Topic: Mixing Bridgestone Tires on a CB500

[farinhite]

So I've been searching tire configurations for a while. My goal is to get a set of Bridgestones that look very close to the stock tires with a bit of a racing twist in the rear.

I ordered a Bridgestone Accolade AC03F ribbed tire for the front and a Spitfire S11 for the rear. I would have opted for a matched set of Bridgestone Accolades, but it seems they do not make the rear in the proper size for a CB500 (as far as I know at least).

My question is how will these handle seeing as the front is tube and the rear is tubless? I obviously intend on running rear Spitfire with a tube. Should I worry about this or call American Motorcycle Tire to try and get a different tire? Probably should have asked BEFORE I bought the tires but you know how impatient we can get when doing a restore. 

?

[farinhite]

Anyone?

[NewOldSchool]

It is always recommended to buy the exact same tire front and rear, and to replace the tires at the same time. Otherwise it may not handle as well as it could, or worse it may handle very poorly.

Each tire has a slightly different radius and profile so the front and rear might fight each other a bit if mismatched.

[Chachi]

IRC GS-11's are probably the most similar looking tire available today compared to the original Bridgestones. They come in the correct size (inches, not metric) that the bike calls for. I got a really good deal on mine from Dennis Kirk. I've had mine on for about a year and have been happy with them.

[Steve_K]

I would also suggest no mixing of radial and bias tires on the same bike.  Tubeless tires can have tubes in them and when doing so the speed rating is lowered.  The other posts have good info, too.
Steve