Reverse on the front???

[Big Rig]

Gonna order an Austone and go dark side...in a few post I have read some riders say they are running a rear in reverse on the front. My question is why? How is handling? And what specifically are you running in reverse on the front?

What characteristics should one expect running a set up like that? Besides flaming death... 

[Hook#3287]

Running a rear on the front reverse pertains to a Dunlop d404 rear tire, mounted on the front, in the reverse of the arrows stamped on the tire.

I've got 2 of these, one with a Taxi tire on the rear.  I like that compo and will probably stick with it.

[Hook#3287]

Guess I should have tried to answer your questions also. Sorry

Anyways, there's a big long and ongoing discussion on the reasons for mounting them in reverse.

I do it because if you look at the tread design of the D404, mounting it reverse, it will have the tread path going the same as a Avon or Metz "front" tire.  Supposedly shedding water correctly.

It handles just fine and has about 50% more tread than a "front" D404.

There's some claims that the rubber composite is different between front and rear tires and the tires are composed differently according to rotation and side wall stress and mixing radial with non radial and blah, blah, blah.

All I can say is, it works for me and I'm happy with it.

[The emperor has no clothes]

I agree with what Hook says about running the rear on front. I would add that there are additional choices of tires in addition to the Dunlop 404. I'm running a Michelin Pilot Activ and have about 3 k on it now and like it fine. Grip seems great no slippage at all. The reason why I tried it was to see if I could get more miles out of it. Rear tires generally have more tread depth than fronts. Will see how many miles I get out of it.

[Valkorado]

Funny you should mention this, I am double dark as of yesterday.  Running (my second) Austone on back and a new Bridgestone Battlax BT 45R 150/70-17 V rated on front.  Rode it back from the Springs to occasional triple digits, felt good but a little funny around the century mark.  Checked it cold this morning, read 38 on my gauge.  Bumped it to 41 and hit some twisties today, and triple digits.  Solid.  Feels better than the Avon Cobras I've been using.  And yes, it was mounted in reverse rotation.  Lots of thick beefy tread, time will tell on wear.  I like this tire.

[Karen]

Rear tires are designed to handle acceleration forces, fronts are built to handle braking forces. Can't give you the technical info regarding the construction. I have had a Conti Go rear tire mounted backwards on the front of my trike, for quite a while, handling and durability very satisfactory. When you reverse a rear tire and put it on the front, it will handle the braking forces, and last longer.

[Gryphon Rider]

My attempt at an explanation of why:
http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,40891.msg387385.html#msg387385

[Hook#3287]

Hey Karen,

I would think you needed snow tires 

[DK]

I'm active on the Trike Forum.

Reverse mounted rear tires on the front are becoming a big thing in Trikes.

More tread on the road.

The Michelin Pilot Active is probably the most popular.

There is a strong preference for bias-ply tires.

It puzzles me why the trike manufacturers take a bike originally having 3" of rubber on the ground and when triking it, put 16-18" of rubber  in back; leave the front as was; and then warn their customers that the trike pushes in hard corners.

It would seem sensible to me to merely triple the rear rubber on the ground; improve the low speed ride quality; and let the trike hang out the rear a little bit and maybe become neutral or even have a little oversteer in hard corners.

Avon is now making a trike-specific trike front tire with a much wider contact patch & a stiffer sidewall that sticks much better, but will not fit a 1500 Valk.

I realize trikes are not a big thing on this forum, but as we grow older many of you, like me, will be considering triking your Valk if you want to keep riding. Trikes, especially 1500 Valk Trikes, really are not all that bad, especially when you have no other choice.

You may say that there are trike-specific forums. However,  1500 Valk trikes are relatively rare; most are GW's and, recently, Harleys; the technical detail of the forum is shallow at best having to deal with so many brands/models; and the discussions are more focused on travel and trike riding technique.

You often see comments in this forum that we are getting older. The time is coming for all of us. I'm not that old, ( 68 ), but a knee replacement precludes riding a big bike for me.

Dan

Dan

[Lonerbtw]

Hey Dan. I am on this forum most every day and most of what I know about Valks I have learned here. I have 3 Valks a 97,98,and a2000 all triked by myself so I am also on the trike sites. I have tried back on front in reverse and did get better milage and good handleing. The wear has always bothered me. Because of turning it only wears center 2 to 3 inches depending on air pressure. I have thought for a long time about putting a car tire on but could not find the rite size. I just seen that one of the members uses a Bridgestone. Think I will try that if I can find one in this hick town.
 Loner

[Fla. Jim]

 I am currently running  a Michelin Pilot activ Rear (Michelin Pilot Activ Rear Tire - 130/70-17) and I like the ride a lot better than the k491 which has the same tread as the 404. Much smoother ride without the extended break in period. And I rode two of the K491's to 30k each on two different Valks.

As for the why run the rear in reverse: From the year 2000 set of e-mails.

http://www.angelfire.com/nj3/terminalvalkocity/reversetire.html

[DK]

Loner,

In Europe, you commonly see "knee action" front forks with auto tires.

Trike design over there is far more diverse and in my opinion, more advanced than in the States, although CSC Goldwing Trikes are becoming common. There ar many small shops producing < 100 or so trikes of their own design each year.

There is a British magazine devoted entirely to trikes that you can subscribe to on line.

I think this type fork is much more suitable for a trike than OE forks.

[Lonerbtw]

  I have thought about building a leading link for mine. I want to keep the stock trees and wheel. I do like the duel disks. Came back to same problem of tire size. I do have 6 degree trees on now and like the way it handles just not tire wear.

[Big Rig]

Is there any handling difference between Bias and Radial on the front when running an ATT on the rear? Going to pull the trigger on new rubber up front and want to make sure I get the best combo.

I like the Metz I have on the front now.

[Earl43P]

I have two rides double darksided.

I just put a Michelin Pilot Activ on the front of my 99 Valk IS, 130/90-17. I too mounted it in reverse rotation for the water siping. My speedometer stayed exactly as it was, indicating 5 mph more than actual at highway speeds.

I have about 200 fun and another 130 commuter miles on it, since last Saturday when I put it on. Last night, I checked the wear witness marks after scraping the pegs on both sides during a vigorous ride through the countyside. There is a good 1/2" of virgin rubber, so I still have considerably more lean available before I hit that shoulder ridge. My rear is a Yokohama Avid Envigor (widely recommended with rounder edges), but I used the not as common 195/55-16 flavor to hot-rod my rear ratio (more rpms at higher speeds).

That makes it pretty quick, but with less of a top speed.  I never visit over 100 much anyway. I've surprised quite a few crotch rockets that thought they would run away from me from a light. Not racing, just hanging right with them. Difference is that MY front tire stays on the ground when I powershift. Theirs don't.

I also have the Pilot Activ (130/70) on the front of my 93 Goldwing, with over 6000 miles on it. Also reversed its rotation to match the siping of the E3 I took off. My experience with that bike convinced me to use the same tire on the front of the Valkyrie.

The Redwing is my commuter and it has the ATT on the rear. Since that makes it taller, I have completely explored out to the front tire's shoulder and rarely scrape that ride's pegs, try as I might. There pretty much has to be a bump or a dip in the curve to scrape its pegs. I ride it quite vigorously for it being "an old man's bike", heh, heh.
It pulls about 40 mpg on my 130 mile/day commute.

Both of my Michelin Pilot Activ tires are bias ply. They handle and grip great. I keep them both at 40 psi. I never intend to put the ATT on my Valk, but on my Redwing it is virtually indistinguishable from a MC tire in curves. I finally settled on 45 psi and have no wobble. It does follow the open bridge grates more than the car tire on my Valk.

[Big Rig]

Guys and Gals,

Should have the austone here this weekend...just need to know how you guys are balancing the CT...I plan on Dyno beads in the front.

If you are using dyno beads in the CT how many ounces???

[vanagon40]

Oddly enough, several posters in this thread had claimed siping (water dispersion) as the reason to run the front mounted rear tire against the directional arrow.  In other threads, posters have claimed they installed the tire in the direction of the arrow for proper water dispersion.

With regard to siping, some knowledgeable riders (e.g., Gryphon Rider) argue that the siping dynamics are opposite from front to rear.  Other knowledgeable riders  (e.g., Willow) argue they are identical.  I fall into the opposite dynamics camp.  I note that generally (with minor exception), when looking at a front motorcycle tire (from the front of the motorcycle), the “V” in the tire tread (not the directional arrow) has the point upward.  This is opposite for the rear tire.

There is also the argument that the tire construction for the rear tire accommodates acceleration forces, while the front tire should be designed for braking forces.  Generally, those who advocate mounting a rear tire in front in the direction of the arrow claim that siping is more important to them than acceleration/braking design.

I have read many posts on this issue, and I have NEVER heard a legitimate argument made for mounting a rear tire on the front in the same direction as if mounted on the rear.  I have read many legitimate arguments for mounting the tire in the reverse direction.

I do not have a response to your most recent question regarding the quantity of balancing beads for a motorcycle tire.