I know the reasons why the 190 shouldn't be put on the bike, just wanted to know if anyone here has had a 190/55 on a gen5. I have both a new 180, and a 190 with 1000 miles on it, so its not a cost thing.
As I understand it, the possible down side is that because the tire is wider and made for a 6 inch wide rim, the profile of the tire is "pinched" when mounted on our 5.5 inch rim. As a result of the "pinched" profile the contact patch is narrower than the 180 that is made for the 5.5 inch rim. A narrower contact patch means less contact patch and less traction. I'm interested in if you notice a difference because I have a 190/55 that I have thought of using for a track day. But not sure that I want to lessen cornering traction.
Yes, that's true. I am way past pushing a 20 year old heavy bike that hard, on he track you would probably notice more. Besides any crash on this bike would probably make it a parts bike, due to part availability.
I have used a 190/55 on my FJR for a few years, never noticed anything detrimental at all when pushed hard. 190's are OK for 5.5/6.0 rims, or if you're worried about that, look up that particular tire's specs. The 190's are slightly larger in diameter, so the rear ride height will increase 1/4" or so, and the resulting change in geometry means a little quicker turn-in... to me a good thing, but no experience with it on a VFR. It would be the same as raising your forks 1/4" in the triple tree. I like the feel of a 190 better than the 180.... as for the track, nothing to lose but try it. As usual, pick the tires with the compounds you like.
As I said in the first line of my original post, I know the pros and cons, was just looking for someone who had done it for clearance issues. I've mounted hundreds of tires and owned over 50 bikes, so far. This forum is usually very useful. Not really sure about the faggy tech comment.. The tire manufactures do in fact list 5.5 as a rim the 190/55 will fit.
