Is there a difference in these tires?

[NinjaRap]

My current tires are shot and I need some new ones. I'm looking at some BT-45's on motorcycle-superstore.com. They have the front tire I need in a BT-45, but for the rear they just have the BT-45V in the size I need.
Is there a difference between BT-45 and BT-45V's? If there is, is it okay the mix the two?
Thanks, and it's for a 2008 Ninja, btw.

[Jiggles]

I think the V is a speed rating and they are actually the same tire. Someone will chime in with more knowledge though

[NinjaRap]

Yeah, I know it's a speed rating. I just want to make sure it's okay to have a front tire that's not V-rated, matched with a rear that is, before I go ahead and make the purchase.

[Whiskey]

Originally Posted by NinjaRap

Yeah, I know it's a speed rating. I just want to make sure it's okay to have a front tire that's not V-rated, matched with a rear that is, before I go ahead and make the purchase.

Well do you plan on having the bike go 149 mph? (If so do it on the back wheel)

As long as the front is R or higher it should be fine

[NinjaRap]

It's an H rating. Is that fine?

[NinjaRap]

And I just looked at the speed rating chart. Yep. Looks like I'm fine. I'm gonna make the purchase.

[Alex]

[NinjaRap]

Well, I'm an idiot.

I used this as a guide and didn't realize until now -- the day my tires got to my door -- that I ordered the wrong size. I have a 2008, and apparently the sizes listed in that page are for previous generations.

I only used it because it was posted in another thread on here about tire sizes. Still, my own fault.. I should have double-checked the size of the tires already on my bike. Oh well.

I post this only as a disclaimer to others: Don't be stupid like me.

But since I have your attention, I orderd the BT-45's off motorcycle-superstore. I'll wait for the refund before I re-order. But I noticed they had two versions for the front tire in the size I actually need: 110-70-17, which is an amazingly high price of $154, and 110-70-17 G, which is closer to $70-80. What's up with that?

Also, I called up a motorcycle shop in town and they said they only mount and balance tires they sell. Is this common? I'd gone through them initially, but their mark-up is nuts. Any suggestions?

[Jiggles]

the G model is the one that came stock on the suzuki gs 500. It is exactly the same as the other one, I have the G set on my bike right now, runs perfect, wait no it doesnt cuz I crashed...

[NinjaRap]

But not the cause of your crash, I hope?

[Jiggles]

Uh no that was a dumb teenage whore haha

[Jono]

[CynicalC]

Originally Posted by NinjaRap

Also, I called up a motorcycle shop in town and they said they only mount and balance tires they sell. Is this common? I'd gone through them initially, but their mark-up is nuts. Any suggestions?

If you have a cyclegear nearby, they'll take care of you. Some of the smaller shops tend to be picky. The one by me started giving me crap as soon as I walked through the door, asking where I got the tires and saying that the reason tires are usually so cheap online is because they're old. (Mine weren't) and said that they only charge 10% above cost so I should buy from him next time.

[NinjaRap]

Yeah, that's the vibe I got from this guy. We have a few other places in town, hopefully I'll find one that will work for me. I mean, I just want a set of tires mounted and balanced, if they are worried about liability, I'll sign a damn waiver.

[Reswob]

It may be too late since you already ordered, but I know on a car you are not supposed to mix speed ratings on the tires. Even if you don't ever come close to the maximum speed the tire is rated for, the different ratings will handle differently. Not sure if this applies to a bike.

[CynicalC]

Originally Posted by Reswob

It may be too late since you already ordered, but I know on a car you are not supposed to mix speed ratings on the tires. Even if you don't ever come close to the maximum speed the tire is rated for, the different ratings will handle differently. Not sure if this applies to a bike.

More important, if you rotate your tires properly, you will never have to buy just a pair of tires. People who do that **** drive me nuts.

[Mulholland]

Originally Posted by CynicalC

More important, if you rotate your tires properly, you will never have to buy just a pair of tires. People who do that **** drive me nuts.

more importantly a bike has a contact patch of tread like the size of your palm so issues like that actualy matter, meanwhile you could drive a car on ANY tires that fit on the whees and hold air and have tread (or at least even a layer of rubber over the cords) and not impact the day to day driving/stopping abilities of the vehicle outside of load capacity and handling in bad weather. The speed rating on a car is mostly negligible as the handling characteristics don't matter to most drivers on the street, and most used cars ride around on mismatched tires. You're lucky if you see anything that isn't a new car on a matched set of tires really... people are cheap, and don't rotate.

A bike needs the best of conditions for tirs and traction even in normal driving situations so a matching front and rear are probably much more important. A front tire that will grip leaned over halfway towards dragging a knee at 40mph paired with a rear that won't... probably bad times. I would certainly want matching front and rear tires on a bike. On the car... meh

[CynicalC]

Originally Posted by Mulholland

more importantly a bike has a contact patch of tread like the size of your palm so issues like that actualy matter, meanwhile you could drive a car on ANY tires that fit on the whees and hold air and have tread (or at least even a layer of rubber over the cords) and not impact the day to day driving/stopping abilities of the vehicle outside of load capacity and handling in bad weather. The speed rating on a car is mostly negligible as the handling characteristics don't matter to most drivers on the street, and most used cars ride around on mismatched tires. You're lucky if you see anything that isn't a new car on a matched set of tires really... people are cheap, and don't rotate.

A bike needs the best of conditions for tirs and traction even in normal driving situations so a matching front and rear are probably much more important. A front tire that will grip leaned over halfway towards dragging a knee at 40mph paired with a rear that won't... probably bad times. I would certainly want matching front and rear tires on a bike. On the car... meh

Yeah the only reason it bothers me on a car is because there's no reason for it, not because of how it might affect the handling because there are so many other factors involved there. But on bike it's common to replace the rear tire much more often than the front just because it wears so much faster. And you often just can't get matching tires in the sizes you need, especially on the pregens. So I don't see it as a tragedy for them to be mismatched on a bike at all.

[Liist]

I get my car tires from Discount Tire. They rotate them for free for life. Even fix flats for you for free. Totally worth any extra I'm paying compared to online prices.