Had it for a little spin, she definitely has far more grip than the harder sport touring Exedra! No issues whatsoever with what may be a "smaller" contact patch, and as said pinching is minimal to non-existent. If there is, a wider tire, even if taller, will still have almost an identical patch-size due to it being a slightly wider tire to begin with. If indeed the contact patch is smaller, it is so small as not to affect performance or grip. I am much more confident in the turn now with this tire, not so much worried it will slide out on cooler temperatures. Lean in is far better, and MUCH better drop in feel on turns. I like that!
I will be eventually replacing the PP4 sport touring tire with another PP Power Sport. Then I will not be afraid to drop my knee down as much (after raising the adjustable links 1 notch for a bit more ride height). Reducing ride height on the back end reduces stability due to increased trail on the front end; the taller tire helps reduce trail which REDUCES stability and increases how quickly it drops into a turn. "tire pinching" (which is barely a factor from a 190 t0 a 200 width, IMHO now that I have had two 200 width tires on my bike) is not a noticeable factor here, it being so small to begin with. At most you are only talking about 10 mm on the widest part of the tire, and you also need to remember that a 200 tire vs a 190 tire, the inside width as per the manufacturers, is meant to fit a majority of rim-widths in the industry. The standard rim width on most litrebikes is 6", so the 200 tire is designed to fit this by the manufacturer.
I get the bike looks cooler with a slammed back end, but your maneuverability is reduced due to increase trail on the front end. (Being a convert from a cruiser into sport bikes, well, I will not go back to the lazy steering feel of a cruiser again). With the ride height being dropped due to lowering links, raising my back with a taller tire, only gets it more back to normal of the geometry of the original set-up.
The trick to grip is not so much the contact patch, but the tire itself. With all the multi-compounds, the tire softness is still the greatest factor in grip. You want to sport-tour then go with a harder tire for longevity. You want to drag, then go with a Shinko super-soft drag tire and replace it every 10 runs! You want to use this as a hyper-bike, then go with a softer track-street tire, plain and simple, and accept it will not last as long - I think sometimes everyone overthinks tires too much...
As for the hugger, I do not think it has to look backyard, you are really only raising it, and the only thing you may notice is that the bottom of the hugger is raised off the swingarm. I did this on my R1 hugger by a couple washer-widths to make sure I fit the 190/55 tire and you do not see the washers - plus after final adjustments where it needs to fit, the clearance was similar to the 190/50.
So in short, do what you want but for me, no issues whatsoever to mounting a 200/55 and only gains to every aspect of handing.
* Last updated by: Jkden on 3/18/2016 @ 12:27 PM *