Tire size

[PMC FJRider]

2 Questions. For the Metzeler Roadtech, the service manual says to use the Z6C (rear), & Z6G (front). The question being the "C" & "G" after the Z6, what do they mean? After doing some WWW searching, I noticed that most tire places do not have these letters afterwards on their Z6's, and the places that do have these tires cost more. Why?

Second question, how much of a difference (handling, contact patch, gas milage, etc) is there between the 180/55, & the 190/50 tire? Thx

DK

 

[vectervp1]

2 Questions. For the Metzeler Roadtech, the service manual says to use the Z6C (rear), & Z6G (front). The question being the "C" & "G" after the Z6, what do they mean? After doing some WWW searching, I noticed that most tire places do not have these letters afterwards on their Z6's, and the places that do have these tires cost more. Why?
Second question, how much of a difference (handling, contact patch, gas milage, etc) is there between the 180/55, & the 190/50 tire? Thx

DK

Dont know what the letters at the end mean, but I would not use Metzeler tires on any of my bikes. There are alot better choices out there.

As for the second question.... wider tire means harder to turn in and cost more money. My 02' CBR 954 came stock with a 190/50 and the popular thing to do was change to a 180/55 to improve handling.

 

[Mike-H]

2 Questions. For the Metzeler Roadtech, the service manual says to use the Z6C (rear), & Z6G (front). The question being the "C" & "G" after the Z6, what do they mean? After doing some WWW searching, I noticed that most tire places do not have these letters afterwards on their Z6's, and the places that do have these tires cost more. Why?
Second question, how much of a difference (handling, contact patch, gas milage, etc) is there between the 180/55, & the 190/50 tire? Thx

DK

Dont know what the letters at the end mean, but I would not use Metzeler tires on any of my bikes. There are alot better choices out there.

As for the second question.... wider tire means harder to turn in and cost more money. My 02' CBR 954 came stock with a 190/50 and the popular thing to do was change to a 180/55 to improve handling.

Remember....tires are always subject to personal opinion (read jaded)....no necessarily the truth.... ....

 

[FJRottie]

From the Metzeler Website I get this;

Your Z6G (front) is - 120/70ZR17M/CTL (58W) ( G ) RODZ6F

Your Z6C (rear) is - 180/55ZR17M/CTL (73W) ( C ) RODZ6

which are the exact tires mentioned in the FJR service manual.

Mainly they are just called 120/70 ZR 17 M/C (58 W) and 180/55 ZR 17 M/C (73 W),

so you won't see the G and C most of the time.

As far as brand names, very subjective.

A 180/55 compared to a 190/50....

Specification....Sidewall....Radius....Diameter....Circumference....Revs/Mile....Difference

180/55-17.........3.9in.........12.4in........24.8in..........77.9in.............813..........0%

190/50-17.........3.7in.........12.2in........24.5in..........76.9in.............824..........-1.3%

....I don't have any riding experience to compare the two sizes but think it is very minimal.

 

[ohiofjr]

I don't know about our Yammies but that small a difference was enough to make my old FZR wobble like a three legged washing machine on spin cycle. Worst of all it wobbled down to 85 slowing down but under power it did not start to wobble until 90. Just saying be very careful on that test ride.

 

[tripletango]

The AE came with the new Metz. Found they contributed to heavy steering, lot of wrestling with the bike. They were the longest wearing of any tire I have had on the FJRs. Got 9000 out of em. Most others including Avons went about 6000 on the rear. But maybe I just ride the AE slower. The Diablo Stradas I have on there now transform the steering - it feels almost intuitive when entering a corner, tiny amount of counter steering required - bit like the Avons. The bike sets up and tracks beautifully thru the corner. Like em.

 

[exskibum]

I'm too lazy to go check the manual to see how wide the rear wheel is, but a 180 is usually put on a 5.5 inch wide wheel, and a 190 should be on a 6.00 or 6.25 inch wheel. There is a significant difference in handling if you simply put a 190 on a 5.5 inch wheel. The reason is that the tire profile changes, with the shoulders becoming steeper.

Those who have done this on Blackbirds (which run the same tire sizes as the FJR) have reported worsening conditions as the tire wears a bit, with the rear end becoming prone to stepping out. A riding buddy had a 190 on the back of his 98 Blackbird, and with me on my 97 Blackbird with a 180 (both bikes shod with Michelin Pilot Powers front and rear), he reported a near impossibility keeping up in the corners due to squirreliness and lack of confidence in the rear. He went back to a 180, which cured the problem and will NEVER put a 190 on his rear again, unless he buys a wider wheel. Kevin Cameron writes about it in one of his books, and the topic has been discussed at length on a couple Blackbird sites.

 

[PMC FJRider]

I went with the Metzeler's. I found out that the letter "C", & "G", are specific to certain bikes. I suppose this is for the bike maker to charge a little more. I may be wrong though. I put the 190/50 on the back. 300 miles later, and no complaints. As a matter of fact, where I ride through the FWY construction areas, the bike handles better now than with the old tires. Now I suppose this is because of the fact that the old tires were worn down pretty bad (11418 miles on them). But I will just keep telling myself "it's because of the wider tire"

DK

 

[brucen]

A Triumph I had had 190s when I bought it. I changed to 180s when the tires wore out & liked the change. The bike turned into corners easier and felt better overall. If the bike is designed for 180s I wouldn't change.

 

[SkooterG]

Going to a 190? Why ignore those pesky design engineer's good hard work and try and reinvent the wheel?

"Because this one goes to eleven."

 

[twowheelnut]

Going to a 190? Why ignore those pesky design engineer's good hard work and try and reinvent the wheel?

Oh, you are so gonna regret making that statement! Heh, heh... <Copying to clipboard for future abuse.>