Maybe this might help a little...see bold...
http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2007/Jun/e/n070611c.htm
Quote:
The hot race tire diameter is something that changes every few years. Bigger or smaller, some company's engineers will find a breakthrough and all the others will follow. Michelin has introduced a 16-inch front tire for this MotoGP season and the others are now doing the same.
At today's MotoGP post-race test in Catalunya, Bridgestone will test a 16-inch front. Dunlop brought out theirs a few races back.
Michelin says their contact patch on the sixteen stays the same size all the way to full lean. Michelin also says the new tire on the different rim is five percent lighter. That is ultra-important since the 800cc MotoGP era is about corner speed and pushing the front, where the 990cc era was more about getting the massive power to the ground.
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