02-07-2014, 12:21 PM
I did a test to see if I could cause the tire to contact the inner fender where I suspected it had done so in the first place. I set the suspension to the softest position, marked the area I thought was causing interference with a black marker, and rode the bike on my local rough test road. Considering the suspension was set to its softest, I figured it would bottom out and create the issue if it was still present after my field engineering efforts (with a hammer) to create a couple of additional millimeters of clearance.
I saw no indication at all of any kind of contact. It may be that my modification worked, or that the marks were made while the tire was being installed and I just missed them (and they were coincidentally aligned exactly with the inner fender protrusion), or that high speeds with commensurate diameter expansion are necessary to replicate the issue.
Either way I am going to monitor but do not recommend any other size but stock.
We used to see the same problem mounting certain front tires back in the days when things weren't quite standardized; I recall my VFR750F burned a groove in the underside of the front fender when fitting the Metzeler Comp K Laser tire, after being ridden at high speeds. This was not really too unusual.
I saw no indication at all of any kind of contact. It may be that my modification worked, or that the marks were made while the tire was being installed and I just missed them (and they were coincidentally aligned exactly with the inner fender protrusion), or that high speeds with commensurate diameter expansion are necessary to replicate the issue.
Either way I am going to monitor but do not recommend any other size but stock.
We used to see the same problem mounting certain front tires back in the days when things weren't quite standardized; I recall my VFR750F burned a groove in the underside of the front fender when fitting the Metzeler Comp K Laser tire, after being ridden at high speeds. This was not really too unusual.