Mixing Tires

I just got my '06 FZ6 a few days ago and it needs a new rear tire. The front one is ok looking, but the rear is bald up the middle. The tires on it are Dunlops which seem to have more poor reviews. It seems that I have read somewhere that it is a bad idea to mix brands/compounds for front and rear tires. Would I be best off to stick with the Dunlops, just change the rear, or spend the cash to change both? I was thinking of getting the Bridgestone BT-020 (or 021).

Also, I'm not sure what to expect in the compromise between long life and good performance. This is my first bike, so I'm not trying to go fast or ride hard, but I don't want a tire that is more likely to slide on an inexperienced rider. Is a new rider better off with a higher perf tire, or is it just money wasted?

Thanks in advance.

Hey man, I know it kinda sucks, but don't mix tires! Please. The stock Dunlops are crappy and you don't want a great rear tire with a crappy front that may push on you in a corner... also, the profile of the different makes have different characteristics - I still would not mix good tires of different types personally. I'm sticking to the Avon Storm ST for awhile... just got a set.

Here is what I considered:

Avon Storm ST
Metzeler Roadtec Z6
Continental Road attack
Michelin Pilot Road
Pirelli Diablo Strada

Buy a front and rear from this group and I'm sure you'll be grinning ear to ear... the stock Dunlops are even worse than you realize until you get good rubber.

I agree that you should dispose of the Dunlops ASAP. Also, you don't want more rear grip than front, that's a good way to have a spill.

I would suggest you replace both tires with Bridgestone (yep, I like them :thumbup: )

If you put a BT014 on the front and a BT020 on the rear you will have matching profiles, and excellent front grip with more than enough rear grip.

I would challenge all but the most experienced rider to overwhelm this tire combination on the street (especially with stock suspension)

Also, the BT020 rear will offer excellent mileage. :Sport:

Thanks for the quick replies.

So is it the matching profiles that matters more than the matching compounds? I'm assuming that the BT014 is a softer compound than the BT020?

I'm having a bit of trouble finding the BT020 tires, it seems they are replaced by BT021, are these getting the same good reviews as the BT020?

I'm still curious as to whether a new rider gains safety/confidence/etc from a better tire, or is it a waste until he has some experience? (or is the answer "it depends...")

Thanks again for the quick replies! Great help!

your choices are endless. first off the stock Dunlopes D252 are not a bad tire.
they are more of a OEM version of a sport touring tire. a Good replacement tire if your primary concern is mileage I would go with either a Dunlop D220 or a Michelin Pilot Road. these are both sport touring tires, they will offer you the best mileage only compromising the very 10/10ths performance level that a new rider would never get out of a "sport" tire anyways. the other performance differences are generally touring tires have a slightly stiffer carcass (translation) you will feel the bumps on the road a little more. also touring tires typically weigh a little more, this will cause more rotating mass (translation) initial turn in will be slower and the bike will have more of a tendency to stand up during braking. keep this in mind any of the info I just gave you only really matters if you are sport-riding on the aggressive side, as a new rider this won't even be a factor.
to answer your question either buy an OEM matching rear replacement tire, or buy two new tires. never run mismatch tires that can cause the front and rear to fight themselves leaning into a corner not to mention different brands even if they say there the same size have different profiles and shapes that can cause some funny handleing characteristics that you don't want.

Sorry for the long winded response but as you can see its not really a yes or no answer.
:Sport:

Yes, it depends. "Performance" is relative. For my street tires I look for great rain performance, acceptable dry traction at lean, and life. For my track tires I'm less concerned with wet performance and life is only a secondary consideration....I won't waste your time with the other considerations.

If I were in your shoes (or when I was in your shoes), I would stick with good do-it-all tires to match your do-it-all bike and your developing skills.

All the tires Maverick listed are great. Of those, I personally prefer the Metzlers, the Pirellis, and Michilens....those dual compound pilot roads are supposed to be some of the best sport-touring tires to date but may be more than you need at this point (expensive I think).

Oh yeah, the stock dunlops suck!
________
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DefyInertia said:

Oh yeah, the stock dunlops suck!

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from a performance view yes, but I managed to get 3200 miles out of the rear. when I changed out the tires the front was still good, the rear was just at the wear bar, if I wanted to I could have gone another 300-400 miles before it was totally junk.

that being said I never pushed the D252s as hard as I push the PPs so I never really had any traction issues.

sportrider_fz6 said:

from a performance view yes, but I managed to get 3200 miles out of the rear. when I changed out the tires the front was still good, the rear was just at the wear bar, if I wanted to I could have gone another 300-400 miles before it was totally junk.

that being said I never pushed the D252s as hard as I push the PPs so I never really had any traction issues.

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OEM Dunlop - I got 9000 KM (6000 miles) on the rear at the wear bars and the front had lots of tread, but was baldly cupped... No point in long lasting ****ty tires IMHO. Looking back, I wish I threw them out sooner.... It really wasn't a confidence inspiring tire and you had to work hard to get it to bend over and keep a line...

Avon Storm ST. It feels like your on dry pavement in the rain. A very confidence inspiring tire.

I was in the same position as you on my first FZ6. I read loads of threads on mixing tyres etc. and came to the conclusion that I'd put my trust in the manufacturers developing tyres to match each other.
I bought the Bridgestone BT020 GG 's. Apparently the GG is for the FZ6. Not sure whether there is anything actually different with the GG. My tyre fitter didn't have them in stock, had to wait a couple of days to get the GG version.
Great in the wet.
I don't do any track days, but I'm sure as a beginner they'd see you safely through.
Now they're standard on the '07 FZ6 S2.
I'll be fitting the BT021's next.

Rather than start a new tyre thread, I thought I'd just tag on to this one.
I'm going to replace the stock Dunlop D252's in the spring, and had more or less settled on either Michelin Pilot Roads or Pirelli Stradas, depending upon which were the "best deal" when I'm shopping.
I'm reading some glowing reviews re: Continental Road Attacks.....does anyone have these tires on their FZ6 and care to share a review?
(I used the Search, but this was the only thread that showed up)

Continental Road Attacks

FWIW, I have Continental Road Attacks on my supermoto XT600. Great tyres but rear wore out really quickly - around 4000 miles on a bike with 40 bhp...

I was faced with what I considered a bad situation. At 1200 miles, I found a nail in my rear tire that went all the way through. The bike shop wouldn't repair the tire, and they didn't have any Dunlop tires in stock for the FZ6. The Service Manager showed me a couple of tires they had in stock that he said would work well with my stock front tire. I went with the Michelin Pilot Road on the rear, with the stock Dunlop still on the front. I now have 5500 miles on the bike, and both tires still have plenty of tread left. I spent one day riding up to Virginia City in Nevada, and then up to and around Lake Tahoe on both the Nevada and California sides. I never felt any problems in regards to handlig at all. Now I'm not a knee dragger by any stretch of the imagination, but I do like to cut through the corners at a healthy pace.

I can say that when I pulled over for a scenic overlook, I decided to check for anything sticking in my tires, I found the rear tire to be hotter, and a little stickier than the front tire was. To this point, I have never had any occassion of being scarred because I lost traction at the front or rear of the bike. I can't comment on the wet weather performance because I don't ride in the rain.

I know those roads and have driven them several times.....I've often imagined riding them on a bike, but never have. The road from Reno to Virginia City has lots of twisties, so that's a good testimony to the tires.
Michelin Pilot Roads are my #1 preference for a new set of tires next year.

OneTrack said:

I know those roads and have driven them several times.....I've often imagined riding them on a bike, but never have. The road from Reno to Virginia City has lots of twisties, so that's a good testimony to the tires.
Michelin Pilot Roads are my #1 preference for a new set of tires next year.

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I think I'm right there with ya. When I rode my Harley in the twisties, I had to really concentrate not to lean to hard or I would dig my pipes into the ground. Unfortunately, that wasn't very far and caused me to have to ride slowly. With the FZ, the only thing I have to think about is ***how far above the speed limit do I want to take this next corner***. It's really crazy. I don't know how some of you wear your tires out in so few miles. It may be that I have to ride for nearly an hour just to get to the twisty stuff, so I have to log alot of freeway miles in order to start having fun.