larger vs smaller tyres

[kdxdazz]

as the title says i thought i would do a quick write up on the comparison between larger tyres than stock and smaller tyres than stock,although its not an apples to apples comparison as they are different brand tyres with different tread patterns it does provide some insight
over the years i found myself going to smaller tyres on my various bikes with very pleasing results
was currently using IRC VE30 90x90 in the front and 110x100 in the rear, its just the tyres that came on the bike and i always felt they were awful and i had nothing to lose by trying my experiment, i came across a deal for locally made tyres here in thailand, brand is camel 701, 2.75x21 and 3.5x18 . a whopping 19 US dollars each delivered
here are the size and weight differences-
irc 110x100 weight- 5.8kg
camel 701 3.5 inch weight- 3.8kg
irc 90x90 weight- 4.3kg
camel 701 2.75inch weight -3.0kg

irc 110x100 diameter-665mm
camel 701 3.5inch diameter-645mm
irc 90x90 diameter-705mm
camel 701 2.75inch diameter-690

as you can see they are significantly lighter, ok so how do they work,pros and cons. the handling on the road is night and day better, tread pattern more suited to the road, better handling due to being lighter,more flexible carcass, lower centre of gravity ,flickabilty from side to side is a dream, off road in the hardpack,wet clay and rocky terrain is so profoundly better it feels like i have bolted on new suspension, it really opened my eyes to how bad motorcross tyres work in hardpack rocky environments, the excessivly protruding outer most knobs grab the sides of ruts and rocks and pull you off line,
the lower tyres really lower the gearing which is good or bad depending if thats what you want, the smaller diamter lowers the bike which is great if you are a shorter rider, my seat height on my kdx220sr now measures 870mm
so here are the pros of smaller tyres
lower cost,lighter weight,lower height for shoter riders, lower centre of gravity, lower gearing if thats what you are after
if you are already looking for a tyre change and want to save money on chain and sprockets too and you are a shorter rider then smaller tyres are for you

the cons, your friends will laugh how skinny they are, lower profile may not absorb high speed hits as well as larger tyres, thats all i can think of

as you can see i decided to balance the tyres myself to counteract the rim locks, i recommend people to do this as really smooths out the ride

would i buy them again, i already have another set on order for my other kdx