Argh, front tire

[Guest IanJ]

So, I tried out this Michelin Pilot Road on the front of my Le Mans for the last month or so. What a pain. I just ordered another 020 for the front, since I know that one feels right -- I'll just replace it every 5k if I have to.

 

The problem I encountered is that apparently the cross-section of the Pilot Road and the 020 are different enough that they produce some weird dynamic steering inputs. The bike feels like it wants to fall into corners, and when I go to stop the lean in a corner, the front end shimmies just a little bit, but enough to make me reflexively back off, with a, "woah, that didn't feel good!"

 

I suspect that if I had gone to a full set of Pilot Roads, I would have been far happier, but I just couldn't see tossing out my beautiful-looking 020 rear. So, with any luck, my bike will be feeling a lot happier come January, when I get the new 020 front installed.

 

Fortunately for someone, I'm also selling the Pilot Road, look for my thread in the Buy/Sell forum.

 

Anyway, fair warning to any and all: don't mix profiles if, like me, you don't really know what you're doing. I guess that's the price I pay for experimenting.

[Guest captain nemo]

I'm with you. I believe in running the same set from the same company. I figure engineers have very good reasons for making their own set the way they do. I really love my Dunlop 220s. I've never been on a better tire. Am I the only guy in this forum who runs on Dunlops?

 

I will say, though, if my skill dramatically improves and I start laying the bike over next summer....I will try out the Pirelli Dragons.

 

 

And now.....I'm off to see Lord of the Rings. Yea!

[docc]

I gave my Pilot Road front to a guy I know with a H***a. Maybe it has enough front weight bias to make the tire work right. And he is running the same on the rear.

 

I've had five different tire types on the Sport and really like this new Dunlop 220.

[RichMaund]

I had a matched set of Road Pilots on my V11S for almost 3k miles. I thought they were terrific.

I did go down from a 170 rear to a 160 since the bike had a 4.5" rear rim. A 160 is a better tire for that rim. Handling was always confidence inspiring. The new owner has told me he loves the bike as well!

[Guest IanJ]

Cool. Hopefully the next time I need to buy tires, they'll both need to be replaced, and I can experiment with full sets of tires. I just couldn't give up this excellent-condition rear 020 that I had so far liked so well.

[Murray]

I wouldn't of put a Pilot road ont he front of my bike unless it had some horrible biot of hard plastic touring tyre on the rear. I found the Guzzis to respond very poorly to a matched set of tyres (compund wise) front to rear. Always go one sticker on the front. Ie with the 020 if I was going to use Michelin tyre (actully I wouldn't cause I don't like them) I would of fitted a Michelin pitlot sport. Currently have a 020 fitted to the rear and a Pirelli Evo Corsa on the front no problems except the 020 is pretty well worn and the new front tyre is showing this up. The front end won't slide on demand like it used too with the 011 i had previously fitted. Quiet happy to mix and match but you have to look into it if you wanted a relativly hard tyre on the fron would of stuck with the 020's

[al_roethlisberger]

Compound("hardness") mixing via 'mismatched' manufacturers is one thing.... but the main problem as pointed out is that mixing models of tire, or more often worse, mixing of manufacturers is most problematic because of the difference in tire profile.

 

If one examines tires from different manufacturers, and even often between models of tires within one manufacturer's range, one can observe everything from a hemispherical to triangular profile, with varying degrees in between. Mixing these different profiles can cause unpredictable, and often undesireable handling characteristics.

 

To your point, the best "mix" of compounds I've seen consistently recommended for many bikes for a good balance between mileage and performance, not just Guzzis, is an 010 up front and the 020 out back.

 

al