rharish90

When it comes to riding comfort, the tyre size plays a great role. AFAIK, wider the tyre more is the grip and comfort but less is the mileage, acceleration and maneuverability. I am not sure about the last one though. Some people still go for wider tyres for the sake of comfort. Due to the increased weight on the bike, the mileage and performance drops. But Enfields generally have a good amount of torque and carry a lot of luggage easily. So increase in the tyre size by a kilo or two shouldn't really affect the performance right? But I have read stories of how the mileage and perf decreased when the tyre is up sized on the bulls. Can some one explain this?

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sunilg

topic approved.

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princesirohi

Wider tyres provide more grip. mileage, acceleration, maneuverability & top speed suffer a bit not only because of increased weight but mainly because of increased grip, the engine needs more power to do same task which earlier required less power. still most people do it beacause for ex- even if you sacrifice 3-4kmpl of mileage, 0.5 sec in 0-60 timings and 5kmph less top speed, still the gains in terms of grip the wider tyre provides gives you much more confidence. and it makes riding a bit safer too, because of increased grip.

in the end, it all depends on you personal choice.

you also mentioned comfort somewhere, just putting wider tyre will not increase you comfort. to increase comfort you need to put a tyre with increased wall height. it is the suppleness in the wall of tyres that provide comfort, not the width.

if you want comfort, just reduce the tyre pressure little bit and you will see improved comfort, although you have to ride carefully and slowly over potholes.

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Samarth 619

I second Prince on his thoughts. But I would like to add something:

1. Since tyre is a moving mass, A weight "X" increased on tyre will be almost equal to 2x anywhere else on the bike, is what I read somewhere...

2. More Grip results in rotational resistance. This is the bigger reason for less performance.

3. Maneuverability is mostly affected by rim size, journalists say. Duke 200 is a striking example of maneuverability.

I fit in R15's tyres (80/90x17 and 100/80x17 front-rear) on my Pulsar, but despite their lesser weight, all I got was a drop in performance. Why? Simple, because of the soft compounds' immense grip.

Its true that inflated tyres provide comfort from the undulations on the road, but reducing the air pressure is not what I recommend. You can go for suspension adjustment if available, or better seat, etc.

soulonaroll

Upgrading tyre size for comfort is probably not worth it since the impact it has on comfort is minimal and probably something you won't notice. But it sure has a lot of impact on host of other factors associated with the bikes performance. Is it worth a trade off if you don't want this impact to performance? I say no!

You haven't qualified the problem enough. What (dis) comfort are you looking at? Is it the jerks your back puts up with on bad roads? Is it the pain in your butt? Or is it your arms? Or is it how hard it is to handle your bike on your ladakh trip with a stock front?
If you look at all these problems, upsizing a tyre won't "effectively" solve any! I mean it will have some impact but definitely not worth the price and impact on other parameters. The discomfort i mention need adjustments to suspension, seat or handle bars etc.
We can probably comment more accurately if you describe the exact discomfort you are probably facing.