Mismatching tyres ok?

I need to change my front tyre, however my rear still has a decent amount of life left in it. I have Bridgestone Battlax BT21s on front and rear at the moment. Was thinking of changing to something like Avon Storm Ultra 2s or 3s or Pirelli PR2s. If I have one of those on the front and keep the BT21 on the back, is it going to cause me a problem, or should it be ok considering they're all sports touring tyres?

Thanks!

[TamSV]

Personally, it wouldn't worry me. I had a similar setup on the curvy for a while with no problems. That was a BT020 rear and Avon Azaro front (it was a few years ago).

[johnnyrod]

You'll die in flames! No you wont (although some people will say so), as long as they're both the right sizes etc. then it's fine.

Originally Posted by skithepowder

I need to change my front tyre, however my rear still has a decent amount of life left in it. I have Bridgestone Battlax BT21s on front and rear at the moment. Was thinking of changing to something like Avon Storm Ultra 2s or 3s or Pirelli PR2s. If I have one of those on the front and keep the BT21 on the back, is it going to cause me a problem, or should it be ok considering they're all sports touring tyres?

Thanks!

You'll have to let me know how it goes if you do, Mine is going the same way with the same tyres.
how do you fine the BT021's by the way?
They feel slippery in the wet round these parts but that could just be welsh roads

[NTECUK]

As long as they are the same type not had a problem , put a English dunlop on my gpx back in the 80's was much better than the pants hard jap rubber it came with.

[rictus01]

without doubt a matched set is the best solution, but of course that's not always possible, whilst you can just about put any tyre on any end and get away with it, it does introduce various limitations, an early example of which was a stickier rear with the original Mez4's on the curvy's, resulting in a fair few crashes in the day as the newer rear (of a different make) gave a false sense of security the original front was unable to deliver, different makes work in different ways, they aren't that important if you don't ride that hard, but can become an issue if pushed.

As general rule make sure the front tyre is the "stickier" of the two, and if possible both tyres work in the same way (a stiff sidewall and flexible on either end will make reading the feedback on grip difficult), basically the rear should be the first if any to break away as that is far more recoverable, but as said you wouldn't burst into flames, but would be a fool to not give it due concern.

Cheers Mark.

At the moment I've got a very weird combination on mine following a GSXR front-end swap:
- Front: Very sticky bridgestone, one of the softer compounds that takes some warming up
- Rear: Avon Storm, touring tyre

Only downside to it is that for the first 5/10 minutes of my journey, I get understeer as the front wheel is still warming up, and after that, I get oversteer as the rear slips more than the front when I'm pushing it a little.

It makes for interesting riding, but it's nothing that a confident rider can't cope with - just have to be aware it's going on underneath you

[mister c]

Had a mismatch on the SV1000 with no adverse effect.

[andrewsmith]

it wouldnt bother me.
The combo i'm considering if i get a TD is an metzler interact front an whatever is on the back/ cheap.

Mismatching is common at club race meets an reversing the rear (the latter is definately not advised on the road)

I've currently got a BT024 on the front and an Avon Storm on the back. Done about 5000miles like that with seemingly no adverse effects. The front is needing changed now and think I will put an Avon Storm on it but not for any other reason than that's what's on the back...