Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Hey all,

Right bit of a dilema for me at the moment.

Rear tyre on the ZX6r is currently a 190/60 17 but from my research it should have a 160/60 17.

Now the front is ok as its a 120/60/17 and looks ok but i'd prefer to replace both to the same type as the rear is pretty shot.

What size should i get???

Am i better sticking with the original size or upgrading to a bigger rear???

A bigger rear ??? It will work fine with a stock 160/60x17 on the back. Going bigger will just make the steering *less sharp*.

You should use a 120/65 on the front, instead of a 60 profile. The slightly higher profile works better on these bikes.....

Check with Hoffy about correct tyre pressure !

I had the 190 off my old ZX9 on the back of my ZX6 and it handled ok, but just ok. When i went to the 160 it turned much better. And as Gos said go for the 65 on the front, any help in turning these old girls is always appreciated.

About 22psi is good isn't it Hoffy

Gosling1 wrote:A bigger rear ??? It will work fine with a stock 160/60x17 on the back. Going bigger will just make the steering *less sharp*.

You should use a 120/65 on the front, instead of a 60 profile. The slightly higher profile works better on these bikes.....

Check with Hoffy about correct tyre pressure !

Trust me Gos, a 70 profile front tyre on this model will work much better!! The 60's and 65's are bastids of things on them.
As for the rear, stick with the stock sizes. I still run a 160 rear on my racer which is an F model 6 also! You can run a 170 if you can find one to fit. But a 160 makes em steer fuckin noice!!!

As for running a 190 on the back! Whoever put that on is a fucktard!!! A 190 pulls around too much as the rim is smaller than suitable for a 190. We even tried 180's when racing them, but once again, the rims too skinny and it pulls the sidewalls around too far compromising the contact patch at full lean and making them let go much easier.

Yeah what he said ... stick as close as you can to the reccomended tyre sizes, nothing macho about a fat rear tyre when your bike is laying in the gutter

Supersport 600's are running 200 rears

according so one of the Kwak Riders, you can lean en till your bars touch the ground and still have plenty of tyre left

russ is runnin the 200 rear on his 10, farrrrkin awesome!


but i'd be going a 180, common, well priced and decent.

Wattie wrote:Supersport 600's are running 200 rears .

Yeah but that is on a modern sportsbike Wattie... judging on the tyre size stated the six in question could be over 10 years old.

Magic folks.

Stock sizes it is then.

wullieb1 wrote:Magic folks.

Stock sizes it is then.

Can you please tell us the year model?

its a 96 and it runs 160 as standard... the they moved up to 170 standard read then by the J series they were running 180 rear...

for starters a 160 rear will be cheaper!! and the 200 rear would be nice but its prolly a 200/65 or something...so doesnt really count as a comparo to a road tyre