MOT verdict: new front tyre needed on S1W. Rear is Avon, almost new. I've never been faced with this issue before, of needing a front tyre only, and wanting to switch manufacturer. I don't really want to feel locked into Avons, so I would prefer to get a different front tyre, so I can match it in some thousands of miles. Any concern over mis-matched tread types on front versus rear?

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2006 XB12Ss..... 1998 S1W..... 1996 S2T
We do not need the help of our friends so much as confidence that they will help us when we need it. –Epicurus

yes , i wouldn't , a difference in grip front an rear, could cause some serious probs

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Feros Ferio

Maybe best then to go with Avon front, then see where I am with things once the rear wears out.

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2006 XB12Ss..... 1998 S1W..... 1996 S2T
We do not need the help of our friends so much as confidence that they will help us when we need it. –Epicurus

try it let us know how you get on........i can say from experiance that a avon roadrunner on the front with a dunlop red arrow on the rear of a 1970 cb750k1 is not good..

whichway?

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........have you tried turning me off & then turning me on again ?

Square avon on the rear and a triangular dunlop race tyre on the front on a 400honda 4 handled suprisingly well

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2001 X1 2009 1125CR 2006 Uly X3 2010 Uly a fully Maz'd S1 and a 1991 RS1200 Westwind.

You might be surprised to know that the sky won't fall in.

I've no issues bunnhopping my tyres. Pair of Diablos on until last month, but the rear was down to the wire. So swapped that out with a Michelin Pilot road 2. Long-lasting rear and front still tips in quickly.

The Tuono and the Tls all had Avon storms on the rear and diablos on the front, too. I've also swapped out only the front too, pretty much for the reasons you describe, without difficulty. The only issue with doing it this way round is checking the rear isn't too squared ime.

If you contact Avon's technical department, they should be able to advise you on compatability.

The standard Dunlop front seems to work ok with an Avon rear, as do quite a few other makes with an Avon on the back, but they don't advise using an Avon on the front with the Dunlop rear.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pbi5Ggmk ... re=related

OK, that's confusing - and to make matters worse, I was confused between different bikes I had been looking at - so my S1W does not have an Avon, it has a Dunlop Sportmax on the rear. I have decided to experiment: I am going with a sportier tyre on front, a Shinko 006 Podium. As soon as I figure out if I am going to pull the back end of the bike apart a bit, I will decide if I go with a Shinko 009 Raven sport touring dual compound, or stay with the sportier 006. I suspect the latter.

If I hadn't recently emptied the coffers to buy two bikes, I would be tempted by the Conti Road Attacks or Michelin Pilot Roads. They may not last as long, especially if I stay with the sportier 006's, but that's fine for me right now. Not expecting to take it to the track any time in the next few thou miles.

I didn't know until recently that Shinko has all the equipment from Yokohama's mororcycle tyre division, and uses their processes.

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2006 XB12Ss..... 1998 S1W..... 1996 S2T
We do not need the help of our friends so much as confidence that they will help us when we need it. –Epicurus

if your going to mix the tyres up on the same bike make sure that the front is more sticky than the rear

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You're my wife now Dave

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FUBAR pilot

You only need two bikes in life-an S1 and a Multistrada!

Yes, a good, quick-turn-in sport tyre in front is what I'm after, and will then swap out the Dunlop rear for either the matching sport tyre, or one by the same mfgr that is a longer-lasting sport touring tyre.

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2006 XB12Ss..... 1998 S1W..... 1996 S2T
We do not need the help of our friends so much as confidence that they will help us when we need it. –Epicurus

Wot they sed.

I didn't know you could get Shinko tyres over there.
If they are anything like the Shinkos that usually come as standard on the Chinese bikes we get over here, I'd avoid them like the plague, as they seem to have been forged from the plastic usually associated with the cheap toys found in Christmas crackers.
They have deservedly taken over the mantle of 'instant-slip' from 1960's and 70's Bridgestones and Yokohamas.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pbi5Ggmk ... re=related

There are good, aggressive riders who seem to like them fine over here, but they do have a reputation for needing some extra care for scrubbing in - apparently they have a good dose of the release agent from the tyre moulds that needs to be worked off. I'll certainly let you know.

I think that, due to geography and Pacific Rim and all that, the NZ and Aussie crowd use them a fair amount, too.

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2006 XB12Ss..... 1998 S1W..... 1996 S2T
We do not need the help of our friends so much as confidence that they will help us when we need it. –Epicurus

Strangely, I think the major tyre manufacturing companies may already have thought of that. Bridgestone wrote an article saying that their then 'sport' tyre the 010, had a different compound for the front and rear of the pair to even up wear rates and it was a waste of time using their touring tyre on the rear, which I think was the 020.
I'm fairly sure that mismatched tyres are fairly safe, although an insurance company may think otherwise, but for the sake of a few quid, the last thing I want to be thinking about when I go into a bend way too fast and out of my comfort zone is 'are my tyres ok?'
Having said that, I've got a mismatched set of secondhand rain scrubs on the spare wheels of my track bike

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If your dreams don't scare you, they are not big enough.