Was looking at Contiforce for the rear. I'm now drooling over a Pilot Road 3. Thing is, closest fit is a 150/70 or a 160/60, of which, I'd prefer the 160/60. With that in mind, I called my local Husky dealer and he said that a 160/60 "might" not clear the chain guard, so he recommended going with the 150/70. Anyone know if a 160/60 will fit without mods or clearance issues?
Your bike still has the chain guard on it? That was the first thing I took off and threw in a box. It's a lot easier to change wheels now. Anyhoo...the 160 is, in theory, only 5mm wider on one side than the 150. How much clearance do you have now with the stockers? I have the Contiforce SMs on my SM wheelset on my TE630. Very nice tires. A 160 would be pretty cool, though. BUT -- the guys at Motostrano highly recommend against a sportbike tire on a lightweight SM bike. Too much tire -- stiff and rated for much heavier bikes.
Yeah, I took the guard off when I first got my bike too, but the exhaust kept getting "gunkafied" with chain oil, mixed with road debris from the chain, so I was forced to put it back on, after months of scrubbing and cleaning the pipe. Now, it's not an issue. Pipe looks much cleaner. I only have to wash it when I wash the bike. Plus, the guard doesn't look as goofy as it did when I first got the bike. Again, prolly' cos' I now know the cost of cleaning if you remove it. It would be different if the pipe was on the right or non-chain side of the bike. Well, I guess it's time to give up on the 160/60. Totally sucks, cos' the Road 3 is the only tire with two compounds that I know of. I commute mostly highway to work, so I really need a tire that has a hard compound down the center. Maybe I'll default to the 150/70 Road 3's, since that's the only 150 they offer. We'll see. So, for now, boils down to a 150/60 Contiforce or a 150/70 Pilot Road 3.
That's the hitch. If you squeeze a 160 on a 4.25" wide wheel, it'll deform the profile a bit and grip might not be as linear over all lean angles...
Here are some pics of the Bridgestone BT021 160/60/17 on m 2008 610SM. I got 5000 miles out of this tire. Look about 75% of the way down the page. http://www.supermotojunkie.com/show...for-610-Riders&p=901799&highlight=#post901799
Finally ordered a rear tire today... drum roll... I went with a ContiForce size 150/60/17. The stock spec, as many have suggested. Hope I get at at least 4K to 5K miles out of it. Once again, thanks for the feedback.
