Most tire manufacturers recommend not mis-matching tires with different treads. I have done it in the past and not noticed any problems. I use Cheng Shin tires on my carb test bikes... Hi-Max works best... decent grip, decent wet weather performance and most important to me, decent tread life. I went with the Dunlop 404s which are a tad more expensive than the Cheng Shin Hi-Max tires on my project ST because of the load rating... the ST is a heavier bike. Personally, I have tried dozens of types of tires on my bikes and my favorites are Avon Venom X series and Dunlop 491s. The 404s have tread similar to the 491s and are used as OEM on heavy cruisers like Vulcans. The only downside is that owners complain of tread whine... I thought I would try them as they are far less expensive than the 491s. A few years ago I commuted on a KZ900 and used Cheng Shin Hi-Max tires and was pretty happy with their performance and price. I have tried other types of Cheng Shin tires and wasn't happy with any of them... their 6-ply didn't last long (was a numbered tire), their Barracuda rear tires lasted less than 2K miles, etc. The Hi-Max is the only one I have found that holds up decently especially on the rear.
EDITORIAL NOTE: Most folks talk about tires the same way they talk about their pets... their's is the best, the smartest, the cutest, etc. Asking opinions on tire brands is sort of opening up a can of worms... everyone uses tires so everyone will have an opinion. I have noticed that most any tire will work decently but owner's goals are different so some will love one tire and another will hate it.
On a touring bike, the normal goals are
1. tread life
2. performance
3. cost
On a commuter bike:
1. cost
2. tread life
3. performance
On a sporty bike:
1. performance
2. cost
3. tread life
No wonder there is no concensus on tires as a KZ can be used for any of the three bike categories. Now, why not ask which oil is best as a second question hehe
Post edited by: wiredgeorge, at: 2006/09/25 09:18