Rear tire on front

[jmhelm]

i read about putting the rear tire reversed on the front rim. the bike i bought has new tires on it. any reason i cant reverse the front tire that is already on the trike? Thanks in advance.

[Nana]

You will need to be very sure that the tire you are referring to was made to be a REAR motorcycle tire before you consider reversing it's rotation. If it is a standard front tire, you would not want to make the change.

[don graham]

It has to do with the way the tire is made. The treads are cut on an angle to give more area for the glues when the tire are built. They are directional for the amount of stress put on the tire, for example, when accelerating. When they are used on the front the stress is reversed, as in braking. The rear motorcycle tire is used on the front to usually get better mileage. Hope this helps a little.

[jmhelm]

the purpose of reversing the front tire is to get rid of what little headshake i still have left. wouldnt reversing the front tire have the same affect? or is it a saftey issue?

[biddlej]

I think I get the reasoning Behind putting a rear tire (bt-45) on the front-better wear right?- but why mount it in the reverse direction. Riding a gl1800 and need to replace the front after only 4000 miles. Thanks for the help. Jim

[kawabeemer]

Since a rear tire is designed to push a bike when on the rear, it sounds logical to mount it backwards on the front since it will only be stopping the bike. Sounds logical, but I am not really sure if it will make a difference.
I did this on my Roadstar/Chap rig. Time will tell if I get better wear or not.

[Rosy]

I think I get the reasoning Behind putting a rear tire (bt-45) on the front-better wear right?- but why mount it in the reverse direction. Riding a gl1800 and need to replace the front after only 4000 miles. Thanks for the help. Jim

Jim,
Had my shop (at their recommendation) put on a BT45 Battleax rear in front, reverse direction with dynabeads. Everything I have read says BT45 will wear like iron on a trike, not so much on a two wheel bike. Reseason: Sides of the BT45 are very soft and will wear out faster when you ride two wheels because to the side wear you put on the tire as you go through turns, whereas the center of the tire will wear like iron and you don't have these side forces on the front tire of a trike. I have over 4,000 miles on it now, and it looks like the day I had it put on.
Good luck.

Regards,

Rosy
From NH

[Gold Rush]

For the average trike rider there may well be no benefit to running the tire (MPA or BT45) in reverse rotation. For those of us who tend to use primarily the front brake, and quite aggressively at that, then there might be a good reason. If stressing the tire carcass causes separation then catastrophic failure will follow.

I have written confirmation from two major tire companies recommending this procedure. So far I have only worn out one BT45 and consider it money well spent.

[Rosy]

For the average trike rider there may well be no benefit to running the tire (MPA or BT45) in reverse rotation. For those of us who tend to use primarily the front brake, and quite aggressively at that, then there might be a good reason. If stressing the tire carcass causes separation then catastrophic failure will follow.

I have written confirmation from two major tire companies recommending this procedure. So far I have only worn out one BT45 and consider it money well spent.

Gold Rush,
What mileage did you get out of your BT45?
Thanks.

Rosy
From NH

[Gold Rush]

Gold Rush,
What mileage did you get out of your BT45?
Thanks.

Rosy
From NH

Wasn't great but for the roads I ride and my riding style I'm happy.. As I recall it was 14,400 something. That is way more then I got from a front tire when the bike only had two wheels and it cost me less to boot so all is good...

[Shimpy]

Since a rear tire is designed to push a bike when on the rear, it sounds logical to mount it backwards on the front since it will only be stopping the bike.

I can't buy into this theory because 1. a rear tire also has to stop a bike. 2. the tread sipes are designed for forward rotation to rid itself from water. Whether it's on the front or rear it needs to rotate the same for the sipes to work.
When calling around looking to have a BT45 installed on front one trike shop refused to mount it in reverse saying after talking to the manufacture they wouldn't recommend it. I would think whatever you do though it would wear the same.

[Gold Rush]

Since a rear tire is designed to push a bike when on the rear, it sounds logical to mount it backwards on the front since it will only be stopping the bike. QUOTE]

I can't buy into this theory because 1. a rear tire also has to stop a bike. 2. the tread sipes are designed for forward rotation to rid itself from water. Whether it's on the front or rear it needs to rotate the same for the sipes to work.
When calling around looking to have a BT45 installed on front one trike shop refused to mount it in reverse saying after talking to the manufacture they wouldn't recommend it. I would think whatever you do though it would wear the same.

I would support you views if someone was trying to do this on two wheels but on a trike it makes perfect sense. #1 even in hard stopping far more pressure is applied to front braking (hence tire) then the rear and #2 if you inspect a BT45 you will see the portion of the tire when used in trike application actually touching the road has much better water shedding ability in reverse rotation then in normal forwarded mounted rotation. The outer grooves never come into play and thus make absolutely no difference.

That all being said, I reiterate: it's up the the individual. I know it works for me and my riding style. Each rider has to make up their mind. As for a installer refusing to mount in reverse all it takes is a signed waver of liability and they are free. Tire manufactures would not put it in writing and expose themselves needlessly. I suspect that same person would not mount a "Dark Side" tire either. Not that I'm a huge fan of that style.

[don graham]

I have the BT-45 in reverse on the front. Have about 8k on it so far. Can't see any wear.

I have a friend that rides a 2 wheeler with a reverse mounted BT-45 on the front. He now has 41K on it. He does mostly highway riding as he rides with the PGR and almost always has a 200 mile round trip, at least.

[nucseal]

I had somewhat the same question, about the front tire? There is many posts concerning this; if you do a search on front tire reverse..

Here is a article that may help, that some one posted awhile back.


Tires Directional Arrows Explained By Avon Tyres at Cyril Huze Post

Ride Safe

[trikeleader]

If you go to the Michleln tire web site and look up the Pilot Activ, you will see that they say if you are mounting a rear tire on the front of a trike, it is to be mounted in reverse rotation.

[rmrc51]

If you go to the Michleln tire web site and look up the Pilot Activ, you will see that they say if you are mounting a rear tire on the front of a trike, it is to be mounted in reverse rotation.

I'm having a rear MPA mounted on my trike next week, reverse direction. My dealer even recommends this for trike applications.

[Konrad]

If you go to the Michleln tire web site and look up the Pilot Activ, you will see that they say if you are mounting a rear tire on the front of a trike, it is to be mounted in reverse rotation.

I have an MPA reverse mounted on my Roadsmith trike. It now has about 8,000 miles on it and I see zero wear. My trike kit installer recommended it very highly.

[Shimpy]

When I have my tires rotated on my car they move the front to the back and the back to the front. They are still rotating the same direction. The car, like a trike has to accelerate with the rear tire and most of the stopping is with the front hence the much larger brakes. This has worked for me and I don't see why it wouldn't work on a trike. I've got my BT45 installed to rotate in normal direction. Apparently from reading many posts it really doesn't matter and either way gives good tire life.

[Jim Smyth]

The link in post #10 explains why the tire is put on backwards. Makes perfect sense and is why so many dealers also mount it that way. I had my original Honda tire changed at 5400 miles and it was scalloped very bad. I am hoping the new reverse mounted tire wears better than that. Also been way lees vibration in the handlebars on my bike because of the new front tire set up.

[Stephen]

The link in post #10 explains why the tire is put on backwards. Makes perfect sense and is why so many dealers also mount it that way. I had my original Honda tire changed at 5400 miles and it was scalloped very bad. I am hoping the new reverse mounted tire wears better than that. Also been way lees vibration in the handlebars on my bike because of the new front tire set up.

I ain't buying what that link says. Avon is the only tire company saying that. None of the others are. Problem is with this conversation it's going to end up just like a conversation about putting a car tire on the back of a motorcycle (two wheeler). Some are going to say it works great and some will say it's looney tunes. I'm wearing my BT45 with the arrows in proper rotation and I ain't never putting a car tire on a two wheeler M/C ever again.