Tired of tire questions?

[diamonddog-2]

 Doug and Anthony Decker are great people. [turned out Doug and I know a couple of the same guys from the "old days"]   Trying to take both Doug and Anthony out for steak dinner as thank you for doing such a nice job on my bike. It'd be cool to go riding and have dinner with both of 'em.

Anyway,
                                                                                                   
Just curious,  looking at tire ratings:   W or Z ?    168+ for W rating SEEMS like I'd never outride that rating. Z rating is even higher.  My bike might pull 130 +/- on a good day [guessing]

Any benefit with a tire rating higher than a W for my bike?

[Charlie98]

I didn't realize they even made sport bike tires with less than a Z-rate...

[diamonddog-2]

Yes, I guess they still do.

[ducpainter]

Doug and Anthony Decker are great people. [turned out Doug and I know a couple of the same guys from the "old days"]   Trying to take both Doug and Anthony out for steak dinner as thank you for doing such a nice job on my bike. It'd be cool to go riding and have dinner with both of 'em.

Anyway,
                                                                                                   
Just curious,  looking at tire ratings:   W or Z ?    168+ for W rating SEEMS like I'd never outride that rating. Z rating is even higher.  My bike might pull 130 +/- on a good day [guessing]

Any benefit with a tire rating higher than a W for my bike?

Where's the benefit in going with the lower rating?

[Charlie98]

My guess would be either a lighter tire, or not as many plies on the sidewall.... and maybe cost.

[diamonddog-2]

My guess would be either a lighter tire, or not as many plies on the sidewall.... and maybe cost.

With sport bikes easily hitting 170 mph [and higher] I totally get a Z rated tire. I'm just wondering if it would be overkill for my bike?   I'm happy [usually] to pay for something if there's a clear benefit.    If I'm hearing the Z rated tires will perform noticeably better at lower speeds [than a W rating]  and are higher quality/safer?  I'm cool with that and can see paying for it.  I think the higher speed rated tires are a little more $.

Does that make sense?  I'm sometimes not very clear. Apologies and thank you!

[Charlie98]

You would have to look at the specific tire details to see what's different.

Back in the '80's, when I got my first street bikes, Z-rated tires were pretty esoteric... bikes didn't really go fast enough to warrant it.  My buddy bought a ZX-10 and that's when I started reading about Z-rated tires.  I was buying shoes for my cruisers (XS400, XS650, CB750C) which nowhere near needed a Z-rated tire, and I would be surprised if they were.

Looking at the Pirelli Rosso III's... there are only 2 tires in the III line that are not Z-rated... they are small, skinny, higher profile tires, probably meant for 300-400CC'ish bikes that don't need Z-rating. 

Personally, I wouldn't put anything less than a Z-rate tire on my Ducati, not because I'm Eddie Lawson, but because that is the tire my bike was designed with, and switching to a different type tire might change the handling characteristics.

[diamonddog-2]

Thanks for your thoughts Charlie98, ducpainter, pinion, speeddog and koko64.  I checked and OEM tires were ZR rated, as you suggested. I guess I'll stay with what Ducati recommends for speed rating and dimensions.

Pirelli, Michelin, Dunlop and Conti all are good choices.  I'm told a local bike shop will meet all tire prices too. I'm all for keeping it local when possible.

[ducpainter]

Let us know what you choose, and how you like them.

[diamonddog-2]

I'll keep you posted but it may be a while yet. Still winter here in MN but the thaw is happening, thankfully.

[ducpainter]

We're into second mud season here in the northeast.

[diamonddog-2]

More boring information on my tires:   After looking around, reading some reviews and thinking about what you guys pointed out, I decided on some Pirelli Diablo Rosso II's   My local bike shop was pretty close to matching the best internet price I could find, once the sales tax and tire mounting fee prices were figured in.  Given what we're all dealing with, I just wanted to throw them the business. They're a great shop that supports our 2-wheeled community.   The shop had to special order them.

What I think I found out is that the rear tire size ~ 170/60 17, is a slightly different size than what I could easily find when looking around?   Anyway, it was getting tough to just order the matched set from 3 or 4 websites.  I didn't go with a Z rated tire but figure I'm pretty good with a W rated 168MPH rated tire for my 130MPH [going downhill, wind-at-my back] bike?  I just don't get into triple digits very often or for very long. Maybe a nice ZARS weekend might change my mind about that?

It's snowing a little today and won't be nice enough for me to get out anytime soon.  I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing how different these tires will feel from what I'm currently riding on.  I'll still check back later once I have something more to tell you about this riveting story. 

[Howie]

Don't worry about speed ratings above V.  Higher can be used, put as you noted...  I would go with a 180/55 on that bike.

[Charlie98]

I decided on some Pirelli Diablo Rosso II's...   

Not Rosso III's?

[diamonddog-2]

Yeah, it seems like they don't make them in my wheel size.