Tire Mismatch

[happy wanderer]

I've been riding on Metzelers for years. My R90/6, R75/5, RS100 and R1100RT have all had Metzelers. Great tires. But I am finding that my R1100RT is going through the Z6 Roadtec rear tires really fast.

I keep reading how great the Michelin Road Pilot 2 tires are and that they last longer. I need a new rear (again) and I was considering throwing on a Michelin and leaving the Metzeler on the front till it is done. It is only half worn.

But everyone says never mix tire brands. Back in the 80's we specifically chose different brands for front and rear for their different wear and performance characteristics. I used to use Dunlop on the front and Michelin on the rear for long tours because the Michelin was a WAY harder compound and went the distance.

Is it really a problem to have a Michelin Road Pilot on the back and Metzeler on the front?

 

[rockosmith]

I have run a Michelin PR2 on the rear with a Shinko 009 on the front with good results on an 1150R. Also a PR2 with a Dunlop Roadsmart front with no problem.

 

[kgadley01]

I've been riding on Metzelers for years. My R90/6, R75/5, RS100 and R1100RT have all had Metzelers. Great tires. But I am finding that my R1100RT is going through the Z6 Roadtec rear tires really fast.

I keep reading how great the Michelin Road Pilot 2 tires are and that they last longer. I need a new rear (again) and I was considering throwing on a Michelin and leaving the Metzeler on the front till it is done. It is only half worn.

But everyone says never mix tire brands. Back in the 80's we specifically chose different brands for front and rear for their different wear and performance characteristics. I used to use Dunlop on the front and Michelin on the rear for long tours because the Michelin was a WAY harder compound and went the distance.

Is it really a problem to have a Michelin Road Pilot on the back and Metzeler on the front?

Thats baloney !!! you can mix your tires. just be carefull about the differance in compond. otherwise don't put a sticky sport tire with a touring tire.

 

[Mr. Frank]

I ran a Z6 front with a Michelin Pilot Road rear with no problem.

 

[E_Page]

I ran a Z6 front with a Michelin Pilot Road rear with no problem.

Same here. Replaced my rear with a PR2 a few months ago. Front, a Z6 was near new, so I left it on. No problems several thousand miles later.

 

[kantuckid]

880 on the back for mileage and z-6 on the front rides great, not quite as sticky but hard to tell the difference...

 

[R53hgd55]

Michelin PR2 on the front with 9k... Dunlap Roadsmart on the Rear with 5k. A puncture destroyed the rear forcing me to prematurely replace the original PR2. No issues with the mismatch.

 

[jhgilbert]

I'm running a ME880 on the rear and a PR2 on the front. When I mounted the PR2, I was amazed at how well it gripped without a break-in. But it's getting noisier as it ages.

 

[rms000]

Pilot Road and Road 2

My front tire needs replacing and have Pilot Roads on now. I was considering putting the road 2's on the front now and on the rear when ready. I was advised not to mix these two tires. Please advise

 

[Mr. Frank]

Who advised you not to mix those two tires. Both are radials and touring tires. Both are the same brand. There should be no problem. Read the previous replies to the original poster.

 

[jduke]

Frank, I think as long as they are both round and fit on the rims, you should be okay....

 

[robsryder]

On my R11RS the front and rear tires do not wear out at the same rate. Generally the rear tire is ready for replacement in 6000 to 9000 miles and the front is usually good for 7000 to 10,000 miles. So, most of the time my bike has mis-matched tires (unless I am staying with the same Mfr and tire). I use tires from a variety of manufacturers - I don't particularly find one much better than another.

I do, sometimes find one tire that is much less expensive at some tire vendor.

However, just yesterday I replaced both front and rear tires together using Bridgestone Battlax BT-21 tires. I obtained these tires from Iron Pony locally - even with sales tax included Iron Pony was less than my usual tire source (SW Moto).

It sort of bothered me to be changing the front tire as I think that it has about 1500 to 2000 miles left; the rear tire would need replacement in around 500 miles. But I'm preparing to head to the RA rally next week and my riding buddies are interested in taking a long way back home. Thus, I expect that we will end up riding about 3000 miles (maybe more). So new tires were in order - otherwise I'd have mis-matched tires.

 

[jforgo]

Never had problems due to mixing brands. My only caveat is to make sure the front is equal to, or stickier than, the rear. Front tire drift in a curve is frightful. You may get an engineered "system" benefit by always using matched manufacturer's tires, but I think the "no mix" idea is largely perpetrated to sell more tires. For both marketing and liabilty reasons, a manufacturer could never advocate brand, or even "nonsystem", mixing. Absence of manufacturer acceptance of tire mixing really means little if anything.

 

[bikerfish1100]

you can mix your tires. just be carefull about the differance in compond. otherwise don't put a sticky sport tire with a touring tire.

why not? sticky up front, less so in rear could work fine, right outta the box. although, if the touring tire was really squared, it could be a concern- but new tires for our bikes aren't really shaped like that any more)
fwiw- i run Pirellis, and first feel on the new Angel ST dual compund tire is WOW (previous tires were the Diablo Stradas).

good plan is to avoid mixing radial and bias tires, but even some will do that (radial rear, bias front- but NOT the other way around)

 

[happy wanderer]

Well, on the way to Redmond we stopped for the night just south of the Columbia. Next morning I took a look at my rear tire and noticed two 8" long rough strips in the middle of my Metzeler Z6 Roadtec. Hmmm.. That does not look good thought I. It was squared off pretty good too. I took it easy that day for the final miles to Redmond.

When the tire came off at the rally (no great tire deals this year!) I checked out the worn strips and was shocked to see some metal showing through! That was a close one but no blowout thankfully. I was also shocked to find out just how thin the inner rubber is. When you get down to those metal cords, there is not much there at all. Got my money's worth from that tire!

I decided to put a Michelin Pilot Road 2 on there and give them a try. The Metzeler is a great handling tire but my issue with it is you just can't tell when it's near done till it is too late. No wear bars and no grooves in the middle. The Pilot tires have grooves that come to the middle where they thin out compared to the sidewalls but at least you will have some idea of how far gone the tire is.

So the half gone Metzeler on the front will stay there till done at which point I'll put a Pilot Road 2 on there also. The ride back was great. The mismatch tires seem to work just fine together. You notice a huge difference with a new tire after riding on one that is squared off like that. The bike corners way smoother and that "climb and dive" into the turn stops happening.