Mixing tire brands?

Woodswoman

Member
Today I uncovered 'Flicker' from its long winter nap, and started giving it a general inspection.

I checked tread depth, and realized my front tire is not going to be good enough for the week-long road trip I'm planning to take next month. The back tire, however, can safely handle more miles.

I want to switch to the Dunlop Roadsmart III line that has been so well reviewed. But at this point only my front tire really needs replacing.

Do I have to change out both tires at the same time? Or can I put a Dunlop on the front, and keep the OEM Bridgestone on the rear until it's more worn than it is?

Pardon my ignorance about this. Advice would be appreciated.
 

MJC

Super Moderator
I do not see why not. When I went to the DR III, I only needed the rear. When I went to buy the tire there was a sell on the pair, so I got both. I installed the rear, then 2000 miles later did the front.

I remember when I had the front done coming out of the shop with both front and rear done, the bike was so much better that I wished I changed them at the same time. When the time came to replace them, I did so in a set. I got 8500 on the front and 10500 on the rear, both tires could have gone longer but I did not want to go on a long trip with them, so I replaced both. I now have about 5K on both and they still look new. I am hopeing to get 12K or better out of this set.

Hopefully I will need tires come Aug if I get to go on the trips I have planed.....
mj.
 

Woodswoman

Member
Thanks, MJ. I've got 9,500 miles on the Bridgestones. If all I were planning do was commute to the office, I'd let it go for awhile. But not with a 1,500-mile week in the offing. Not worth the risk, especially if we encounter hard rain.

I'm surprised that my front tire has worn more than my rear tire. Never had that happen before.
 

MJC

Super Moderator
I think 9500 on the stones is great. I would replace both before the trip. My thinking is, when you get back more then likely you will need the front done. When I am on a trip I do not like to think that if I wanted to do a few more days and take the long way home I could not becuse of a tire that I was going to place anyway.

Just like I like to get all the maintence done now before I get to riding. Once I start riding I hate to miss a day for something that could have been done before hand. Cost more to think Iike that but to me, worth it not to miss a good riding day. I do try and get parts etc when I see them on sell and have them on hand for when I need them.

enjoy your trip, mj
 

randy1149

New member
What I would do? As long as your not going into high speed turns and pushing the handling of the bike I would not change both tires because of manufacturer. Change the front, take the bike out for a spin and if you don't feel any handling problems leave the rear for another time. Why the front is wearing more than the rear should not happen?

Over the years I've noticed a handling improvement when the tire being replaced has worn out most of the tread depths and/or flat spot in the middle of the tire. The bike handles fine even with only one tire being replaced as long as the both tires have good tread depth and no flat spots on them. So if your rear tire has good tread depth and no flat spot on the middle of the tire you should be good to go.
 
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Woodswoman

Member
Thanks, Randy.

Yeah, it's really weird about my front tire being noticeably more worn than my back tire. I check my tire pressure often, so I really can't figure this one out. Many years of riding, and I've never had this happen before.
 

mtvic

Member
On one of my bikes I have a different rear tire. No issues. And it is a Bridgestone on rear, not front.
 

rickster

Member
The Honda dealer that I do business at has a really sharp service manager. He's been in the service business for over 20 years and has more years than that under his belt as a motorcyclist. He's about as much of an "expert" that I've found. I asked him about this and his reply was that there is no problem at all with putting different tires on the front and back.

I've switched to the Dunlop Roadsmart III's about 2,200 miles ago. It's too early to assess whether the cupping that I found on my PR4's (at 5,000 miles) will occur or to how many miles I'll get out of the tire. But, I like the way it handles better than either the Metzler's or PR4's. As I know more, I'll post updates in the thread that has to do with the Dunlop Roadsmart III's.
 

12MANY

New member
I have mixed tire brands before with no ill effects but I am cheap, change my own tires and wont throw a good tire away before its time. I have a Yamaha Majesty with a Bridgestone on the front and Pirelli on the back due to eventually switching over to Pirelli’s. That being said if facing a 1500 mile trip and having 10,000 on the rear I think I would replace it just for the piece of mind of not giving tires a second thought on the trip . I also seem to have always picked up more nails and flat’s on well worn tires which could ruin an otherwise perfect bike trip after a long winter. It would also be interesting gauging the front tire wear vs the rear when replacing both at the same time.
 

Woodswoman

Member
That being said if facing a 1500 mile trip and having 10,000 on the rear I think I would replace it just for the piece of mind of not giving tires a second thought on the trip.

You make a good point. I've been considering throwing for them both, and I might well -- for this very reason. I plan to ask my mechanic to put it up on a lift and give that rear tire a really good look-over. I might be missing a problem.
 

Woodswoman

Member
Said to heck with it and ordered both tires today. With any luck, I'll get out to my mechanic next week to have them installed, along with a Spring oil change, inspection, and general check-up before my road trip next month.
 

12MANY

New member
I think you made the right call. Cruising down an unfamiliar highway 700 miles from home at close to 80 mph on vacation is not a good time to be second guessing the condition of your rear tire. You still should be prepared for a flat tire if you get stuck out in the middle of no ware. This is what I carry and it all fits under the seat. I have never used The Stop & Go Pocket Tire Plugger but its small and gets good reviews online. I had yellow $10.00 a Harbor Freight tire inflator that I pried the plastic housing off to make it smaller and put a plug on it to fit my fused battery tender cable. I bought the Honda tools off Partzilla. On the parts diagrams they list the tools that should have come with the bike but never did. The axle nut wrenches fit perfect and are compact and the Japanese Industrial Standard screw driver fits the screws perfectly. You may also want to consider packing one of those small pocket jump starters. You cant bump start a DCT.
TOOLS.jpg
 

Steven

Member
I think you made the right call. Cruising down an unfamiliar highway 700 miles from home at close to 80 mph on vacation is not a good time to be second guessing the condition of your rear tire. You still should be prepared for a flat tire if you get stuck out in the middle of no ware. This is what I carry and it all fits under the seat. I have never used The Stop & Go Pocket Tire Plugger but its small and gets good reviews online. I had yellow $10.00 a Harbor Freight tire inflator that I pried the plastic housing off to make it smaller and put a plug on it to fit my fused battery tender cable. I bought the Honda tools off Partzilla. On the parts diagrams they list the tools that should have come with the bike but never did. The axle nut wrenches fit perfect and are compact and the Japanese Industrial Standard screw driver fits the screws perfectly. You may also want to consider packing one of those small pocket jump starters. You cant bump start a DCT.
View attachment 1003

Funny you said that about flats. During last year's trip I had a flat 500 miles from home and I had the Stop and Go tire repair kit and an air pump. The kit was easy to use and the tire plug is still working fine 7 months later. I would suggest adding a small pair of needle nose pliers to the kit to remove any nails.
 

12MANY

New member
Funny you said that about flats. During last year's trip I had a flat 500 miles from home and I had the Stop and Go tire repair kit and an air pump. The kit was easy to use and the tire plug is still working fine 7 months later. I would suggest adding a small pair of needle nose pliers to the kit to remove any nails.

Thanks for the heads up on the needle nose! The pliers and open end wrenches I salvaged from bike and boat motor tool kits from the past and those pliers truly are practically worthless. I have a 20 yr old backup pair of Gerber multi tool pliers that I carry for work to throw in there and are worth every penny if you use them everyday at work like I do and also will pick up a small pair of needle nose to root out those pesky nails.
https://www.gerbergear.com/Multi-Tools/One-Hand-Opening/MP600_07510G
 

Woodswoman

Member
The Stop and Go tire plugger kit works quite well. A buddy got a nail in his tire while we were on a group ride in the Adirondacks, and my husband pulled out his Stop and Go, and portable air pump. Saved the day.

Friends have suggested that it's smart to replace the plugs (only) every few years. They claim that sometimes the plugs get old and lose their flexibility, making them hard to insert into a hole that needs patching.
 

Woodswoman

Member
Welp, "Flicker" is now sporting two new Dunlop RoadSmart III tires, plus fresh oil & filter. State Inspection is complete, general check-up was positive, and we're good to go for that road trip next month.
 

Woodswoman

Member
so how do you like the new tires?

Too early to say, honestly. The trip home from the mechanic was only about 15 miles, and I'll be taking it easy until I get to put on more miles and scrub the tires in for real. If the weather forecast is correct, next week I should be able to ride to work, and that will be a great test of the Dunlops.
 

Woodswoman

Member
First ride to work of 2018 today! Woo! About time!

Regarding the Dunlop Roadsmart III tires: Color me impressed. Really liked the road feel I got from them.

Thanks to everyone who recommended them to me.
 
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