Different Tyre Manufacturers

Morning all

I have a 2013 blade and I have a dilema with regards tyres.

I am currently running Pirelli diablo Rosso ii front and rear.

Front needs changing and so I have a question.

Is it dangerous/ do you need to stick with one manufacturer of tyre for front and rear or can you mix and match?

I have put it to a local bike shop and they have said that with tyres being so close that it doesn't really matter.

I am just thinking from a safety perspective as opposed to a money saving perspective, also when it comes to changing the rear, if I were to change the front now for a different manufacturer then I could always try different tyres without having to shell out loads.

Sorry for the slightly extended question, but look forward to hearing views of others.

Cheers

Rob

 

My view is that it might make a difference on track where tyres are truly taxed to their limits, but for spirited road riding I don't think it matters. I copped flak recently for using different compounds on my 2011(Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa II 190/50ZR17 rear, and Pirelli Diablo Rosso II 120/70 front). For me it works, because I am hard on the front.

This is one of those subjects that will generate a thousand different responses. Sometimes, you just have to go with your gut.

 

I would stick with the same compound and brand front and rear, for me it's always been the same. Two matching tyres, I don't see the benefit in having odd ones.......plus it would get on my nerves

 

Different compounds shouldn’t matter if from the same manufacturer range but I definitely wouldn’t use two different manufacturers front and back

 

Due to me being ultra picky once the rear goes even if the front still ok I still put new on both and always the same brand and model for the sake of a few quid your safety and pce of mind is worth it..,,

 

I'll PM my address for your half-worn fronts!!

(I'll put them on my RR4 because the tyres go out of date even before they're scrubbed in).

 

Ah, Raph. You definitely must become more negotiable.

Back in the 1800s when my gran pappy Hoss Cartwright was haulin' wagon trains across the Santa Fe trail, he was not bothered which blacksmith or grade of steel was used for his wheel rims. How progress has pampered you.

 

Respectfully, where is the risk? Rubber is rubber (with additives) so as long as they are within date and the recommended specs (profile/speed rating) of the manufacturer I can not fathom how it would affect riding stability and safety.

I do not think there is any definitive statement on this other than a rule-of-thumb having evolved from car usage in the days of mixing cross-ply with radials.

 

I use my soft fronts and medium rear supercorsa SC1 and SC2 in warmer weather, I like loads of front end grip, I go back to my std road tyres for off season M7rr

 

for me i would imagine different brands and tyres warm up at different rates so mixing tyres can lead to a grippy rear and a loose front, now who wants a loose front lol.

but you get my point so i always stick with the same brand and model of tyre front and rear.

Pete

 

This is my point though, as an exercise in learning about tyre performance. What we 'imagine' and what is 'fact' can vary infinitely. Many of us know that Metzler is owned by Pirelli, so we might reasonably suspect that technology, in the form of compounds, is shared between the companies. Can we then be sure that we'd be purchasing the same compounds for our 'set' of tyres?

To elaborate, and to provide a definitive example of 'same brand' variations, my recent purchase of Pirellis were manufactured not only in two different plants - but in two different countries. Yes!! The front is made in China, whereas the rear is manufactured in Germany. That provides great scope for compound differences in the same way that a Big Mac® is NOT the same in every restaurant as professed by the parent company. I could also 'imagine' that Quality Control procedures would vary with language interpretation and perhaps laxed business practices (as often asserted by forum members) of Chinese production.

On that basis, we could have the situation where tyres of the same matched set could reasonably be of different production methods and therefore not warm up at the same rate as some might expect.

 

Nigel i'd stop giving advice out when u don't really know what your talking about, u could kill the guy,

 

its each to their own but i would not mix tyres, i 'Imagine' you have been riding longer than me and i you are happy to mix tyres, that is your preference with no issues up to now.

Pete

 

if your nocking on a bit into a corner u have to have faith in first your front then your loading both tyre up at same time, how can u do that with two diff compounds on, u need a certain amount of faith with your tyres
I found that out on a track day 2day, not been on a bike for a bit and it took me till the 3rd session to start having faith in the front and just chuck in into a bend, then accelerating out the bend on the side of the tyre as fast as u can b4 shitting yourself
I guess it comes down to how fast you go, good sports tourer gives plenty of grip on the road, and there cheaper

 

Tyre technology has come on a bit in the last few years folks

I have run different tyres from different manufactures on my road bikes many times and had no issues, lets face it, most folk dont push a tyre on the road regardless of the pub bull shit, I dont do it on y track bikes though

Rob

 

If money isn't an issue I'd swap both.

However, I seem to always run miss-matched tyres on my track bikes, spent most of last season on SC front and slick rear. Currently the 'blade has slicks Dunlop rear and a Bridgestone front and the GSXR has a Bridgestone rear and a Dunlop front.

Mine tend to be mixed as I'm a numpty but some of the faster guys do it on purpose as they prefer certain fronts and rears.

 

Strange comment in reply to my posts that have not given nor contain one piece of 'advice'.

You do not know me other than through my posts on this forum. For the record, my 'talking' is the benefit of 50 years licensed riding; years of road racing Cotton 125, Honda 125, and Honda CB 750 converted to a racing bike. On the latter I had won races at various circuits (with lap records) so the subjects of tyres, gearing, and racing in general are very close and dear to me. Those were the days of racing on 'triangulars' and without the variety of soft and multi-compounds now available.

I have not advised @Robbie nor anyone else to USE unmatched tyres; rather, I have merely responded to his question: 'Sorry for the slightly extended question, but look forward to hearing views of others,' by offering my experiences and citing factual information of my own fitments. I am certainly of the opinion that for road use the average rider would not notice the difference in different branded tyres and that opinion has been reinforced by other members as above. Further, I understand the legal ramifications of advising a particular tyre or brand, should a mishap occur. There can be no intelligent interpretation of my posts that would lead a rider to think he could be 'killed' simply because of what I have posted.

The benefit of forums such as this is to seek and exchange knowledge for the betterment of motorcycling. I have no problem with a member telling me that I don't know what I'm talking about - although it actually requires knowledge to make such an assertion. However, to claim that I am giving advice that might result in the death of a fellow member is both unfounded and malicious.

 

I've always used the same tyres front/rear.
When I was doing 12k + a year I used to only change front when needed in order to keep costs down.
But now I'm on lower mileage I do the same as Paulo and change both at the same time even if the front has wear left.
I've no knowledge technical wise on tyres, but what I do know from experience of nearly 365 day a year riding and trying loads is there is quite a big difference in feel between some of the so called Summer fast road tyres even though they're for the same thing.
The biggest difference I've found was between the Sportsmarts and the MM7...
Massive difference in feel and wear.
So just from that I personally wouldn't be comfortable with that type of combination.
Just think you've got to be careful and if you're going with a mix then pick a proven recommended combo such as @SimonRR mentioned