DS front.

[fudgie]

Need a new front tire. Was thinking putting a rear on the front but have a few questions.

Why does it need mounted backwards?

Is there a prob if is not mounted backwards?

[The emperor has no clothes]

Need a new front tire. Was thinking putting a rear on the front but have a few questions.

Why does it need mounted backwards?

Is there a prob if is not mounted backwards?

I've run a Michelin Pilot Activ reversed and regular (on accident and too lazy to redo) could tell little difference. I think when I had one on non-reversed it was a little noisier under braking. But, that could have been my imagination also. There is debate whether they are run reversed because of water dispersion or because the way the tire belts are laid up.

[Pete]

Has to do with the lapping of the belt and the force of braking on the front vs the force of take off on the rear.

The thought is that the lap has most pressure oriented correctly by turning it around.

I have actually run them both ways without issues.

[Skinhead]

I run the Bridgestone on my IS the correct (not reversed) rotation.  No Issues at all.

[fudgie]

What ''rear'' do you all run on the front? I hv only ran metz tires but they don't have a rear in that size. 

[98valk]

installing it in reverse puts the thread rain grooves in the correct direction as designed for water evacuation.   ran a Conti-Go that way grooves were same direction as the front tire metzler it replaced.
presently running Dunlop D404 rear on front in 130/90-17 same as the contigo.

[Cracker Jack]

It won't matter which way you run the rear on the front as long as you are not in water heavy enough to cause hydroplaning and there'll be no noticeable issues.

BUT, get in water heavy enough for potential hydroplaning and it will make all the difference in the world and possibly cause life threatening issues. The tread pattern is designed for water dispersion and maximum traction while braking on the front and for acceleration on the rear.


It's easy to tell if the tire is mounted correctly by looking at the front tire from the front and the rear from the rear of the bike. Correctly mounted, both tires tread patterns will be pointing up in a "teepee" shape. Pointed down, it's mounted backwards.

[98valk]

It won't matter which way you run the rear on the front as long as you are not in water heavy enough to cause hydroplaning and there'll be no noticeable issues.

not true and very dangerous advice. 
 a deep puddle with a light vehicle and poor water evacuation can cause it and at lower speeds or at any speed it could happen.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=16

[Hook#3287]

What ''rear'' do you all run on the front? I hv only ran metz tires but they don't have a rear in that size. 

Dunlop D404 reversed.

[Gryphon Rider]

Quoting myself, from 2012:

Regarding tire construction, tread patterns, and directionality:

The main reason why the direction of a motorcycle tire is specified is because of the way the tire is constructed.  Where the belts overlap there is a potential weakness.  The accelerating or braking forces will either be trying to separate the lap joint, or push it together.  Because the dominant force on a rear tire is acceleration rather than braking, the tire is oriented so the lap joints are pushed together.  The same tire on the front wheel should be mounted backwards because the force on the tire is all braking and no acceleration, and by changing the direction we continue to push the joint together.  How much of a concern this really is is open for us to debate or for a motorcycle tire engineer to settle.

With directional tread patterns and rain, if the tire's contact patch is not moving faster or slower than the road surface (i.e. the tire is not sliding due to acceleration or braking forces), the direction of the "V" has no bearing on how well it evacuates water.  Water is simply squished out from under the tread blocks and into the nearest groove with capacity to take it.  When the back tire is slipping due to acceleration, the "V" should point towards the back of the bike at the road surface.  It acts the same as a tractor tire slipping in mud, directing the fluid towards either side of the tire, rather than scooping it towards the centre of the tire.  When the front tire is slipping due to braking forces, the "V" should point towards the front of the bike at the road surface.  It acts like a "V"-shaped snow plow, pushing the fluid towards the sides, rather than scooping it towards the middle.

For these reasons, if I were to try mounting a designated rear motorcycle tire on the front of my bike, I would reverse its intended mounting direction.

[old2soon]

                  WHY would water dispersal work mounted in reverse rotation? The tire doesn't "KNOW" which end of the M/C it's mounted on. Every M/C tire I've ever mounted had direction arrows on the side wall. And what are the chances the lap would be where it could delaminate on hard braking? And with the modern tire construction chances of the lap unwinding in hard braking are Not gonna happen anyway. Thinking here the tire will be worn out and in a landfill Before delamination could even Start to be an "issue"! But then again I could be not correct.  Ask either one of my ex wives bout me being correct!  RIDE SAFE.

[DarkSideR]

The Metzeler ME888 Marathon Ultra Rear Tire-150/80R17 is the same size as the stock front. Great tire.

As for running a Rear M/C tire, Reverse on the front. This is easy;
- Put a Front M/C tire and a Rear M/C tire side by side with the direction arrows both pointing the same way.
- You will see the tread patterns are in opposite directions.
- Spin the Rear tire around (backwards/Reverse) to find that the tread patterns now line up with the front.
See, told you it was easy.

Hope this helps.

[Cracker Jack]

It won't matter which way you run the rear on the front as long as you are not in water heavy enough to cause hydroplaning and there'll be no noticeable issues.

not true and very dangerous advice. 
 a deep puddle with a light vehicle and poor water evacuation can cause it and at lower speeds or at any speed it could happen.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=16

Not true and very dangerous advice??? Really??
I wasn't really giving advice, just trying to help people who didn't understand why you should run a rear tire in reverse when used on the front.

I read your attached link and am in complete agreement with what they say in the context of a 4 wheel vehicle. I didn't see any conflict between what I said and what the article says and stand by my original post.

[Gideon]

I suggest replacing it with a rear motorcycle tire when your current one is in need of replacement. The ones most used are the Metzler ME880, Dunlop 404 and the Bridgestone Battlax. These will provide the increased wear and safety and performance you will need.
I have the Dunlop 404 on my trtike. The following is posted on the Avon Tyre website:

NOTE* If you are using a tire that has a directional arrow for rear rotation only and for some reason you want to put it on the front, make sure it is rotating in the opposite direction so you don’t aggravate the tread splice. Avon Tyres.

[fudgie]

The Metzeler ME888 Marathon Ultra Rear Tire-150/80R17 is the same size as the stock front. Great tire.

As for running a Rear M/C tire, Reverse on the front. This is easy;
- Put a Front M/C tire and a Rear M/C tire side by side with the direction arrows both pointing the same way.
- You will see the tread patterns are in opposite directions.
- Spin the Rear tire around (backwards/Reverse) to find that the tread patterns now line up with the front.
See, told you it was easy.

Hope this helps.

I have been unable to find a metz in that size.

[fudgie]

Quoting myself, from 2012:

Regarding tire construction, tread patterns, and directionality:

The main reason why the direction of a motorcycle tire is specified is because of the way the tire is constructed.  Where the belts overlap there is a potential weakness.  The accelerating or braking forces will either be trying to separate the lap joint, or push it together.  Because the dominant force on a rear tire is acceleration rather than braking, the tire is oriented so the lap joints are pushed together.  The same tire on the front wheel should be mounted backwards because the force on the tire is all braking and no acceleration, and by changing the direction we continue to push the joint together.  How much of a concern this really is is open for us to debate or for a motorcycle tire engineer to settle.

With directional tread patterns and rain, if the tire's contact patch is not moving faster or slower than the road surface (i.e. the tire is not sliding due to acceleration or braking forces), the direction of the "V" has no bearing on how well it evacuates water.  Water is simply squished out from under the tread blocks and into the nearest groove with capacity to take it.  When the back tire is slipping due to acceleration, the "V" should point towards the back of the bike at the road surface.  It acts the same as a tractor tire slipping in mud, directing the fluid towards either side of the tire, rather than scooping it towards the centre of the tire.  When the front tire is slipping due to braking forces, the "V" should point towards the front of the bike at the road surface.  It acts like a "V"-shaped snow plow, pushing the fluid towards the sides, rather than scooping it towards the middle.

For these reasons, if I were to try mounting a designated rear motorcycle tire on the front of my bike, I would reverse its intended mounting direction.

ok the groove thing makes sense, the way u explained it. But the acceleration thing doesn't. The front is still moving forward like the rear is doing.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Quoting myself, from 2012:

Regarding tire construction, tread patterns, and directionality:

The main reason why the direction of a motorcycle tire is specified is because of the way the tire is constructed.  Where the belts overlap there is a potential weakness.  The accelerating or braking forces will either be trying to separate the lap joint, or push it together.  Because the dominant force on a rear tire is acceleration rather than braking, the tire is oriented so the lap joints are pushed together.  The same tire on the front wheel should be mounted backwards because the force on the tire is all braking and no acceleration, and by changing the direction we continue to push the joint together.  How much of a concern this really is is open for us to debate or for a motorcycle tire engineer to settle.

With directional tread patterns and rain, if the tire's contact patch is not moving faster or slower than the road surface (i.e. the tire is not sliding due to acceleration or braking forces), the direction of the "V" has no bearing on how well it evacuates water.  Water is simply squished out from under the tread blocks and into the nearest groove with capacity to take it.  When the back tire is slipping due to acceleration, the "V" should point towards the back of the bike at the road surface.  It acts the same as a tractor tire slipping in mud, directing the fluid towards either side of the tire, rather than scooping it towards the centre of the tire.  When the front tire is slipping due to braking forces, the "V" should point towards the front of the bike at the road surface.  It acts like a "V"-shaped snow plow, pushing the fluid towards the sides, rather than scooping it towards the middle.

For these reasons, if I were to try mounting a designated rear motorcycle tire on the front of my bike, I would reverse its intended mounting direction.

ok the groove thing makes sense, the way u explained it. But the acceleration thing doesn't. The front is still moving forward like the rear is doing.

But it has not the force on it from being powered. It is rolling neutrally except under braking, when it has the opposite forces on it.

[DarkSideR]

The Metzeler ME888 Marathon Ultra Rear Tire-150/80R17 is the same size as the stock front. Great tire.

As for running a Rear M/C tire, Reverse on the front. This is easy;
- Put a Front M/C tire and a Rear M/C tire side by side with the direction arrows both pointing the same way.
- You will see the tread patterns are in opposite directions.
- Spin the Rear tire around (backwards/Reverse) to find that the tread patterns now line up with the front.
See, told you it was easy.

Hope this helps.

I have been unable to find a metz in that size.

I found it on Amazon
- https://www.amazon.com/Metzeler-ME888-Marathon-Ultra-Rear/dp/B01N2BDNEI

[98valk]

The Metzeler ME888 Marathon Ultra Rear Tire-150/80R17 is the same size as the stock front. Great tire.

As for running a Rear M/C tire, Reverse on the front. This is easy;
- Put a Front M/C tire and a Rear M/C tire side by side with the direction arrows both pointing the same way.
- You will see the tread patterns are in opposite directions.
- Spin the Rear tire around (backwards/Reverse) to find that the tread patterns now line up with the front.
See, told you it was easy.

Hope this helps.

that is OEM size. good find.    only difference is the oem dunlop was 26.90 OD and the metz is 26.73 OD.  most likely the metz is better for speedo and odo accuracy compared to the dunlop. smaller dia also helps the trail number for better handling.   

[Gryphon Rider]

Quoting myself, from 2012:

Regarding tire construction, tread patterns, and directionality:

The main reason why the direction of a motorcycle tire is specified is because of the way the tire is constructed.  Where the belts overlap there is a potential weakness.  The accelerating or braking forces will either be trying to separate the lap joint, or push it together.  Because the dominant force on a rear tire is acceleration rather than braking, the tire is oriented so the lap joints are pushed together.  The same tire on the front wheel should be mounted backwards because the force on the tire is all braking and no acceleration, and by changing the direction we continue to push the joint together.  How much of a concern this really is is open for us to debate or for a motorcycle tire engineer to settle.

With directional tread patterns and rain, if the tire's contact patch is not moving faster or slower than the road surface (i.e. the tire is not sliding due to acceleration or braking forces), the direction of the "V" has no bearing on how well it evacuates water.  Water is simply squished out from under the tread blocks and into the nearest groove with capacity to take it.  When the back tire is slipping due to acceleration, the "V" should point towards the back of the bike at the road surface.  It acts the same as a tractor tire slipping in mud, directing the fluid towards either side of the tire, rather than scooping it towards the centre of the tire.  When the front tire is slipping due to braking forces, the "V" should point towards the front of the bike at the road surface.  It acts like a "V"-shaped snow plow, pushing the fluid towards the sides, rather than scooping it towards the middle.

For these reasons, if I were to try mounting a designated rear motorcycle tire on the front of my bike, I would reverse its intended mounting direction.

ok the groove thing makes sense, the way u explained it. But the acceleration thing doesn't. The front is still moving forward like the rear is doing.

It's not about relative motion of the wheel as a whole, it's about which direction the contact patch is moving relative to the pavement.  In normal conditions when riding, the contact patch doesn't move relative to the pavement, but it's being laid down at the front and taken up at the back, like a bulldozer track.  Under tire-spinning acceleration, the rear contact patch is sliding backward relative to the pavement.  Under tire-skidding braking, the front tire is sliding forward relative to the pavement.

[Leathel]

I got told a while back you should not mount it backwards..... they said no manufacturer would agree to that.....but I had taken some pic's of a tire I fitted to my daughters old bike.. and showed him, well this manufacturer recommends it








although me personally I fit a front to the front and it works....but its not legal here to run a tire not designed for where it is, IE no car tires, no rear of front unless it specified it can be like the one above

[Fla. Jim]

Need a new front tire. Was thinking putting a rear on the front but have a few questions.

Why does it need mounted backwards?

Is there a prob if is not mounted backwards?

Member
*****
Posts: 448


#166 White City Florida, VRCCDS0143

From July 16 yrs ago.

Run Rear Tire on Front
By Jim Smith (Floridajim) on Wednesday, July 12, 2000 - 08:30 am:


And now time for something completly different! I am running Dunlop 491 elite-2's on my valk. The rear is a 160/80/16 same size as comes on the wing the front is a MT90/17 a rear tire I am running backwards for safety reasons. The current rear tire is my second time around with this model tire. I got 11,600 miles with the first one with 1/32's tread remaining when I changed out I run 41 psi. At 5,600 miles on this one I have 6/32's of tread left so I should get around the same again (if I can stop snatching 2nd, trigger wheel makes me do it!).The elite front at the same 5,600 miles has used exactly 1/32 of rubber running 36psi for handeling reasons, so it will probably dryrot before I wear it out(at current wear 50,000 + Miles??) It currently has 10/32's of tread left. I drive mostly single and moderately fast with ½ city & ½ country driving in South coastal Fla. so there isn't a lot of twisties. The current set up is handling very well, not as sticky as the stock but I don't ride in any road races or try to tame mountain roads either, I do scrape the running boards at speed on a regular basis on my favorite road and have never been fearful the tires would break loose in a hard curve. There is also no tread noise as with the stock tires. This set up is more than fine for my capabilities and road conditions. Just my experience. Your milage of course "will" vary due to different riding style and road conditions. Jim (-=


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


By don r. tyler (Txduke) on Wednesday, July 12, 2000 - 06:05 pm:
do what......running a rear wing tire backwards on the front of the valkyrie? i thought all motorcycle tires were directional......what is the safety reason for this ? please let me know!
me dont understand......thanks


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


By Jim Smith (Floridajim) on Thursday, July 13, 2000 - 08:16 am:
This is a long answer to a short question. But you asked.Posted by Fla. Jim on Wed - Apr 26 - 09:51am:


Dunlop was no help at all (go figure!!) so I went to my local tire company that has always answered straight questions with straight answers. Here is my question and their reply.
-----Original Message-----
From: Smithjos@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2000 3:09 PM
To:
Subject: Useing rear tire on front


Hello: I am currently using a rear tire on the front of my bike. I have heard a lot of disclaimers and read a lot more about why not to do this so I understand you can't condone this practice. I also understand this was quite a common practice some years back when front and rear tires were the same size. It seems back then whenever they did this they turned the rear tire backwards, with the logic being that the rear was designed to push not brake? Since I now have over 3,000 mile of stop and go running with multiple hard stops and no problems to date can you think of a reason I should turn the tire backwards? The tire in Question is not of your manufacture and I promise to keep the "****" name out of any correspondense I may have with other bikers. I will continue to run the rear on the front no matter what your reply. I am just courious as to the "best" rotation to run it. Your Company has always been straight up in answering my questions, so in advance I thank you for your reply. Jim Smith, South Florida


========================================


Hi Jim
Yes you should turn the tyre around, to run against its direction arrows. This is because of the way the tread joint is made on the tyre. When braking the forces generated will try to open the tread jointing of the tyre. This will be prevented if the tyre is run in reverse direction


========================================


Hi again, Thanks for your prompt reply. Not knowing proper tire manufacture terminology I am somewhat confused with your reply. "This is because of the way the tread joint is made on the tyre. When braking the forces generated will try to open the tread jointing of the tyre." By tread joint are you referring to the tread pattern, or the way the belts are laid under the tread? Thanks again Jim Smith


----------------------------------------


Hi jim
Please excuse me. The tread is applied to a tyre as a flat wide strip of rubber. When moulded the pattern is added. The ends of the tread obviously have to be joined together prior to moulding. The ends of the tread are not butt jointed together, but cut at a steep angle & then joined together. This obviously makes the joint area larger to help absorb the stress placed upon it. Therefore because they are joined at an angle, if you rotate the tyre in one direction you will (in effect) close the joint once every rotation. If you rotate it in the other direction you will try to open the joint once every rotation. A rear tyre is arrowed to close the joint on every rotation of the tyre as it is put under power.


The same tyre would have to be mounted against its rotation arrow on the frontbecause although in normal use the joint is runnng the wrong way, there is no force being applied to it (the front wheel is just running along without the application of power). however when you brake, a strong force is pushing from the rear to the front of the motorcycle, & this would open up the tead joint, possibly leading to the tread shearing off the tyre completely. Therefore, if you run the rear tyre backwards on the front, braking forces will then be trying to close the tread joint, overall the best situation. Its a little complicated, I know. To follow it better use an orange, a pen & a chees grater. With the pen draw a slight arc on the orange, and imagine this to be the tread joint. rotate this as a rear tyre & press the grater into the bottom of it, forcing it backwards. Now do the same again but turn the grater around. The first time that you do it, you will see the scar from the grater is the same angle as the curve. The second time the grater mark will curve the wrong way. Therefore to use this orange as a front tyre (but still get the grater mark to be the same, you have to turn the orange around


I hope this has been of use to you

.============================================================

That K491 front tire was replace at 30k due to my letting it run low air pressure and cupping of the tread resulted in it being replaced.
   Original K491 @ 30k


Currently running a Michelin pilot rear on the front turned backwards of course. New Pilot front with the then 30k mileage Mich. Hydroedge rear car tire installed. Pilot front has 9k  and still has a bunch of tread left.

[bill-jr]

Just bought a dunlop d404 rear for the front will be putting it on in reverse . . .
Will be my first . . .
Always have run avons . .
Half the price and twice the milage ?. ? I figured WTH i’ll give it a try . .
What did you decide to go with?! ?!

[fudgie]

Just bought a dunlop d404 rear for the front will be putting it on in reverse . . .
Will be my first . . .
Always have run avons . .
Half the price and twice the milage ?. ? I figured WTH i’ll give it a try . .
What did you decide to go with?! ?!

Not sure yet. I usually get 25k out of my metz fronts but only for 15k out of this one. I think the 110 deg Navajo rez took a toll on it this yr. I see metz came out with a me888 and may just get a normal front tire. I got all winter to decide.