My Ninja has skinny tires. Does this mean I can't take turns as sharp as other bikes?

[fuzzybabybunny]

My 250's tires, especially the rear ones, are a lot skinnier than basically every other bike out there. This has caused me some worry when turning because I'm not sure if I'm going to be slipping out due to the skinny tires.

 

[zerocool84]

Dude you ride a 250. You should not even be thinking about taking turns fast. Learn to finish riding properly first.

 

[theApp]

You can get impressive lean angles with a Ninja 250; more-so than you'd want to do on the street. Don't worry about it, besides when you're leaned over you feel like you're a lot farther over than you really are

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

You can get impressive lean angles with a Ninja 250; more-so than you'd want to do on the street. Don't worry about it, besides when you're leaned over you feel like you're a lot farther over than you really are

I've seen people put their knee down on 250s before. Which begs the question: why do larger bikes have wider tires of the skinny tires on the 250 already allow it to lean over so far? I've also heard that the actual contact surface to the road is about the width of a quarter regardless, so does a fat tire matter?

 

[Mutilator]

I would imagine the larger tires are to handle the higher weight of the larger bike + rider... but I could be wrong.

 

[TridenT]

I would imagine the larger tires are to handle the higher weight of the larger bike + rider... but I could be wrong.

More grip probably is the major reason I would imagine though because those bikes have a lot more power.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I would imagine the larger tires are to handle the higher weight of the larger bike + rider... but I could be wrong.

My Ninja 250's weight is I believe around 375lb. A regular 600cc bike can be 500lb? Is 125lb a huge difference? About 33% more weight, but over 200% more power.

 

[Fenixgoon]

My Ninja 250's weight is I believe around 375lb. A regular 600cc bike can be 500lb? Is 125lb a huge difference? About 33% more weight, but over 200% more power.

more weight/power/torque.

600cc racebikes (GSXR600, CBR600, R6) are around ~415lbs wet. My FZ6R is 467lbs wet.

same reason cars like corvettes, ferraris, etc. have super wide tires - they need to be able to grip the ground and put all that power down.

 

[JJ650]

more weight/power/torque.

600cc racebikes (GSXR600, CBR600, R6) are around ~415lbs wet. My FZ6R is 467lbs wet.

same reason cars like corvettes, ferraris, etc. have super wide tires - they need to be able to grip the ground and put all that power down.

Gonna have to get geeky on you...

A ability to grab is not limited to just its width. Compound is a key factor. Yes a wider tire theoretically has more lateral gripping ability given a certain vertical load (down force/weight), but is not entirely based upon width.

The softer the compound the more material deformation. The softer tires are not fully capable of supporting the weight of the vehicle if "normal" (read: smaller) widths are used. A larger surface area is needed to better distribute the forces, to prevent the contact patch from deforming. If that contact patch area starts to deform, it doesn't matter how wide your tires are, you will not be able to maintain the desired amount of traction.

The simple answer of "wide tires are better" isn't always true.
Width, compound ability to resist deformation, compound "stickyness" and hysteresis are all part of it.

Skinny tires don't look as good though!

 

[Pulsar]

Many times a well ridden 250 can hang around the bigger bikes on twisty tracks. Their lower weight results in a far more agile bike that you can throw through the turns.

Don't be in a hurry to go bigger. Sure, they are quicker on the straights and have a little more acceleration, but you'll take a hammer to the people who think a bigger number means a better bike once you learn to truly ride that 250.

I'd suggest taking it to a track day and talking with the tire distributor. A couple laps with them watching will give you a worlds more experience and FAR more valid suggestions than asking here ever will.

JJ650's answer is somewhat right and somewhat wrong. Tire compound is extremely important in turning. However, softer compound does not mean the tire can support less. The amount of weight a tire can support is limited solely to it's air pressure rating.

On an ideal non-deforming surface, side-g force can only equal the frictional force created by the coefficient of friction of a material and the normal force to the road. However, tires are far from ideal and contact area plays a part - more contact area on a tire means more traction down to the road because the two surfaces interact in a non-ideal way. You must balance your tire pressure with the ride and suspension however: this isn't a "let air out of your tires to improve performance" sort of thing.

If you ever take your bike to a track day, the tire distributor I mentioned above can walk you through what you should be looking at: and it varies depending on your riding, the track you're at, etc. You will never want to use the same compound the day racers use though: that's far too soft and you'll eat through them at an alarming rate riding on the street every day.

 

[Greenman]

A fat rear tire looks cool, nothing else really matters. The sport bike guy's try to justify it with chatter about traction patch and wheel geometry. The cruiser guy's just say "damn that looks good", the guy's on touring bikes say "there's a tire under there?"

 

[roguerower]

I don't know the science behind it but I do know that just because you have a small tire (my GS rear is only a 130) does not mean that you can't keep up with the bigger bikes. Two weekends ago I was riding in a group and caught behind a busa. On every curve I was right with him and trying to get pass but on the straightaways he'd hit the gas and take off, then we'd hit another curve and I'd have to slow down and then he'd blast down the straightaway. Just because they've got more CCs doesn't mean they're better.

 

[Zargon]

My 250's tires, especially the rear ones, are a lot skinnier than basically every other bike out there. This has caused me some worry when turning because I'm not sure if I'm going to be slipping out due to the skinny tires.

you need to read keith code.......

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I don't know the science behind it but I do know that just because you have a small tire (my GS rear is only a 130) does not mean that you can't keep up with the bigger bikes. Two weekends ago I was riding in a group and caught behind a busa. On every curve I was right with him and trying to get pass but on the straightaways he'd hit the gas and take off, then we'd hit another curve and I'd have to slow down and then he'd blast down the straightaway. Just because they've got more CCs doesn't mean they're better.

Sure you could corner with a busa. That's not what they are made for. They are really just super fast sport tourers. Try doing a 60mph roll on or a 1/4 mile drag race with a busa. That's where the busa and zx14 shine.
When it comes to cornering usually it comes down to rider skill.