radial and bias

[Hummingbird]

Just curious about mixing a radial ct on the rear and a bias ply on the front. I remember stories about how dangerous that was on a CAR - what about our bike ?

[Two Tone White]

Everything I've ever read recommends against it.

[footsie]

yamaha warrior comes from the factory with a radial on back and bias on frount.

many of the custom choppers do the same.

[miller47]

can't do it on a car because radial stops faster a will put you in a spin

[RandyR]

It has been conventional wisdom to not mix radials and bias ply tires. But I have read a couple articles on MC tires where it was stated that it isn't as problematic as once thought and mixing is as ok as mixing brands/styles of tires.

 

Tire manuf frequently state you should run the same type tire front and rear and change them both together. I expect thats how the manufacturers test and certify their tires.

[Venturous Randy]

The biggest problem with mixing bias and radials on a car is you should not mix on the same axle, front or rear. The main thing is the tires side load differently and can put much more stress on both tires.

The differences in brakeing is probably a lot more related to the operator and condition of brakes rather than the tires.

RandyA

[gunboat]

i have been using a bias on the front and a radial c/t on the rear of my scoot, for over a year now. have been thru two realy bad rain storms. once pulling a trailer, another with out. never did i feel anything like loss of control, or anything else to make me feel nervious about riding with this combo on my bike.

don c.

[Reaney in NH]

Actually... If you must mix Radials and Bias... then you should install the Radial on the back and bias on the front. It was pretty common practice back in the 70's and 80's... when Radials were first becoming popular. You should never run Radials on the front and bias on the rear. Car will handle very poorly and quick stops are dangerous.

 

I recently installed a Kumho car tire on my bike and have a stock Brickstone in the front. The radial feels a bit soft in the back.... not enough to feel unsafe... but certainly different then the M/C tire that I removed. I figures its because its a Radial... its going to feel a little different. I've only ridden about 100 miles on the C/T... but I do know this much... I can Accelerate quicker and stop ALOT quicker without the C/T breaking loose.

Cornering at speed is different... Not bad... just different. I've adjusted to it already. Low speed handling in my opinion is BETTER then the M/T.

 

When I replace my Front tire... I will be installing a M/C Radial Rear tire on the front. Prolly will be before our Mn trip in early August.

 

Ok.. I'm done rambling.

[adventurer 08]

Just got my RSV back from having front end work done on it. I had Avon Venoms on the front and back, when they put a new tire on the front they put on a Avon Cobra. They said it should be ok. The ride home felt good. They said they would put on a Venom if i want. Has anybody done this combo?

[RSTDdog]

Not exactly the same combo but here is my experience. I put a 18" stratoliner front wheel on my bike. Its a direct swap, no mods. The Strat wheel came with a 130 70 18 Bridgestone radial. I ran this Radial front with a michelin commander (old style) rear for 1200 miles in new hampshire on all types of roads with no issues and about another 800 here in the flat lands. When the commander wore out I wanted "matching" tires. I bought bias Avon Venoms front and rear. The Stock rear size and they make a bias venom for the front in 130 70 18. Both are reinforced tires and the 130 70 18 Avon front is only one load range below the stock tire 69H vs 71H stock and that's why I went that route.

 

While this new combination feels good, I find the new bias front tire slightly more "twitchy" than the radial front tire I had before. I think the 130 70 18 radial has a flatter profile than the 130 70 18 bias.

 

A radial front in the stock size like you are running may also have a flatter profile. Check to see what the load index is for that Avon Cobra. If you are not heavy or load the bike at or over the GVWR a slight change in the load index of the tire shouldn't matter for you. If you tend ride at or above the load limit, you want all the load index you canget in your tires.

 

If you like the way it feels go with it. I dont think its a big deal myself. If they mounted a Cobra for the price of Venom you made out since I think the Cobras cost more.

[Pernese]

I purchased mine used with a bridgestone radial on the front and a kenda bias on the rear. I experienced no handling problems even in high speed, peg dragging corners. I have since replaced the rear with an avon venom which is also a bias ply and again have yet to experience any problems, though the venom is a bit stickier.