Matching tyres - big deal ??

[Subike]

It wasn't the miss matched tyres causing those things, it was the rooted rear.

The older Yamaha cruisers are real sensitive to out of shape tyres, my old XJ was shocking when I got it due to a "squared off" rear tyre.

O hell yes Drew I agree, the issues were the stuffed rear tyre,
I dont think I suggested that it was because of a miss match, not intentionally anyway.

[yungatart]

Three out of four bikes in our gagre run Pirelli Sport Demons on the rear and Bridgestone BT 45's on the front, a brilliant combination of tyres. They are on 2 sport tourers and a naked sports bike.
The fourth runs Pilot Rd 2's front and rear (GSXR 750).

[DEATH_INC.]

A rule of thumb: stick to front & rear combinations pitched at the same rider/riding, ie: both sport-touring,both sport/track or both commuting tyres. Don't pick a race front and a touring rear, for instance.

Ummmm I've run a 120/70 D208gp front (full race) and a 200/50 D220 rear (sport/touring) around the old Taupo track at a trackday and had no problems, actually worked very well apart from a little sliding from the rear......also run the combo on the road sweet as.
A while back when the Pirelli Diabolicals were first released I got one on the front of the 12 with a Metzeler Sportec rear, thought it was shit hot so got the matching rear.....dunno why but with the rear MATCHING Pirelli it all turned to shit, simply the worst pair of tyres I ever ran on it. Figure that out....

[Drew]

Ummmm I've run a 120/70 D208gp front (full race) and a 200/50 D220 rear (sport/touring) around the old Taupo track at a trackday and had no problems, actually worked very well apart from a little sliding from the rear......also run the combo on the road sweet as.
A while back when the Pirelli Diabolicals were first released I got one on the front of the 12 with a Metzeler Sportec rear, thought it was shit hot so got the matching rear.....dunno why but with the rear MATCHING Pirelli it all turned to shit, simply the worst pair of tyres I ever ran on it. Figure that out....

Flag it bro, the pedants wont accept the opinion of experience, cos they've READ what they spout in a magazine, so it must be true.

[blueblade]

My KTM came with Bridgestone BT 090's which are pretty sticky sports tyres. Got sick of replacing the rear every 1500 kms or so so now I've got a Michelin pilot Road dual compound on the rear (sport touring tyre). Bike still handles great, sticks like shit and hopefully I will get some reasonable mileage. Still got the original 090 on the front and this is my 4th rear.

[vifferman]

I've had six sets of supposedly mismatched tyres, and all but one were OK. When I had the VF500, the tyres almost had to be mismatched, as it had a 16" front wheel and 18" rear. When I bought it, it had a Metzeler (ME33?) front, and IRC rear. I replaced the front tyre when it wore out with a Dunlop SummatOrOther, with a triangular profile, and it was terrible. When the rear was replaced, a very hard Avon went on, that lasted around 5 years. Even the feeble power (50?) of the VF could spin/slide it on hot tarmac.
I've also had mixed Bridgestones on the VFR750 (BT012F / BT020R), mixed Pirellis on the VTR100 (sport front, S/T rear) and mixed Avons (sport front, S/T rear), and the same on the VFR800. The only problems I've had have been abnormal wear on the front coupled with some squaring off on the back made the handling less than ideal, so I've gone with matched Storms this time.

I think the main thing is to not have radically different profiles front/rear, and it's better to have a softer/stickier front than the rear, rather than the other way round.

[owner]

I brought my bike new, I have been through 3 sets of new 2cts.
my experience,
each time the rear wears out of a new set of 2cts I put the same michelin sport(race profile front/tourer profile rear) on for a while to get the last couple of 1000km out of the front. And it sucks I have to re-adjust every steering input and really consentrate on my line. Its takes one line on entry then picks another one on exit Triangle front/round rear.
I really look forward to a new matching set,

It works fine and I doubt IM any faster on new rubber because I just adjust to it but it feels like I am fighting the bike to get round corners

AND I have put that same tyre on my rear wheel 4 times now
I know

[inlinefour]

Basically they don't.

It's quite simple really, tyres are designed by the manufacturers to be used as pairs.

Anything else is unnecessary (and probably uninformed) risk.

Sorry but I do get annoyed seeing silly advice given hereabout which could potentially have serious consequences.

Plus if your wanting to ride a bike hard, your a fool to not invest on good rubber, suspension and brakes. Going fast is not that difficult, handling a bike quicker in the twisties is. This message is not directed at anyone in particular but I know that some here have not got much money to spend. I've allways brought a matching set for my bikes apart from offroad shitters, where I did not really care, but MX or anything fast the same rules about the 3 things of riding apply. Its not that hard to make a bike go fast, however it is if you want to keep riding fast and stay on it (unless your a dorkland twat that prefers to speed on the sraights and nana it around courners).

[avgas]

Had a Bridgstone battleaxe on rear, 3/4 worn.

Old man always ran a conti/dunlop combo on his XS850's. It suiting the weight of the mag alot better apparently. Ironically enough on his new daytona's he only runs battleaxes - after having trials and failures on all the other brands.
I get to try a new shinko rear tonight cos i miss going sideways.

[El Dopa]

My 2c for what its worth.

I've been running a metzler rear and a battleax front on my 4hundy with no isses at all (although it ain't the gruntiest of beasts and I'm a nanna).

I got these fitted at Cycletreads at the same time, so I'd expect them to know what they're talking about (at least a bit).

They told me that the important thing when matching front/rear was to make sure that the profiles matched: radial with radial, and cross-ply with cross-ply. That was really the only important thing.

I'll leave the 'why' up to the experts.

[TygerTung]

It's always worth it to get the best tyres you can, you crash a lot less.

I have been using bt-45 battleaxes alot on my classic 80's 2 strokes and they are very sticky, dump it on the centrestand, footpeg, expansion chamber sticky and they don't budge. I would recomend using a matched pair myself. In my opinion the battleaxe is a very good tyre.

I use a BT39SS on the front of my CG bucket racer and thats very good too.

[mouldy]

Frosty Metzler don't tet make a dual compound tyre and michellen is spelt michelin but even Rossi's on bridgestones now . spot on with that last post

[AllanB]

A rule of thumb: stick to front & rear combinations pitched at the same rider/riding, ie: both sport-touring,both sport/track or both commuting tyres. Don't pick a race front and a touring rear, for instance. This is mostly about the profiles of the tyres, and so long as they're similar you'll feel much the same thing from both ends of the bike, wear being equal (and not excessive).

The main tyre supplier/fitter in Christchurch promotes a sport touring rear with a sport front.

[Robert Taylor]

I have read some of the needlessly aggressive posts on this thread, shame. There is really no need to go spare at a Vietnam vet who has had a lot of life experience and deserves respect for what he has been through.
As a suspension engineer I will put in my 100 cents worth ( even that buys bugger all ) Many tyre problems are because of poor suspension, or the suspension is not matched to the loads and frequency that the carcass characteristic of the tyre imparts to it. Two riders, Robbie Bugden and Andrew Stroud, same bike, same suspension brand, similiar lap times. Andrew on Pirelli, Robbie on Dunlop. The internal settings we installed in the shock and forks were polar opposites. Why?...because Dunlops have a very stiff carcass construction that imparts a lot of load into the suspension, Pirellis have a lot softer sidewall and load the suspension rather differently.
Due diligence must be paid when mixing tyres, Im not saying it doesnt work but eyes must be wide open. YOU CANNOT MAKE SWEEPING GENERALISATIONS BASED ON YOUR OWN LIMITED EXPERIENCE BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY VARIABLES.
For example mixing tyres on a lazy old ''spongy pud'' cruiser may not have an adverse affect. But apply the same mentality to a razor sharp sportbike and you can be in trouble.

[homer]

My 2c for what its worth.

I've been running a metzler rear and a battleax front on my 4hundy with no isses at all (although it ain't the gruntiest of beasts and I'm a nanna).

I got these fitted at Cycletreads at the same time, so I'd expect them to know what they're talking about (at least a bit).

They told me that the important thing when matching front/rear was to make sure that the profiles matched: radial with radial, and cross-ply with cross-ply. That was really the only important thing.

I'll leave the 'why' up to the experts.

what they told you about the radial radial , cross ply cross ply . is exactly true
the different pattern dont matter or the make (not entirely ) but you may find that the pressures will need to change to make them match .
i dont think most riders will try to adjust the pressures to see if 2 different tyres will actually work , and they will .