I took my TC 1200 GSA into Rainbow yesterday for her annual service & one of the 'advisories' they gave me was that I have mismatched tyres. This came as a surprise to me as I'm a dinosaur & I thought this meant I had mixed cross-ply with radial on the same axle, quite a feat on a motorcycle.
I was told that it actually means I have different brands on the front & rear which is true, I have Michelin on the rear & Metzeler on the front.
Apparently this is an absolute no-no as although they are both the correct version for my bike their compounds could be vastly different so they won't be as effective in the dry; their tread patterns will be totally different meaning the way they clear water from the road will be far less effective so their grip in the wet will be reduced, potentially to a great extent. Indeed having road tyres of different brands on the front & rear is akin to having a knobbly on one wheel & a road tyre on the other & should never be done.
The good news is I'm down to 1.1mm on the rear so it will need changing within the next few years - forewarned is forearmed.
As I say it was a complete surprise to me so I thought I'd share it on here in case others were as ignorant as me.
I was told that it actually means I have different brands on the front & rear which is true, I have Michelin on the rear & Metzeler on the front.
Apparently this is an absolute no-no as although they are both the correct version for my bike their compounds could be vastly different so they won't be as effective in the dry; their tread patterns will be totally different meaning the way they clear water from the road will be far less effective so their grip in the wet will be reduced, potentially to a great extent. Indeed having road tyres of different brands on the front & rear is akin to having a knobbly on one wheel & a road tyre on the other & should never be done.
The good news is I'm down to 1.1mm on the rear so it will need changing within the next few years - forewarned is forearmed.
As I say it was a complete surprise to me so I thought I'd share it on here in case others were as ignorant as me.