What are your thoughts on mixing tire styles. I was thinking of a Michelin road 6 on the rear of my bonnaville and a Michelin road classic for the front. I would get the road 6s for both but they don't make it in the front for my size. I could go classic for both but there is not much feedback on them on the web.
I wouldn't mix brands or versions personally because I have always been led to believe bike tyres are designed to work together. Happy to be corrected though!
I am running a Power 5 on the front of my Speed Triple with a Road 4 on the rear. I have had no issues on the road or track.
Mixing modern tyres, especially if you don't race , has little effect on how they handle . Most if not all tyre's nowadays are far far better than most of us can use ! You would be a road warrior if you could even get close to the tyre's adhesion limits.
My only thought on it and am willing to get shot down for it is that each type of tyre has a different profile and I wonder how that may affect the handling
Very little effect on handling , unless you really ride harder and faster than you should ! Tyre's are round rubber things that go on rim's , to help stop the jarring that wood and iron wheels transfer to your vehicle , be it two or four wheeler ! Tyres and their profile aren't too important if you just ride a road bike normally at licence preserving speeds. If you have a super sport and death wish , it becomes important. I've been mixing - brands-profiles-sizes(aspect ratio) for year's. Triumph Trident ('94) Triumph Sprint ('99) and Triumph America ('09) I buy what is either available or cheaper at the time, I have had No problem keeping the Bike on the road at any legal speeds , in any weather.... !
That's kinda what I'm thinking, I'm not an aggressive rider, that's why I bought a Bonneville. But I want good tires on it. I like the michelin road 6s but they don't make the front tire in the Bonneville's size. I can get the rear in a road 6 and I can get the michelin classic for the front. Both are michelins and the profile should be compatible. It should definitely be better that the stock pirelli's.
Most if not all tyre's are better than we are ! Just some , somehow make a few of us twitchy ''' If you're bum don't Twitch It'll Do !!
How hard and fast should you ride? That is such an open ended question. Forget the moral high ground and banging on about speed limits, we all know they exist and where/what they are but I don't believe anyone buys a high performance sports bike and NEVER gives it it's head occasionally. I've mixed and matched tyres in the past, usually because of availability, with varying results. I've mixed Pilot Road numbers on the ZZR and they were fine even though not recommended by the manufacturer. I had to put an Avon something or other on the front of my Fireblade back in '95 when I couldn't get a matching Bridgestone and it was terrible. This was just before our annual TT pilgrimage and it ruined the holiday!!
So here's another thought on my tire dilemma. I can get the road 6 front tire in a 110/90-18. The stock tire size is 100/90-18 So I wonder if a slightly wider tire would be ok? I'm guessing the big issue would be if there is clearance clearance. I can't see 10 millimeters making that big of a difference on the rim.
In theory a wider tyre will slow the steering but in practise I wouldn't expect it to feel any different on a bike like a Bonneville assuming clearance is OK. The wheel + tyre will be around 18mm taller with a 2.8% increase in rolling radius which will make the speedo read slightly slower than with the smaller tyre if speed is measured by the front wheel but it's negligible IMO.
This is going on a new 2023 T120 so I don't think the speedo pickup is on the front wheel. I thought the first number in tire size was the width?
Numbers, in sequence are tyre width, profile as a % of width and diameter. 90% of 110 is greater than 90% of 100, hence the increase in diameter & circumference.
I always stick to the original sizes but often mix brands (whatever is cheapest) and never had a problem. Tyres are all very similar these days.
Oh dear a real can of worms, firstly it depends on what type of riding you do, whilst it is very true that for road riding a rider will never find the limit of adhesion, that said riding in the UK the weather can and does dramatically change, and that does have a bearing on what tyres you have. Take say a machine fitted with a Pirelli Supercorsa on the rear, and you had a new Metzler Racetech RR to hand, and you fitted this to the front (or vice versa), then the profile alters, the Metzler sits higher so the handling alters, and not for the better, a lot of people think the Supercorsa and RRs are the same, well I can assure you they are not, as a matched pair they handle similar but do have anomalies. Personally I never mix tyres the consequences may become serious, many people get away with it and are happy. If during a spirited ride you suddenly encountered a wet or slippery surface on a bend, and the rear held good grip whilst the front did not due to the different wet weather characteristics, then you may be faced with a low side or worse still a highside, on the twisties you have at best an inch of tyre contact or less for a lot of riders, that's a lot to go wrong with a mixed tyre combination, you can get away with it on a car due to 4 wheels on the tarmac, and a larger tyre contact area. I only use Supercorsa's or RRs, for the last few years I have stuck with the RRs, they are slightly higher profile, thus raising the ride height but not enough to make it a "tip toe effect". Ride safe all from and ageing Rocker.
I try different brands as new tyres come on the market but personally never mix front and rear tyres and always use matched pairs. Tyres have been tested as matched pairs but if you mismatch then you become the tester and the result might not always be positive.
Sound advice everyone, thank you! I guess I'll just pick the bike up with the crappy pirelli's and wait until I can get some better tires as they become available. I'd still like to get the avons for my Bonnie but with them shutting down their british plant it may be awhile before they become available. I'm not a real aggressive rider but I do want a tire with good grip in the turns. So I guess I'll wait. The T120 bonneville has a bastard size front wheel and tire choices are limited. Some guys appear to be happy with bridgestone battlax tires but I've never been a fan of them myself. But then again they are better than the stock tires..........
I have a 2020 T120 Ace Cafe. The OEM front Phantom, which was terrible from the start, wore out quickly and I replaced it with a Metzler Roadtec 01. Left the back Phantom on as it had 80% tread left. Performance with the mixed set is totally different, for the better. Solid in a straight line and on the curves. I'm not a peg scraper, but you probably wouldn't be with a Bonnie. However, a little aggression is good for the digestion sometimes.
