Tyres.

Where do I start ?

Firstly I'm no tyre expert, I believe tyres are down to personal choice. I have mixed mine, Pirelli on the front and Continental on the rear.

The boring stuff first:-

The recommended sizes:- Front 110 90 v18, rear 130 90 v17. I am told by a mechanic that should you put anything other than these sizes on you bike, you do stand a chance in the event of an accident (god forbid) of giving your tight arsed insurers a get out clause.

The fatherly speech out the way here we go. I spoke to several tyre companies and non would recommend anything other than the above (Boring gits) they all said however if I asked for a 150 80 17 for the rear and a 120 80 18 for the front they would fit it at my own risk.

What risk? They didn't know. It could however affect handling. How? They didn't know. Well could it affect it for the better? The manufacturers of the tyres and bikes work in collaboration to get the best out of each machine however each individual would find differing handling characteristics from the various sizes. In short they didn't know. I asked how over/under sized front tyres affected handling they didn't know, the same applied for the rear. If anyone has any idea please share it with us on the   Message board

Each tyre dealer had his preferred tyre. Bridgestone to Metzeler. I had Pirelli Match on my 13 when I brought but the rear looked to skinny. Hence I replaced it with the Conti sport 140 80 17. It's a lot wider and there's still room for a wider one. The front is still the match and the 13 handles better than before, it goes in the direction I haul it not where it wants to go unlike before.

A pal had a 160 on the back but it didn't fit to well, I can't remember the profile though.

I will be putting a 150 on the back when the sport is dead (soon) in fact I've been toying with the idea of taking the swinging arm off and grinding the seam off and re-welding it up flush then trying even wider. If you've done this tell me how it went and what size ect.  Message board

I'm also toying with the ides of a 120/130 on the front. However I've not thought seriously about it or looked at the space available, I just like the idea of fat tyres.

I've probably added confusion to the long running debate, tyre pattern also means a lot to me if I don't like the tread I will not buy the brand.

So to help the misguided and confused among you if you fill in the survey below to assist your brothers to choose the tyres you like best.