exciting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearXX Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 What a change - the bike feels like a truck in a straight line, and takes REAL muscle to turn in even at reasonably sane speeds. What happens next is the interesting part tho', as once its in the turn, the bike feels like it wants to keep leaning over and you have to muscle it out the turn. NOT a nice feeling at all. +1 Been there and done that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TuffguyF4i Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I have heard that the tire actually deforms and tries to roll over on itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmacza Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 I have heard that the tire actually deforms and tries to roll over on itself. I don't see that happening unless pressures are way down - at 2.8 bar its just a bitch hard ride with really shitty handling characteristics. Also... I noticed that my hugger has only about 2mm clearance because of the deformation to the tread profile - it looks like the diameter of the total tire tread is about 8mm larger than a new 180/50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVLXX Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Just to make sure I'm clear on what you did.... and what you are telling others NOT to do. You put a 190/55 17 on a Blackbird with a 5.5" rim. Correct ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmacza Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 Just to make sure I'm clear on what you did.... and what you are telling others NOT to do. You put a 190/55 17 on a Blackbird with a 5.5" rim. Correct ? Yup... stock XX rim. My new REAL tyre goes on tomorrow and I can't wait for it to handle like a '97 XX again rather than a '79 Suzuki GT380 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomek Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 1 ) First of all , what tire have you actually used ? If M1 that would be Sportec , if Racetec it would be k1 OR K2 , etc .Sportec is not a race tire ( trackdays are doable for intermediate rider ) , so my guess is on the racetec . If that was actually Racetec K1 2.8 bar or about 41 psi is insanely high pressure for the race tire . No wonder it would feel like a shit . I`m not Pirelli/Metzeler guy but I would be shocked if they recommend anything higher then 30-31 psi or 2.1 bar . 190/55 needs 6 inch rim period and even with correct size it still takes more effort to lean the bike over vs. 180 /55 . 2) Real race tires are not known for easy handling characteristics , barely any feedback till you start hauling ass . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmacza Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 1 ) First of all , what tire have you actually used ? If M1 that would be Sportec , if Racetec it would be k1 OR K2 , etc .Sportec is not a race tire ( trackdays are doable for intermediate rider ) , so my guess is on the racetec . If that was actually Racetec K1 2.8 bar or about 41 psi is insanely high pressure for the race tire . No wonder it would feel like a shit . I`m not Pirelli/Metzeler guy but I would be shocked if they recommend anything higher then 30-31 psi or 2.1 bar . 190/55 needs 6 inch rim period and even with correct size it still takes more effort to lean the bike over vs. 180 /55 . 2) Real race tires are not known for easy handling characteristics , barely any feedback till you start hauling ass . You're right - its the Racetec. I lowered pressure to 2.2 bar and it still rides like crap. Waiting for the Angel I ordered to arrive so I can start riding again... been using my Alfa 156 for the last 2 weeks. Traffic truly sucks moist ass when you have commuted exclusively by bike for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearXX Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 1 ) First of all , what tire have you actually used ? If M1 that would be Sportec , if Racetec it would be k1 OR K2 , etc .Sportec is not a race tire ( trackdays are doable for intermediate rider ) , so my guess is on the racetec . If that was actually Racetec K1 2.8 bar or about 41 psi is insanely high pressure for the race tire . No wonder it would feel like a shit . I`m not Pirelli/Metzeler guy but I would be shocked if they recommend anything higher then 30-31 psi or 2.1 bar . 190/55 needs 6 inch rim period and even with correct size it still takes more effort to lean the bike over vs. 180 /55 . 2) Real race tires are not known for easy handling characteristics , barely any feedback till you start hauling ass . You're right - its the Racetec. I lowered pressure to 2.2 bar and it still rides like crap. Waiting for the Angel I ordered to arrive so I can start riding again... been using my Alfa 156 for the last 2 weeks. Traffic truly sucks moist ass when you have commuted exclusively by bike for years. Shut the fuck up !!!!! We have 2 feet of snow outside About 7 more weeks before I can take the bike out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmacza Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 You're right - its the Racetec. I lowered pressure to 2.2 bar and it still rides like crap. Waiting for the Angel I ordered to arrive so I can start riding again... been using my Alfa 156 for the last 2 weeks. Traffic truly sucks moist ass when you have commuted exclusively by bike for years. Shut the fuck up !!!!! We have 2 feet of snow outside About 7 more weeks before I can take the bike out Hmmm... even in mid winter the temp only barely gets to freezing point. A 365 day riding season is normal... you sad fuckers need to review your priorities :icon_snooty: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Para045 Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Hmmm... even in mid winter the temp only barely gets to freezing point. A 365 day riding season is normal... you sad fuckers need to review your priorities :icon_snooty: +1 Here in West Australia the main problem has been it's so bloody hot Last few days have been around the 40c (104f) mark, not real comfortable bike riding weather :icon_nono: We're the same in winter if it gets down to ~2c that is a really cold day, most are around 5-6c :icon_think: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrbear Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 You know I hear a lot of people complain about the 190/55 rear tire but I run it and love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrxxquad Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 You know I hear a lot of people complain about the 190/55 rear tire but I run it and love it! ON A 6" RIM I would guess, Chad, So do I. But, on a 5.5, bad idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrbear Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 You know I hear a lot of people complain about the 190/55 rear tire but I run it and love it! ON A 6" RIM I would guess, Chad, So do I. But, on a 5.5, bad idea. oh yeah and I guess everything I got is 6" rims...lol missed that one key bit of info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedEye Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 I needed a new rear tire on short notice very late in the season 2 years ago and ended up getting a used Sportmax 190 because it was local and cheap. The bike never did feel right with it, not only did it turn in like a cement truck but it never felt planted when leaned over. I finally killed the Dunlop (got a screw through it the same day the center tread wore through, fuck yeah) and replaced it with a BT-016 180 today (also used, bought as a spare last year). What a difference. The ZX-14 front end (with new head bearings and a 120/60 tire) helped restore the bike's agility to near normal even with the old single-compound 190 worn flat in the center from commuting . . . with a lightly used 016 in the proper size, it's like the XX suddenly lost a couple hundred pounds. When I'm stuck behind a slow moving vehicle on a cloverleaf I usually amuse myself by using the full width of the lane and weaving around potholes and patches. I found myself constantly correcting my line after getting a lot more turn with a lot less effort than I was used to. Good times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomek Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 120/60 is even worse on the bikes designed to use 120/70 then 190/50 in the rear vs. 180/55 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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