FZRSupport: the FZROnline Archive

cad600 wrote: What front rim are you running ?
A 120 really shouldn't go on a stock FZR rim.
I think your best bet would be a 110/70 * 17" up front and a 150/60 * 18" out back if your running stock rims.

ragedigital wrote: I've heard the best thing to do is stick with stock sizing for front and rear for quicker turning.

I have a 120 on the front cause that's what the guy recommended at the bike store, but then again he knew very little about the FZR.
I have the 150/60/18 on the rear and it seems to work well.

Since I have a YZF swingarm waiting to go on, I'll probably stick with the 150 rear, but go back to the 110 front.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Is modern rubber available for the 18" rear wheel ?

According to some, this is the weak link on the 600.
Even though the 600 came with a wider rim than many 1000's at the time (4.0 inches), and was among the first sport bikes to come with radial rubber mounted, the back wheel is still a very industry non-standard 18x4 inch.
There are still several choices for rubber (both bias ply and radials) on the 600.

On the front, it seems that most people opt for the 110/70/17 size to preserve the quick steering nature of the bike.
A 120 will fit, but slows things down noticeably.
A 140 comes stock on the rear, but a 150 will fit with no problems, and the most popular size to date is a 150/60ZR18.

Brands are very subjective.
The most common tires that I have seen are:

Bridgestone: BT56SS in three sizes for the front, stock 110/70ZR17, and the oversize 120/70ZR17 and 120/60ZR17. They also make a 150/60ZR18 for the rear. This is a very good tire with good grip and mileage. They also make a BT58 race front in the 120/70ZR17 size.

Dunlop: K591 Bias Ply tire in the 110/80V17 size and the belted version in the 120/70VB17 size. These aren’t the greatest tires, but they are cheap and will perform for the average rider.

D207 Front in the 120/60ZR17 and 120/70ZR17 size. This is an excellent tire, in my opinion it has the most grip for a street tire (behind the Michelin Pilot and Dunlop D207 GP). This is what I run up front.

Sportmax I Front in the 110/60ZR17 front and 140/60ZR18 rear. This is an average tire will decent grip and good mileage. This is what I use in for the rear.

Metzler: MEZ1 in the 110/70ZR17 and 120/70ZR17 in both race and street compounds. They also make a 150/60ZR18 Rear. I don’t know the first thing about Metzler (except they used to make good hard compound slicks for the FZR) so I won’t comment on these. If I get some info from someone, I will update the Faq.

Michelin makes a Macadam rear, and a race compound front.

Regardless of your tire choice, remember that with such a lightweight/low power bike, you should not be spinning the rear or pushing the front too often. If you are, you need to evaluate how old your tires are, and what your suspension is doing.
I normally get at least 2k miles out of a front tire and at least 1.5k out of the rear, and this is all at almost race level miles.
If you are an average rider you can expect at least double that figure.