70 vs. 60

wickedninja · 07-20-2004, 10:08 PM

what's the biggest difference going from a 120/60/17 to a 120/70/17 front tire? is it just the width of the tire? the tire I have on my bike now is the 60 and the OEM tires for the new ZX-7 are the 70's. any idea's?

Tiamat · 07-20-2004, 10:32 PM

the '60' in 120/60/17 determines the height of the sidewall of the tire. It is a percentage of the width of the tire (the '120'). So a 120/60/17 tire is approximately 120mm wide, 72mm high (60% of 120mm) and is mounted on a 17" rim. A 120/70/17 tire would have a taller sidewall at about 84mm. Funny how there's metric and standard measurements in tire sizing.

wickedninja · 07-24-2004, 10:18 PM

will the above help or hurt my cornering? or niether?

Jammin_Johnny · 07-24-2004, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wickedninja

will the above help or hurt my cornering? or niether?

The 70's are better for track riding and/or road racing. For drag racing the 60's are best.

Hope this helps!

Tiamat · 07-24-2004, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jammin_Johnny

The 70's are better for track riding and/or road racing. For drag racing the 60's are best.

Funny, I would have thought it was the other way around - a lower profile (and probably stiffer) sidewall for road racing and a taller tire for drag racing, but maybe that's just in cars.