I have never installed different brands tires on front and rear but is it really a bad (meaning dangerous) thing to do? I still have the OEM Bridgestone front and rear but the rear is showing some wear after 5K miles. The front still looks fine. Should I get the exactly same Brigestone for the rear? or is it OK to get a different brand like PR4 or something? On my cars, I have done different brands (two bridgestones for front and two Kumoh for rear) and had no issues at all. For my long riding experience, however, I have never tried it on my motorcycles. Your feedback is appreciated.

I always change them both at the same time so I get a set of new, crisp handling tires. It's only another $125, jut do both and be on your way.

I concur with cruderudy! Do em in a set you'll be happier in the long run.

I'd say it depends on how you ride, and how you wear tires. If you're not interested in the best handling/performance then who cares, just replace the rear. If you wear them evenly across the entire tread surface then I'd consider just replacing the rear. If you wear the centers out or the side tread out then replace it.

As far as mixing brands, well there's only one thing to do and that's try it. Manufacturers of course recommend matched sets for a lot of reasons. No doubt among real possible safety issues is selling more tires and avoiding liability issues. I've read where some people have found good combinations from mixed brand front rears, although the reality of it who knows when it comes to the truest sense of performance (it either raises speeds/lowers lap times or it doesn't...).

If you don't corner too hard, I think you'll be just fine keeping an old front and putting on a new rear. The front could have lost some of it's grip. A less sticky front than rear is asking for trouble under hard cornering. I'd do it for touring...guess I'd be a little nervous canyon riding.

I'd say it depends on how you ride, and how you wear tires.

So, wouldn't there still be cupping at the very front upright? Wouldn't you keep adding more cup and compromise it as it is now a wobble? Are you not wearing out either end if you just swapped the one only? Same goes for the chain and sprockets. The chain and rear are worn, but the counter spins many times more and oh, keep that one going?

Could you see the chain wear is equal to the sprockets, is equal to both tires spinning at the same miles of wear and it's better to change sprockets/chains/tires as a set? Not trying to upsell you, just showing a wear pattern continuing on.

As far as tire patterns vs front to rear? You bet there is a difference. I mismatch all the time and each set is new. Is there a handling change? You guessed right again: who knew? Senior swapper here. I have spare wheels so the setup is to swap tires out.

The example goes, I have the OE on the back and some other brand on the front. When I set out on its maiden voyage for the first time, I never put the two and two together. The steering was just... is this the chassis change they were talking about? It felt like it was there on the sporty push and all that, but it felt like junk just tipping in some or correcting in the straight up, or say more when riding slow city speed.

The set finally wore out, I'm now with aftmkt rear and OE front. Oh yeah, this is how it should handle. So the front end input is all about new and matching pattern. And it would probably feel like the engineers meant it to be with both OE front and rear, but I'll never know how the real 14r should have felt.

Since both OE's are coming to an end, I'll have matching Dunlops. I'll finally find out how a matching pattern feels.

Hub I get ya. So far I haven't replaced anything but sets on my bike. Considering I'm on my 3rd set of tires this year the thought has crossed my mind though. My fronts usually have a more center tread left (25%) than the rear but the side tread is done. I have known and heard of riders doing this though, although I think they're more the wear the center tread out types.

As far as cupping, my understanding is that's usually a sign of something being wrong or misadjusted, most likely suspension related. I don't necessarily think someone needs to rebuild their suspension because they have a little cupping. I won't pretend to be an expert on tire wear cause I'm not. Although I have spent a little time learning about it recently.

Cupping is the phenom of a circle that is not really making a circle. Take a paper cup, mark the seam. Roll the cup sideways on a desk, meaning, you have the open face [looking at you] with the seam at the starting point being the desk. And now mark the desk as a staring point. Once the cup makes its 360 back to the seam, the cup never looked like it created a full circle, but stopped at that mark again as if a U happened. So imagine the UUUUUUU every 360 and that mark sure does not look like it travels in a complete circle vs. the desk/ground.

And why are they even? I can only explain the magnetic field we live in, and now add ohm's law being that "equal balance," and now try to explain it another way of that field being the stickler I'm playing with; I'm open for the more logical explanation rather than this one.

Hub,

Pretty sure Maxwell's equations will explain the field theory delima.

Is that you with the hat on?

Cheers

Hub my understanding of cupping is it's caused by a loss of suspension control. Generally it can be read and is understood that the suspension is experiencing loss of control either in rebound or compression damping. Cupping that occurs at the back rear edge of a sipe is a sign of loss of control of rebound (rebound damping needs increased) and I believe cupping at the front of the sipe is loss of control of compression damping. It might be as simple as someone not running enough air pressure.

Again, someone gets to the end of the life of a tire and there's a little cupping, well I don't think it warrants a suspension overhaul. However, if someone is experiencing severe cupping that is affecting the life of the tire, it needs addressed whether it's spring rates, damping adjustments, tire pressure, etc.

http://www.w6rec.com/duane/bmw/cupping/index.htm

Thanks for the link. What I've read doesn't really jive with it, such as this site http://biketrackdayshub.com/motorcycle-tyre-wear-guide/ I think the site you link to is describing the symptoms more so than the cause.

There's a guy named Dave Moss that does a lot of youtube videos, basically preaches the same stuff. Never forget Hub, tires are part of the suspension too.

* Last updated by: VicThing on 9/4/2015 @ 4:08 AM *