First a little background. I have done probably 80%+ of my road motorcycling on my Bonneville, which has high performance sport/touring tires on it (17/17 mags). I don't ride fast or try to drag footpegs, but I do appreciate the solid, sure-footed feel of the Bonnie. Most of the other riding I've done was on my GS500 which had similar sport/touring tires on 17" wheels until relatively recently. Like 95% of my riding has been on 17" sport-touring road tires. I did switch my GS500 to more adventure-type ergos and put Shinko 705s on it a few years ago to give me a bike more usable on gravel, and I have ridden it enough on this setup to be very comfortable with it; it's very good on pavement, even very bad pavement, but it's still pretty iffy on loose sandy gravel like the roads out by my parents' place near Castell. Seems fine on ordinary hard packed gravel.
So, I need a new rear tire for my Triumph Scrambler 900. This is a ~60hp 450lb tall Bonneville with 17/19 spoke wheels. Currently has Shinko 705s front and rear, and it feels fine when I ride it. I've only put maybe 200 miles on it since I bought it, but I have no complaints about traction or handling. The front tire is good but the rear tire is nearly gone.
I'm considering moving from the 80/20 (more like 90/10) 705s to a more 50/50 tire like a Kenda K270 (L) or Kenda K784 "big block" (M) or a Shinko SR700 (R):
Guessing the big-block or the SR700 either one will be a better match for the E705 up front if I only change one tire. None of these are available in the right size for the front, so swapping both tires is not likely.
So, what's the advice from the collective here? I mean, once we get past the idea that it's not OK to mix front/rear tires, do you guys think using one of these tires on the rear with the front E705 tire will result in unpredictable street handling for a sport/touring pavement tire user like me? Or is it going to give me the little bit better gravel performance I am after with no downside except maybe noise and wear?
The obvious safe choice is to just go with another E705 on the rear, just wondering whether a creative idea is a good idea.
So, I need a new rear tire for my Triumph Scrambler 900. This is a ~60hp 450lb tall Bonneville with 17/19 spoke wheels. Currently has Shinko 705s front and rear, and it feels fine when I ride it. I've only put maybe 200 miles on it since I bought it, but I have no complaints about traction or handling. The front tire is good but the rear tire is nearly gone.
I'm considering moving from the 80/20 (more like 90/10) 705s to a more 50/50 tire like a Kenda K270 (L) or Kenda K784 "big block" (M) or a Shinko SR700 (R):
Guessing the big-block or the SR700 either one will be a better match for the E705 up front if I only change one tire. None of these are available in the right size for the front, so swapping both tires is not likely.
So, what's the advice from the collective here? I mean, once we get past the idea that it's not OK to mix front/rear tires, do you guys think using one of these tires on the rear with the front E705 tire will result in unpredictable street handling for a sport/touring pavement tire user like me? Or is it going to give me the little bit better gravel performance I am after with no downside except maybe noise and wear?
The obvious safe choice is to just go with another E705 on the rear, just wondering whether a creative idea is a good idea.