Tire Advice - Mixing and matching tires??

djpharoah · May 28th, 2009, 06:49 PM

Well I got a huge 1/2" screw in my front tire which are the stock Dunlop K630s. I want to replace the front with a BT45 as I really don't want to spend the bread on the rear tire.

However a few friends of mine have told me to switch both but they couldn't say why? I figure as long as the front is stickier which I'm sure it would be in this case I'm good right?

Advise me please - right now the tire is sealed with some sealant from Autozone and its holding pressure.

Alex · May 28th, 2009, 06:58 PM

If the rear has plenty of tread on it and you're happy with it, I'd change out the front now and change the rear when it needs it. Personally I couldn't stand the K630's and got them off as soon as I possibly could anyway. There isn't anything inherently unsafe about having a BT45 in front and a K630 in the rear as long as both are in good condition and have proper pressure.

djpharoah · May 28th, 2009, 07:08 PM

Honestly I never was happy with the tires as they always seemed twitchy and used to ride in every road snake but this isnt how I planned on doing it.

Snake · May 28th, 2009, 07:09 PM

I did the same thing but I replaced the rear first with sport demons and then several hundred miles later when the front finaly wore out I replaced it. I had no issues with the mixing of the two brands.

Viper-Byte · May 28th, 2009, 07:55 PM

I am running a new sport demon on my front and stock GT501 rear with 14000kms and I have not noticed any issues.

kkim · May 28th, 2009, 08:04 PM

can someone explain why on cars they discourage the practice of mounting different tires front and rear to avoid odd handling characteristics, but on bikes it is perfectly acceptable?

seems to me, on bikes it would be even more critical to have matching tires from the same manufacturer front and rear to avoid weird handling.

Angel-be-Good · May 28th, 2009, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kkim

can someone explain why on cars they discourage the practice of mounting different tires front and rear to avoid odd handling characteristics, but on bikes it is perfectly acceptable?

seems to me, on bikes it would be even more critical to have matching tires from the same manufacturer front and rear to avoid weird handling.

I think generally, front and back tires don't need to match on a car, but both front tires should be the same, both rear tires should be the same to avoid any pulling to the side. With an all-wheel-drive car, it's recommended to have all matching tires of similar tread depth because of the way they transfer drive away from wheels that the car perceives to be slipping.

kkim · May 28th, 2009, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angel-be-Good

I think generally, front and back tires don't need to match on a car, but both front tires should be the same, both rear tires should be the same to avoid any pulling to the side. With an all-wheel-drive car, it's recommended to have all matching tires of similar tread depth because of the way they transfer drive away from wheels that the car perceives to be slipping.

That's not my understanding...
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...jsp?techid=136

DerTeufel · May 28th, 2009, 09:33 PM

I try to match tire profiles in regards to motorcycle tires. I have a Continental Sport Attack tire on the front of the TL, and a Conti Road Attack on the rear. In the past I have mixed different brands with no ill effects, but I did try to keep the tire profiles as close as possible to each other.

Alex · May 28th, 2009, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kkim

can someone explain why on cars they discourage the practice of mounting different tires front and rear to avoid odd handling characteristics, but on bikes it is perfectly acceptable?

If you talk to the tire manufacturers or the motorcycle manufacturers, you're likely to get a response in line with your thoughts. But in practice, people have been doing it since motorcycles have been invented with little ill effects. I'm sure there are instances where things can get weird (radial on one end, bias-ply on the other; or perhaps supersticky diagonal profile race tire on front and squared off rockhard touring tire on back), but as long as the tires are more similar than that, I wouldn't stress.

djpharoah · May 28th, 2009, 10:59 PM

Well if I do this I will have a bias-ply in the rear and a radial in the front which on the internet is considered a big no-no. What do you all think?

kkim · May 28th, 2009, 11:08 PM

the bt45 is a bias ply tire.

Alex · May 28th, 2009, 11:22 PM

As are the GT501's, the Sport Demons, and several other of the recommended tires for the ninjette.

kkim · May 28th, 2009, 11:28 PM

Not that I'm disagreeing with what you posted (I would never do that!

), but I was referring to his original post which he said he wanted to use a bt45 in the front. guess he thought the bt45 was a radial.

Alex · May 28th, 2009, 11:30 PM

I was agreeing with you, no worries.

HKr1 · May 29th, 2009, 05:24 AM

I would go with, No riding in the rain & no pushing the limits. Miss matching f to r should be fine.

CC Cowboy · May 29th, 2009, 05:42 AM

If you just do wheelies and stoppies it shouldn't make much of a difference if the front and back are different since you will only be on one tire most of the time.

DerTeufel · May 29th, 2009, 05:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

If you just do wheelies and stoppies it shouldn't make much of a difference if the front and back are different since you will only be on one tire most of the time.

I can't fault that logic!

backinthesaddleagain · May 29th, 2009, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angel-be-Good

I think generally, front and back tires don't need to match on a car, but both front tires should be the same, both rear tires should be the same to avoid any pulling to the side. With an all-wheel-drive car, it's recommended to have all matching tires of similar tread depth because of the way they transfer drive away from wheels that the car perceives to be slipping.

Same tires at all 4 corners recommended for ABS cars as well, unless from factory car as different sized tires on front vs rear (G35coupe, vette, others).

backinthesaddleagain · May 29th, 2009, 07:44 AM

From what I hear best to keep profiles on front and rear as close as possible as some will have more of a "step" from straight up to lean than others. Some might argue that if the compounds are different then the front and rears might have different levels of grip, but often times bikes have a different feel in a corner between the front and rear tires, even with a "matched" pair and proper pressure. Now when I worked in a bike shop (and its been a while) people came in and bought 1 tire. Now its almost treated like a crime to want to buy 1 tire.

djpharoah · May 29th, 2009, 06:00 PM

I got a Bridgestone G547 at 100/90-16. The garage owner was flipping out over it being a 90 aspect ratio vs 80 stock. It was fine as its the same size+ratio as the BT45 which while nice I didn't see spending the extra money necessary on this bike.

So yay - I'm back on my bike and I've got a 100mile break-in process. Thanks guys/gals.

May 28th, 2009, 06:49 PM	#1
djpharoah \m/ Name: Mesh Location: Irvine, CA Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): CBR600F3 Smokin Joes Posts: 138	Tire Advice - Mixing and matching tires?? Well I got a huge 1/2" screw in my front tire which are the stock Dunlop K630s. I want to replace the front with a BT45 as I really don't want to spend the bread on the rear tire. However a few friends of mine have told me to switch both but they couldn't say why? I figure as long as the front is stickier which I'm sure it would be in this case I'm good right? Advise me please - right now the tire is sealed with some sealant from Autozone and its holding pressure.

May 28th, 2009, 06:58 PM	#2
Alex ninjette.org dude Name: 1 guess :-) Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 7	If the rear has plenty of tread on it and you're happy with it, I'd change out the front now and change the rear when it needs it. Personally I couldn't stand the K630's and got them off as soon as I possibly could anyway. There isn't anything inherently unsafe about having a BT45 in front and a K630 in the rear as long as both are in good condition and have proper pressure. __________________________________________________ Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered)

May 28th, 2009, 07:55 PM	#5
Viper-Byte ninjette.org sage Name: David Location: Wellington, New Zealand Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): 08 Ninja 250R in Green! (Sold) Now 2011 Triumph Daytona 675 SE Posts: 564	I am running a new sport demon on my front and stock GT501 rear with 14000kms and I have not noticed any issues. __________________________________________________ 2008 GREEN Kawasaki Ninja 250R. AreaP Quiet Core Carbon Fibre : 8000k HIDs : Dynojet Jet kit : Double Bubble Windscreen

May 28th, 2009, 11:22 PM	#13
Alex ninjette.org dude Name: 1 guess :-) Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 7	As are the GT501's, the Sport Demons, and several other of the recommended tires for the ninjette. __________________________________________________ Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered)

May 28th, 2009, 11:28 PM	#14
kkim Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: Too much.	Not that I'm disagreeing with what you posted (I would never do that!), but I was referring to his original post which he said he wanted to use a bt45 in the front. guess he thought the bt45 was a radial.

May 28th, 2009, 07:08 PM	#3
djpharoah \m/ Name: Mesh Location: Irvine, CA Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): CBR600F3 Smokin Joes Posts: 138	Honestly I never was happy with the tires as they always seemed twitchy and used to ride in every road snake but this isnt how I planned on doing it.

May 28th, 2009, 07:09 PM	#4
Snake ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Rick Location: Alexandria, Louisiana Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): 05 Blue Ninja 250 Posts: Too much. MOTY - 2017, MOTM - Jan '19, Oct '16, May '14	I did the same thing but I replaced the rear first with sport demons and then several hundred miles later when the front finaly wore out I replaced it. I had no issues with the mixing of the two brands.

May 28th, 2009, 08:04 PM	#6
kkim Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: Too much.	can someone explain why on cars they discourage the practice of mounting different tires front and rear to avoid odd handling characteristics, but on bikes it is perfectly acceptable? seems to me, on bikes it would be even more critical to have matching tires from the same manufacturer front and rear to avoid weird handling.

May 28th, 2009, 09:33 PM	#9
DerTeufel ninjette.org member Name: Aaron Location: Wildomar Join Date: May 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250R, 2009 KTM 690 SMC, 2001 Suzuki GSX-R 750 (track bike) Posts: 172	I try to match tire profiles in regards to motorcycle tires. I have a Continental Sport Attack tire on the front of the TL, and a Conti Road Attack on the rear. In the past I have mixed different brands with no ill effects, but I did try to keep the tire profiles as close as possible to each other.

May 28th, 2009, 10:59 PM	#11
djpharoah \m/ Name: Mesh Location: Irvine, CA Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): CBR600F3 Smokin Joes Posts: 138	Well if I do this I will have a bias-ply in the rear and a radial in the front which on the internet is considered a big no-no. What do you all think?

May 28th, 2009, 11:08 PM	#12
kkim Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: Too much.	the bt45 is a bias ply tire.

May 28th, 2009, 11:30 PM	#15
Alex ninjette.org dude Name: 1 guess :-) Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 7	I was agreeing with you, no worries. __________________________________________________ Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered)

May 29th, 2009, 05:24 AM	#16
HKr1 IC2(SW) Name: Kerry Location: Pensacola Join Date: Nov 2008 Motorcycle(s): . Posts: A lot.	I would go with, No riding in the rain & no pushing the limits. Miss matching f to r should be fine.

May 29th, 2009, 05:42 AM	#17
CC Cowboy ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Whodat Location: Ware Is.,MA Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): I pass the wind! Posts: A lot. MOTM - Mar '13, Jun '14	If you just do wheelies and stoppies it shouldn't make much of a difference if the front and back are different since you will only be on one tire most of the time. __________________________________________________ If everything seems under control; you're just not going fast enough!

May 29th, 2009, 07:44 AM	#20
backinthesaddleagain ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Greg Location: Rhode Island Join Date: Apr 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2013 ZX6R 636 Posts: A lot.	From what I hear best to keep profiles on front and rear as close as possible as some will have more of a "step" from straight up to lean than others. Some might argue that if the compounds are different then the front and rears might have different levels of grip, but often times bikes have a different feel in a corner between the front and rear tires, even with a "matched" pair and proper pressure. Now when I worked in a bike shop (and its been a while) people came in and bought 1 tire. Now its almost treated like a crime to want to buy 1 tire.

May 29th, 2009, 06:00 PM	#21
djpharoah \m/ Name: Mesh Location: Irvine, CA Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): CBR600F3 Smokin Joes Posts: 138	I got a Bridgestone G547 at 100/90-16. The garage owner was flipping out over it being a 90 aspect ratio vs 80 stock. It was fine as its the same size+ratio as the BT45 which while nice I didn't see spending the extra money necessary on this bike. So yay - I'm back on my bike and I've got a 100mile break-in process. Thanks guys/gals.

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