rear dunlop on the front review

[mikehallbackhoe]

installed the dunlop 461 mt 90 17 on the front today. this tire is a 130 90 compared to the stock 150 80.  the car tire on the back made me have to force the bike over in a turn. changing to a 130 90 front tire makes the bike fall into a turn . I no longer steer with the handlebars, but I lean with my body. the bike feels like it lost a hundred pounds. as far as traction, I will have to put some miles on it before I can make a judgement.  so far I am pleased with the combination.  I guess I have gone as far to the darkside as I can go.

[mikehallbackhoe]

another observation,it feels like I am leaning over farther, and I am going faster through the curves, but I am not dragging the pegs. it's like I have more cornering clearance. anybody have any ideas on how to explain this? I know if you go to a smaller width , with the same height profile, the tire runs flatter. so what happens when you run a narrower width, and increase the height profile?

[Valker]

My math says the 130 90 is 3 mm shorter than the 150 80. That translates out to about 1/10 of an inch.

[mikehallbackhoe]

you are right, it is just a tad smaller, but that doesn't explain the handling difference. I asked a highway patrolman to clock me, and at 55mph, the speedometer reads 60 mph, no different than before.

[Valker]

I noticed the same thing. All I can attribute the difference to is that the Dunlop is bias instead of radial, it is the rear, it is narrower than stock so rolls in easier, or it's magic. Can't decide among those.

[mikehallbackhoe]

what I can't understand is why I am not dragging the pegs. Is it possible that when leaning over on the car tire, it actually raises the bike uo a little? just to satisfy my curiosity, I measured the ' chicken strips on my front tire, and they are 3/8" wide so I know I am leaning about as far as I care to go

[mikehallbackhoe]

I noticed the same thing. All I can attribute the difference to is that the Dunlop is bias instead of radial, it is the rear, it is narrower than stock so rolls in easier, or it's magic. Can't decide among those.

there seems to be several brands of radial 130 90 17 tires available. it would be interesting to see how they handle on the front. hopefully it will be a while before before I shop for tires again

[hoser]

Try a d404 front tire, website shows it is available in the correct size.  Hoser