can you mix donlops and metzler tires safely
- Thread starter mslater
- Start date
Mixing different brands of tires can be dangerous under certain conditions because of the different handling characteristics of the different tires.
Think of it this way...
Would you go running with a sneaker on one foot and a
dress shoe on the other foot?
Tires on a motorcycle are much the same. The are designed
to work together to provide the maximum grip on the surface
of the road.
It may be okay for you in the beginning, but when one tire
warms faster than the mismatched tire does, one will have
the grip thru the corner. While the other will cause you to
slide the rear end or worse cause your front end to slide out
and causing you to go into a high side.
It's your choice but I wouldn't mix brands.
Think of it this way...
Would you go running with a sneaker on one foot and a
dress shoe on the other foot?
Tires on a motorcycle are much the same. The are designed
to work together to provide the maximum grip on the surface
of the road.
It may be okay for you in the beginning, but when one tire
warms faster than the mismatched tire does, one will have
the grip thru the corner. While the other will cause you to
slide the rear end or worse cause your front end to slide out
and causing you to go into a high side.
It's your choice but I wouldn't mix brands.
Bluesssman I am far from expert on tires , but your talking about different compounds using the same brand tire.
Ask your engineer friend if he would run Goodyear on one side of your race car and Michellin on the other side. I am sure that with regular driving there are no problems , but as speeds and temperature increases different brands will exhibit different characteristics.
With only 2 wheels on a bike I am not willing to take that chance, just to many variables. You and your engineer friend may well be versed in tire technology, but most of us on this site do not have such an expert to rely on.
We have Glider and Hobbit and thats about as good as it gets.
Bluesssman I respect your opinion on this subject but I never have or will I mix tire brands and a motorcycle.
Ask your engineer friend if he would run Goodyear on one side of your race car and Michellin on the other side. I am sure that with regular driving there are no problems , but as speeds and temperature increases different brands will exhibit different characteristics.
With only 2 wheels on a bike I am not willing to take that chance, just to many variables. You and your engineer friend may well be versed in tire technology, but most of us on this site do not have such an expert to rely on.
We have Glider and Hobbit and thats about as good as it gets.
Bluesssman I respect your opinion on this subject but I never have or will I mix tire brands and a motorcycle.
The most important on a motorcycle is that you have the same CLASS of tires front and back. if you inflate your front and rear tires slightly different they will definitely warm differently. If the rider's weight changes the tires will also warm differently.Acceleration road conditions etc. Looong list
bikermonkey
Active Member
I don't see a problem, long as both are radials. Motorcycle tires travel in line with each other, and there are two, not four as in a car. A car with one brand on one side, and another brand on the other would be obviously askewed in traction, but again a cycle is two wheels traking in line. All curves should be taken at a safe speed. If you hit any curve where you are doubting your traction, you are doing somthing wrong.:rider
You seem to have a contrary opinion on a few things and rely heavily on your "friends" advice but that's OK because it's not me on that bike.
Why not search the tire manufacturers sites and see what their recommendations are for mixing tires on a motorcycle as I have and come up with an informed opinion rather than posting something that can cause harm to a rider here on the forum.
If you ride with mixed brands, all would be OK if you just ride in a straight path but it when you get into a directional stability problem that the different tire compounds ( gripping ) will cause a problem here. We're talking two wheels here, not four, there is a difference.
Why not check here on the Goodyear site being your friend works there and read what they say about mixing tires. Again this is on a car so figure out the possible ramifications on two wheels. 5th one down on the list.
Goodyear Tires | Support | FAQs | Technical Information
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The facts are posted there on your friends site, how can you deny that?
The tire debate is like the great oil debate. We hear this thing about the same compounds etc., but harleys have different pressure points front and back, they constantly change as we ride therefore creating different forces both in directional and weight. I have ridden and raced bikes for the past 40 years and can assure you that from experience, you can use different brands front to back. Just check the load and speed recommendations and you will be fine as most harleys are not capable of the speed and lean angle for you to worry about. In the day we would run softer compound on the back and firmer on the front. Hell, we even used to run car tires on the back.
So now my question is what oil do you use???/ heh heh heh.
So now my question is what oil do you use???/ heh heh heh.
