Rossi's 16 incher!

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Get yer minds out the gutter...................tyres!

During testing for the Sepang MotoGP test, world champion Valentino Rossi has been spotted with a special 16-inch rear Michelin tyre, as opposed to the usual 16.5 inch tyre that can be found on his factory M1. “We worked very well with Michelin and with one or two new tyres that they brought we made some good improvements to the vibration (chatter),” Rossi told crash.net, without making any specific mention of a different tyre size.

from

http://www.reifenpresse.de/CDML007/en/gast...1648&RecID=9644
 
I read that Michelin has tried them, but they will not use them in races this year.
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (richo @ Feb 19 2006, 01:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Wonder if they needed a different rim on the rear for that thing
Yeah bud,the 16.5 would wobble a bit on the 16.0 rim
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,Just kidding,I know what you mean.
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If I remember correctly the smaller the rim the heavier the handling becomes but the bike becomes more stable under braking and cornering. I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure that's the strongpoints in testing it and adopting the 16.5s versus the 17s.
 
So it makes it more nimble? Kinda like decreasing the rake.... but youre working with the rear wheel, not the front?
It'd make sense then, to use the fat for the tracks that are just straights connected by corners and the not so fat for tracks where corners are king
 
All im thinkin is that a smaller rim would have less gyroscopic effect and therefore be easier to turn. Its crazy how that half an inch(no more jokes please) makes a difference, i mean thats half an inch of the diameter, so thats a quarter of an inch off the radius! thats like less that 10mm!

In the world of motogp though, anything that can get you an extra tenth of a second is worth spending lots of £££££ on.
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Its amazing isnt it? What lengths they go to, how precise they are, how much they tinker. It's awsome in my opinion.
 
The smaller wheel has less gyroscopic effect plus less weight, the bad news is reduced stability and contact surface. I don't know if the 16" will really work I guess it will depend a lot on tire technology.
 

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