Odd tyres - a problem?

[SpyInTheCamp]

Part way through this week’s 1,000 mile lap of Scotland, I had cause to review the tread (or lack of it) on my rear Dunlop Trailmax. Some enthusiastic riding allied to great weather in the Highlands and some of the best / grippiest roads known to mankind had somewhat curtailed its life expectancy.

I dropped into the wonderful Strathearn Tyres in Crieff on Tuesday at 5pm for an emergency pit stop to find that their selection of GS shaped hoops did not include a Trailmax. My available funds, the abundance of tread on the front tyre and the impending onset of (even more) rubbish weather meant that I wasn’t prepared to fork out on a new set. (It was also raining quite a lot at that stage so tottering around a bit on one new tyre was bad enough.)

Anyway, to get to the point, I opted for a Tourance and now have mismatched tyres. It doesn’t seem to have affected the handling as I had an enjoyable 300 odd miles afterwards.

However, the question is whether time will show that this is a good decision? Will the handling change adversely as the rear wears down or are there any other issues to watch out for?

Cheers

Kai

 

[G.C.]

The guy at Strathearn is very professional, I cant see him fitting a tyre that wouldn’t be compatible Kai.
I called in on Wednesday for a new rear as well, great service as usual, and only £95.

 

[Schtum]

Having used both D607s and Tourances, albeit only in matched pairs, leads me to suspect that the Dunlop is a bit stickier than the Metzler and since you have them fitted front and rear, respectively, that's the right way round.

The only other issue would be if the profiles were mismatched. That might lead to some strange behaviour on the road. I remember fitting an 010 on the front and an 020 on the rear of the VFR and it was horrible - dropped like a stone into corners, wouldn't hold a line in them and was unstable in a straight line - all down to mismatched profiles.

BTW, how many miles did you get out of your old D607? My rear was shot at 4K miles and I replaced it with another one because they are very grippy for what they are.

 

[Tricky]

Had a beyond repair puncture on a rear Tourance whilst on the way to Garmisch last summer. Only available replacement being a Michelin Pilot Road 2 rear.

Bike handled fine for the rest of the holiday (and afterwards) and only replaced front Tourance (with Pilot Road front) when worn out.

Maybe different if you take it to the limit etc

 

[bowser]

mis matched tyres

I dont know if I am missing something here but, my GS is the first bike I have ever had with matching tyres front and rear, apart from when they were new.
I have never personally found it to be much of a problem, even on my Buell and GSX's, to be honest I have generally gone with what ever is available at the time, on my Harley I always ran a conti on the rear and an Avon/Metzler on the front out of choice.
I have a set of tourance on the GS at the moment but the millage out the front has been rubbish so that will be replaced with either a conti or an avon, depends what is cheapest, but I certainly wont replace the back just because its a different make.

 

[AdamA]

If you think about it, you spend most of your time riding on tyres with mismatched profiles.
When a front tyre wears it goes V shaped and when the rear tyre wears it squares off (generally).
So unless you are on pretty much brand new tyres the profiles are mismatched.

Pretty much all tyres run differing compounds front and rear and most of the newer ones run differing compounds in the middle and the sides of the rear.
So most tyres have mismatched compounds.

So to run two differing tyres of a similar type really is a non issue as long as you are aware of the differences.

 

[SpyInTheCamp]

Thanks for the comments. I didn't think it'd be an issue as I've managed almost 400 miles on this combination so far and it feels great.

BTW, how many miles did you get out of your old D607? My rear was shot at 4K miles and I replaced it with another one because they are very grippy for what they are.

I seem to have managed 5,900 miles. Most of which was commuting plus a 1k round trip 'darn sarf'. Haven't had many bouts of weekend hooliganism this year.

As with previous Trailmaxes, the wear didn't seem to affect the tyre and it was good (in very wet conditions) right to the end in spite of its lack of tread.

Kai

 

[ianboydsnr]

I am running a tourance front and a trail attack rear, this combination seems better than the tourance rear that i used to have on

 

[mr badger]

Worst combination ever was Trailwing rear with 020 front on my old Varadero, with full luggage.

The idiot bike dealers charged with getting me going in deepest Belgium fitted the Deathwing despite my detailed instructions not to via AXA who were handing my recovery.

Had to ride the 500m home that afternoon so couldn't quibble any more. Its a ghastly feeling when the front and rear tyres want to track different arcs coming off motorway junctions.

Tyre changed next day - still in shed if anyone wants one.

 

[Schtum]

As with previous Trailmaxes, the wear didn't seem to affect the tyre and it was good (in very wet conditions) right to the end in spite of its lack of tread.

Interesting - mine was anything but ok when it was nearly done. It was spinning up everywhere and stepping out in the wet.

 

[Brian ROSEN]

A popular myth?

When you consider how differently the front and rear rear tyres are acting there would seem to be no objection to mixing up makes etc. if they are intended for the same type of use. I am sure that the tyre manufacturers will not reccommend it though.

 

[Tartan Terror]

I used to run a Grifter back wheel on my Raliegh spider (popular mod during the 70's) and it gave that fat back end look we loved and the spokey dokes sounded louder too as an added bonus. Didn't seem to affect the handling either.