Doulbe Darkside question

[Mallett]

Why do some run the the rear tire on the front in a reversed direction?

[Bert AKA,Valkaholic]

I run the Rear tire on the front because it has 3/16 of an Inch more tread and I hope to get more mileage out of it. I run mine in the Intended Direction so it will tread water properly and it is not going against the Tread. I will not run one Backwards due to the fact that the belts are laid in a directional process and I do not want to have a Front tire Come Apart or De-Laminate on me while riding. I have not found any benefit of running the tire in a reverse direction.

[Mildew]

Supposedly rear tires are designed to withstand the force from the takeoff in the direction they are supposed to be on the rear. When it's turned around on the front, the same theory applies under hard braking. I think it's all overkill though. Never had a problem with rain running either direction. If I get good miles from this front d404, I'll probably stick with it. Although I have no reason to go back to a m/c tire on the back.

[Jabba]

I tried double darkside for about 200 miles.

I like regular darkside... but not the rear on the front...

It's just not for me.

Jabba

[Mallett]

I tried double darkside for about 200 miles.

I like regular darkside... but not the rear on the front...

It's just not for me.

Jabba

Jabba, what tire did you try?

[olddog1946]

I had read about both thoughts on the front tread direction, decided on the running my D404 bias ply in the reverse direction. All I can say is, that I don't think it has any affect (at my skill level/or lack of) on wet weather handling. I've ridden in a snow storm, heavy rain and hail and the handling through the mountains was rock solid. I must note that I don't ride much over the speed limit, so I'm not a 9/10's, ba--s to the wall rider, but have been extremly happy with my choice.

[Mildew]

I remember him trying the Kenda rear cruiser on the front. (150/70/17)  I bought mine around the same time he did. My first one was great, no problems lasted a long time. 20 something thousand miles. My second one was great for a long time. I took it to key West and back the long way. Running mid 80's all the way in 100 degree weather. No issues. Run deals gap several times with no problems. When the tire was close to being used up, I started getting little pockets of holes around the whole tire like it had air bubbles in it. It may be just that one tire but it was enough to make me try something else. It's also smaller than the 150/80 stock. Just slightly but it's noticeable.

[Gryphon Rider]

My answer, copied from my reply to an older thread:

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. The following pictures are of tires mounted on the wheels they were designed for, in the direction as designed for.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Has anyone used the Michelin Pilot Activ rear up front ? I`ve always been partial to michelins for all vehicles and am thinking about this one for my next front.
Thanks

[Bert AKA,Valkaholic]

With the Dunlop rear tire on the Front Running in the Intended Direction, I will just try to get the most mileage out of it as possible.
 I don't think I will be Braking Hard Enough with The Front Brakes that it would put as Much TORQUE on the Front Tire as The Engine Does, to make it De-Laminate.

[Jess from VA]

Gryph, that is the best, most definitive answer to the question.

It is not so much a water shedding issue, it is a belt stacking (tire strength) issue. 

I'm no mathematician, but the amount of force on the front tire, stopping a big heavy bike with two large front disks is considerable (70% of total braking or more).

[art]

125000 miles darkside 30000 miles double darkside .I'm very happy with my choice.I have a shinco on the front reversed,and a general 195/55/16 on the rear.For $100 each and 12000 on the front and 25000 from the rear.I'll never go back.I do ride very hard in the twisties usually with sport bike friends and never had any issues.

[Jabba]

Jabba, what tire did you try?

I had the Kenda Front.  For me, the over-indication of the speed was the deciding factor.  It RODE OK.  But I couldn't stand it saying I was doing 80 when I was only doing 60ish.

Jabba

[vanagon40]

Jabba, what tire did you try?

I had the Kenda Front.  For me, the over-indication of the speed was the deciding factor.  It RODE OK.  But I couldn't stand it saying I was doing 80 when I was only doing 60ish.

Jabba

What size was it?  Must have been way different than stock.  I did not notice any difference with the MT90HB17 (same as 130/90-17).  According to the tire comparison program with the link on the Shop Talk Page, the difference is less than 1%.

[Jabba]

I don't remember...at the time, it was the one they were recommending on here.  It WAS smaller.  I didn't like it.  But ONLY because of the mis reading speedo.

NBD.  I passed it foreward and went back to Metzeler.

Jabba

[Mildew]

It was a 150/70/17. Not much different than stock but my speedometer read a 3 mile difference on a 53 mile trip. Which tells me it's roughly a six mile difference. The stock tire isn't accurate either. About a 6 mph difference on that which makes 12 overall. Who really knows. My car shows exactly what the computer says the trip to be which makes the standard tire 4 mph off.

[Walküre]

I had the Kenda Front.  For me, the over-indication of the speed was the deciding factor.  It RODE OK.  But I couldn't stand it saying I was doing 80 when I was only doing 60ish.

I don't remember...at the time, it was the one they were recommending on here.  It WAS smaller.  I didn't like it.  But ONLY because of the mis reading speedo.

NBD.  I passed it foreward and went back to Metzeler.

Jabba

I'm the one he passed it forward to - it is indeed the 150/70-17. I still have plenty of tread on my front tire, so I haven't changed it yet. I have it hanging as a "frame" on my wall clock, in the shop, where it looks good! I might change it this fall, even if the mc tire is still good, because I really want to get into the front wheel, and check things out, now that I will have ticked over 20,000 miles on the bike.

As an aside, I was peeking at the Darkside database, for a friend with a Vulcan this morning, and this is what came up...just my style!!



HA! And who said the Darkside wasn't Satanic!!

R

[98valk]

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,12541.40.html

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,975.msg13576.html#msg13