Yeah, yeah I've heard that before, but I was at a WMRRA race 6 years ago and the SV guys were bugging me to make a 180/55 slick in the SC1 compound. I told them sorry but the 180/60 size out sells the 180/55 by like 100 to 1. But they told me that the 180/60 won't fit so I asked them what rain tire do you use and they told me the 190/60R17 Pirelli. Huh, what did you just tell me? So what I found was that SOME SVs need may need to change up the rear brake stay, or shim the sprockets, or use a different chain to fit the 180/60R17. And we did find a SV is too light or have enough horsepower to use the SC0 compound effectively. So for sprints SC1 slick is a great tire and then you have the SC2 & SC3 for longer life. And of course there is the DOT track day (TD) tire too.
Michelin Power Cup EVo 180/55/17 12lbs 7oz...... This is a DOT tire Michelin Evo Slick 120/70/17 8lbs 8 oz......This is a slick tire For what it's worth, the DOT front tire is 1lb heavier than the the slick (not sure what the DOT front is called)
That 180/60 is too big for an SV. I have one on a gsxr rim (for SV), right now. It will "fit" but you'll destroy your warmers getting them on and off; It probably will be rubbing the chain and part of the swing arm when the tire flexes.
Not saying either tire is better but the Michelin is substantially lighter than pirelli or Dunlop. I tried to switch to pirelli but could never replicate the same setup I have with the Michelin.
Huh? a 160 slick is 165mm on a 4.5 rim a 180/55 slick on a 5.5 rim is 181mm a 180/60 slick is 190mm on a 5.5 rim
Just a bit bigger in diameter, don't remember the exact numbers, but it only required a 1/2 a turn of ride height adjustment. 160 was pinched on a 4.5 inch rim, 180/55 wasn't on a 5.5 and the combo of a stock ZX6r wheel and 180 was lighter than the 4.5 in 400 wheel with a 160. Swingarm width on the Kawi ZXR400 is wider than the mid 2000 kawi 600's so it was an easy fit. Never could get a soft to work without tearing on the 160, works great with the 180.
One of the reasons for this, at least on a first gen SV650: When I made the switch to the 180/60, I had much less clearance than my friend who'd been running it all season. We were running that same gearing, but his chain was longer. I couldn't make my chain that long without running out of adjustment. WTF??? Of course I was doing all this right in the middle of a race weekend! After some head scratching, I got out the tape measure. Turns out his swingarm was 10mm longer than mine! After consulting with Zoran @ TWF it was determined that there are two different swingarms, it depends if your bike started out as a N (naked) model or an S (sport) model. I swapped from an S to an N swingarm that Z hooked me up with, and now I can run the gearing I want, I can get the warmers on and off, and the only rubber I get on the swingarm is from dingleberries coming off the edge of the tire.
A 160/60R17 P Slick is 631mm in diameter A 180/55R17 of the same brand is 641mm in diameter And a 180/60R17 is 656 mm in diameter A 160/60R17 is built in a mold that shapes the tire to fit perfectly on a 4.5 wide rim so that tire can't pinched. But you may not like the profile or it's was mounted on a 4.0 rim? And a 160/60R17 can also be fitted on a 5.0 wide rim. A 180/55R17 is built in the same way but on a 5.5 wide wheel and isn't designed or built for use on 4.5 or 5.0 rims, and a 180/55 or 60 used on those rims would be pinched.
I checked with the Dan Zlock because his SV big bore superbikes dominated at OMRRA and WMRRA and he confirmed my post. They space their sprockets out a bit and run a custom floating rear brake set up and have no problems fitting warmers. And since we are talking about superbikes making a few changes to run the faster tire makes sense, right? And he did say their rider Jervis SOMETIMES used the SCO but only at Portland when it's greasy, but damn he's fast and that bike has big horsepower.
So the 180/55 is 10mm more in diameter, not much. That's funny about it being a perfect fit for the 4.5 inch wheel, I ran a 4.5 in rear and couldn't get to the edge of the tire with the 160, even dragging elbows and body parts, it certainly wasn't perfect. Funny thing was when running michelins or dunlops I didn't have the chicken strips. Running a 180/55 on a 5.5 inch wheel was much better and lighter too. But what would I know, I only raced that bike for 10 years.
Oli is very fast, has more experience on Pirelli's than 99.9% of racers I know, and that SB SV Dan had him on was also a BEAST.
I remember Walt Schaefer would be shaving down tires when not too busy for both of those types of racing. They only need rubber in certain areas and I know some of the longer distance stuff the lack of extra rubber helps with heat a lot. I actually take a file to mine, only the sides though and right before I head to Starbucks ;-)
Michelin Power Cup Evo 120/70 = 9.15 lbs. Power Cup Evo 180/55 = 12.35 lbs Both weights include the product stickers and glue
Let me clarify, ALL tire companies must follow world wide tire engineering/manufacturing standards and this means a 160/60R17 is designed/built for 4.5 inch rim, a 180/55R17 for a 5.5 inch rim, and a 190/55 or 200/55R17 for a 6.0 inch rim. So in your case not to get to the edge of the tire does not relate to how it was built, it's probably related to the profile and width. But what do I know, I have a degree in photography?
