Mixing tires

[pdef]

I will have to replace my tires in a couple weeks and am thinking of going with BT-10 or BT-12 on the front and a BT-20 rear. I do mostly highway riding (yeah yeah) and am thinking this set up will be the best for me. The 20 is Z rated and they are both Bridgestone radials so I don't think there will be a problem.

Anyone have any comments or personal experience with this?

[ddavis]

I don't know about Bridgestone but, I mix a Pilot sport front with a pilot road rear. The differences, as I understand it, are the shape and soft/hard compound. The sport tire is pointed and soft. The road tire is round and hard. I did this to even out the wear between front and rear.

The bike came with Dunlops that I chewed up quickly. I feel like the handling improved a lot with the Michelin tires. It would probobly be even better with sports on both ends but, I do a lot of distance riding and would rather not have flat spots. I try real hard to make even these north Texas roads seem twisty but, I probobly look drunk swerving down the straits! :mrgreen:

[Tx Rider]

I had a soft sport Dunlop k591 on my front and a harder sport/tour K401 on my sportster, the stupid dealer did it to me, I wanted a K591 rear too. I figured it wasn't worth the hassle and that he just lost a customer and just decided to ride with it and check it out.

It didn't seem to ride bad at all, but I always had this mental picture of it slipping when I leaned in to drag a peg, so I never pushed it over that far on it. It did spin a bit on hard takeoffs on some of the greasier asphalt roads, something I didn't notice with the softer rear.

It did wear a lot better though, the 591's were only good for about 5000 miles.

[VFRinAustin]

pdef,

The 010/020 combo is exaclty the set-up I have on the SVS and it works great. This is a very popular mix combination and lots of people run it. If I remeber reading correctly , the 020 has the same profile as the 010, just a different compound. I find that wear wise I can get about 7k-8k out of both front and rear and then replace them at the same time without worry of wasting unused rubber on the front. And best of all the front is more solid with the 010 than with an 020 or a Mez 4.

[HiSPL]

WOW! I wish I could get 7-8 thousand miles out of a set of tires!!! :shock:
I get about 3500 out of the rear and twice that on the front. I'm due for a full set right now but I don't have the funds for it just yet.... :-? I use Metzeler me55 Metronic on the rear and a me33 Laser front.

[ddavis]

I expect to get 10k out of my michelins. I have about 7k now, and plenty of tread left. Thanks to my 2800 mile trip to NC and the twisty roads there! :-D No flat spots yet!

[Tourmeister]

:tab Remember, tire longevity is EXTREMELY sensitive to a rider's style of riding. Some people are real easy on tires and can seemingly make them last forever. Others can barely eek out a few thousand miles from a touring tire! Lately, I seem to be leaning towards the low mileage end of the spectrum :roll:

Adios,

[ddavis]

The KLX eats tires! I guess its the off road design. The last set I had on is the same spec as BMW uses. The worked really good but, didn't last. They were 80/20 (80 on road, 20 off).

[Tx Rider]

Yup the knobbier the tread the faster they go.

I looked at those tires Scott said he was going to get, they look real interesting.

I'll be interested in how well they fare offroad in mud and sand, they look like a real good compromise for road wear and off road, not really like any I've used which tended to be more traditional knobbies but more with close set knobs and hard compound.