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I recently bought a whole new Yamaha Mt07. Being a total newbie in the biker world, I didn't pay attention to the tyres, but I just noticed that the rear tyres and the front ones were not of the same brand.

The technical specification for this bike states this :

Front tyre 120/70 ZR 17M/C(58W) (Tubeless)

Rear tyre 180/55 ZR 17M/C(73W) (Tubeless)

And I have this :

Front tyre BT023 (not sure about the exact model)

Rear tyre 180/55 ZR 17M/C(73W) (Tubeless)

Is it usual or something wrong happened and I was fooled ?

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  • Doesn't the front tire say more on it than "BT023"? It should still have all of the size markings. Might be smaller lettering, but you should take another look. If the front is "120/70 ZR 17M/C(58W)" then I don't see any problem with having different tire brands. But I'm not a bike guy.
    – Zshoulders
    Apr 3, 2017 at 18:04
  • @Zshoulders I will check tonight but I assumed these were some names specific to the brand Michelin. And the 'Net is full of people saying that tyres should be of the same brand, whatever it is
    – Tim
    Apr 3, 2017 at 18:20
  • It is better to keep the tyres in the recommended size like 120/70 but the brands could be any whichever gives a better warranty/price. If the tyre size is different from the recommended you can still ride but the stock motorcycles were never tested with different sized tyres so if any problem arises in instability or your bike has issues, service centers or insurance may not validate the warranty, again this is only if the tyre size is different
    – Vinay Prabhakaran
    Apr 4, 2017 at 3:07
  • Typically, + or - 10mm on the dimensions, is allowed/fine. However, if the radius R changes, you'll have handling issues.
    – Ghost
    Apr 4, 2017 at 6:36
  • There is an additional requirement in the UK - insurers can be picky in the event of an accident; you must meet or exceed the manufacturers recommendation - i.e. if they state a ZR rating and you put a T rated tyre on, Insurers will use this as a means of reducing any payments as you "modified" your vehicle.
    – Mauro
    Jul 27, 2017 at 9:06

2 Answers 2

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Unless its a sketchy re-tread tire, any tire will almost certainly have identification marking on there someplace. This question here on stack seems to suggest mixing brands isn't the end of the world, but the accepted answer does detail what is important to check when mixing tires - namely that they are of similar quality and traction.

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BT023 is a model designation of a Bridgestone tire. 180/55ZR17 M/C(73W)(Tubeless) is the size and speed/load designation of the tire. The rear should also say BT023 somewhere on it, and the front should say 120/70ZR17 M/C(58W) Tubeless somewhere on it. This is assuming it's a new bike with the factory original tires on it. If it's a used bike, I would be less concerned about the Brand and model as long as the sizes are right and the tires are in good condition.

And yes, it's normal for motorcycles to have a wider tire on the rear than on the front.

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