Hi all,,, what is your take on different tire brands,, My ride is an 07 streetglide. Currently have stock HD tires on front and rear.. Front still has some good life on it,but rear is overdue for changing, This is my second set of tires on the bike. But this time the rear wore much quicker than the front, most likely from alot more 2 up riding, and I would like to try a different brand, any feed back would be great thanks.

 

There shouldn't be any problems mixing brands. Over my 40+ years there have been a couple of occasions when they haven't got on with each other, for some reason, in which case just change the older tyre. As for more wear when 2-up, increase tyre pressures both ends! H-D is very bad IMHO not recommending increased pressures when riding 2-up, but I always have done, 2psi extra in the front, 4 extra in the rear.

 

As long as you don't mix radial and bias ply you'll be fine. I run the pressure on the side of the tire. 95% two up riding. I might ad 2 lbs to the back if i'm packed heavy.

 

I'm running bias front, radial rear, which is fine. That way around is ingrained in my mind from way back, it is the other way around that is not good - although I don't recall why!

 

If I remember right it is because of the way the sidewalls flex. Radials flex more which can throw you off in corners.

 

I suspect it's a bit more technical than that! Radial tyres certainly do not throw us off - I have them on my Buell and they are common across the bike world. Some Harley models are now using radials, so we will see more of them in time.

 

LOL you don't think the way a sidewall flexes under load matters? Do some research. Most all sportbikes run radials. Both front and back. Not just front or just back. All 10 of my last sportbikes ran radials. It isn't about radials it's about running bias with radials. They perform different. Harleys have taller sidewalls than sportbikes(Buells) and weigh 100's of pounds more.

 

I think I've been around bikes and Harleys long enough. There are new Harleys running radials, as well as my 1990 Glide!

 

I've got a new Michelin Commander II on the rear and a Dunlop OE tire on front. I can't tell any problem. Both are bias ply.

 

Yep. Bias with Bias and radial with radial. That's best. You can run what ever you want. As it has been said people do it without any problem. I would stay with radial back and bias front if you're going to mix them not the other way around. It would suck to find out the hard way.