Mate,..yup you will not use up all the tread on a 190,but there really is nowt to worry about running a 180.At the end of the day its down to rider prefferance.Rog runs a 180 on his bike and has'nt had any probs,and he's no slouch.I had a 180 on my 999bip and did'nt like it,so I'm sticking with the 190 on the 'S'.

Oi Loikes 180's...cos neither of my bikes will take a 190 happily so I've never tried.

It all depends on the profile of the tyre IMHO. With Bridgestones or Pirellis on my ST I only have a couple of millimetres unscrubbed on the rear but the front has much wider strips. When I put Dunlop 207RR's on it the wear on the front went right to the edge but left a centimetre sized chicken strip at the rear.

No other changes to suspension, ride height, tyre sizes, pressures or riding style but swapping tyres swapped the end that had chicken strips.

On balance, I know that the nearer to the edge of a tyre you get the smaller the contact patch becomes and the less grip you've got - so I'd rather stay with a front tyre that copes with my speed of riding without troubling the edge of the tyre (except on trackdays).

I don't mind the odd little slide from the rear tyre, it's when the front lets go that I get skidmarks :eek:

Jools, I believe the reason your front 207 went to the edge is that the profile is very triangulated, you drop into a corner quicker with more tyre (when at full lean) in contact with the tarmac than the pirelli etc, as they roll in.


Chris:burn: