Metzler rear, bridgestone front

[89katana750]

What would happen if you were to put a new rear tire that is of a different brand than the front. i.e. bridgestone b14 front, and metzler Roadtec Z6 in the back.

[Madson26]

Personally, I would not use tires that didn't match, as they were designed to work together.

[arsenic]

I'd go metzler on both, I love them on my kat, wouldn't go with anything else. Pretty cheap form Ron Ayers.com

[The CyberPoet]

To answer your question:

(A) The front tire wouldn't "sweep" right for the rear tire because of the differences in the tread pattern. This could cause some squirliness on wet surfaces and sand that wouldn't be there for matched tires.

(B) The difference in apex designs (the BT is a dual-apex, the Z6 is a triple-apex tire) would put additional stress on the frame, and make turn-in and turn-out geometries screwy, causing the bike to possibly want to drop into turns or have to be fought down into turns (could go either way, but triple-apex front, dual apex rear usually makes it want to drop easier and a bit harder to come back upright).

Odds are you wouldn't notice any major bad behavior from the helm, except under some extreme circumstances -- but those are exactly when you don't want to be noticing major differences.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[JCB]

Honestly, had the same question last week. Decided to change both tires to the ME Z6's. 1. Matching compounds and handling characteristics..i.e:cyberpoet(thanks again). 2. Appearance.

I also found out to check with your local shop. Most places are a bit more than the internet, howevwer, that is to include shipping if they have to order them. (like mine). and the difference in having them mounted and balanced is usually an astronomical difference. 15.00 if I bought the tire from them, 45.00 if I did not. So, I recommend to make some calls and do the math. I personally have never removed bike tires before, and I took my time and it was EASY! Plus, it gave me an opportunity to inspect everything else. Good luck and happy shopping.

[KatanaO215]

When I bought my old bike from a friend it had the origonal Macadam on the front and a Dunlop on the back. I never noticed any problems (like cyber said, but thank god I never needed to)

But when I changed out the front I replaced it to match the rear. Better safe than sorry

[md86]

Yeah , I've done that a few times , too . But I wasn't trying to "rail" then , either .

[89katana750]

The Z6's look like amazing tires, but i am poor soul. Maybe i'll just have to get the BT14 rear until the front is in need of change. That way I will change both to Metzlers Z6.

[GSX1100FL]

I have always heard that it is not a good idea to mix tire brands so I never have.

When I bought my Kat back from my brother he still had the original front Metzler but he replaced the rear with a Dunlop, the bike was not stable on the roads but my brother doesn't understand preventive maintenance.

I now have Pirelli tires on, like them very much.