ok its nothing special but for those looking to go to a 70 instead of a 60 front wheel, here is what we came up with that should give the 70 clearence of the front fender. Its real simple. we got this part of a dift bike, but you probably could find something similar in a hardware store. also only had to raise the front as there seemed to be clearence at the rear of the fender. have to wait until spring when I get the bike on a track how it will fair for sure. But if anything it would just be a matter of finding something with a bit more space between the holes

-- TP (tpoole@xnet.com), December 12, 2002

Answers

The mystery continues...

Did the tire actually rub? What exact tire are you using?

I emailed Dwight Mitchell about this, and he says he uses a Dunlop D208GP (120/70) with the stock front fender with no problems. A guy locally said he had to heat the fender with a heat gun and relax it a bit to make a 120/70 D207RR fit. What's the REAL deal? Maybe there are some 120/70's that will fit and others that won't?

AHH! I have to buy new tires when the riding season starts again, and I don't know what to do yet. I've pretty much come to grips with buying a semi good 120/65 front instead of some race compound 120/70.

-- Andy Ruhl (quadreverb@yahoo.com), December 12, 2002.

Well I had the same problem with my R6 race bike, ran 120/70 Dunlop 208GP with no problem but when I put a Metzler Rennsport on the front it started rubbing and then the fender came flying off at 140mph. I think you have to go really fast for the tire to expand enough, and the tire may have to be a certain brand to cause enough contact to do this though. I would do the fender mod personally if you plan to run a 70 race rubber. Im drilling the holes myself for my R6's next fender. I will stick with street compound Rennsports or Supercorsa's, or perhaps Sportec's for the street.

-- Doug Chism (dougchism@hotmail.com), December 13, 2002.

I will be going to the Pirelli supercorsa and it looks like they won't be offering the 120/65 anymore. It might be the profile of the different tires that allows one to work and not another. Either way these little bits would help in cause there is a problem. better safe then sorry and it only takes a couple of minutes to put them on. I just have to wait and see what happens when I get to the tracks in the spring or maybe I'll be lucky and Pirelli will keep making the 120/65s.

-- TP (tpoole@xnet.com), December 13, 2002.

I am using Pirelli Dragon Supercorsa SC2 in 120/70 size, and there is no problem with the original fender.

-- gafas (isantillan@ya.com), December 13, 2002.

The SC2 is the tire I use on my R1. How fast have you gone with that tire on the MV? These zero degree belt tires seem to not expand all that much, but there must be a little bit of expansion going on...

-- Andy Ruhl (quadreverb@yahoo.com), December 14, 2002.

I just put a Dragon Supercorsa 120/70 on my ZX6 and it seems to be clearing the original fender, but I have to say it looks very bulky, I'm thinking of going back to a 120/60. What is the benifit of having the 120/70?(new rider)

-- james (jh86@hotmail.com), May 11, 2003.