V11 Sport Tires

[Guest ridethere]

Hey, folks. I'll apologize in advance if this has been covered previously.

 

I'm considering the purchace of an '01 V11 Sport. I have read that the rear wheel is too narrow for the size tire it comes with. First off, how wide is the wheel and is it true the OEM tire (a 170, I think) is too "pinched" on that rim. Second, assuming the 170 is too wide, is there room for a 160/70 tire? I would use the 70-aspect ratio (as opposed to the more common 60-section) tire in order to maintain front/rear weight balance, which I understand is already a bit rear-heavy on this bike. The taller rear tire would keep weight on the front. Am I making sense? Is this even an issue?

 

Thanks for any help.

[jtucker]

I use a 160/60, but I've also dropped the front end down a bit. Works great.

[dlaing]

I too, switched to a 160/60. It was unstable at high speeds at first and then I raised the rear end(pre-loaded springs which decreased sag) and lowered the front end(lowered clamps on forks).

It is now better than ever. The 170/60 works but the 160/60 works better.

A 160/70 would also probably be ok. I am pretty sure it would be better than the 170/60. But I don't know enough to predict.

I am not sure if raising the rear 1.6 cm will put much more weight on the front end. I think that is more of a perception you get on your wrists. I may be wrong.

Perhaps putting the battery in front of the oil pan would improve the balance.

(You might have to go to two smaller batteries to fit there.)

But once you fill the battery hole with tools your weight will be messed up again

Prices have never been lower for a Sport or LeMans.

Go for it! Also a great time to get a Power Commander for half price, at K&N

[Janusz]

I switched to 160/60 and got better handling AND wear as a reward.

 

As far as rear/front height balance my experience is this: from the factory the rear preload is (at least on my bike was) set very low and under normal weight man the sag is way too much. Under my 140 lbs son the sag was 34 mm - just about right.

 

Before any tire/handling decisions my advice would be to set the available suspension to the possible optimum. It makes the hell of a difference on our bikes.

[callison]

I'm running the Metzler Sportec M1's on my V11TT in the stock sizes. I like them but have no idea what kind of mileage they'll yield. When they're gone, I will change to the Pirelli MTR23/24's in the 160/70 size. I use those on my Sport 1100i and after seven sets of them I know that they'll give me about 7500 miles. I also like the way the Pirelli's behave.

[Guest ridethere]

Thanks, fellas.

 

[Paul Minnaert]

I have allways used pirelli dragons , but now I have a bridgestone bt010 front, this is realy a great tyre. Steering si so much lighter, morer easy in the corner. Even riding in the city is an improvment.

 

Riding height front or back doesn't do much with the bikes front/rear ratio, but changes the steeringhead angle and trail. Thats where you notice the difference. What it might do is move your body more to the front, and change the weight on the front from your body. As lowering the clipons also does.