Can I put on a larger tire?

[Seavon]

I ride a BMW 1200LT with Hannigan conversion. Tire selections for BMW LT are limited: front: 120/70/17 B17 and back: 160/70/17 B17. On this forum I see where folks recommend putting a back tire on the front (backwards) to give them longer wear life, better handling etc. My issue is that there is no back 120/70/17 size tire that I can find. I can find a Michelin 130/70/17 back tire but don't know what that will do. So (1) anyone know of a 120/70/17 back tire or (2) if the 130/70/17 is acceptable? Thanks in advance

 

[trikeleader]

The main concern for the larger tire is the clearance under the fender. You must make sure it will not rub the fender and melt a hole in the fender or tear up the tire. :Trike1:

 

[Seavon]

Thanks, I will keep that in mind. 10 centimeters sounds small until a fender gets in the way

 

[alstrickland55]

I ride a BMW 1200LT with Hannigan conversion. Tire selections for BMW LT are limited: front: 120/70/17 B17 and back: 160/70/17 B17. On this forum I see where folks recommend putting a back tire on the front (backwards) to give them longer wear life, better handling etc. My issue is that there is no back 120/70/17 size tire that I can find. I can find a Michelin 130/70/17 back tire but don't know what that will do. So (1) anyone know of a 120/70/17 back tire or (2) if the 130/70/17 is acceptable? Thanks in advance

Did you ever find a bigger front tire for you trike? If so, how is it doing?

Al

 

[weewilly]

Just want to put in my two cents worth about the size. Using the measurements given the following is noted:

120 versus 130 is the width of the tire 10 millimeters wider (sidewall to sidewall)

130 with a 70% ratio would indicate that the 130 would be 91 millimeters tall (bead to ball)

120 with a 70% ratio would indicate that the 120 would be 84 millimeters tall (bead to ball)

91 millimeters minus 84 millimeters means that the 130/70/17 would be 7 millimeters taller

Hope this helps....

 

[burgman2170]

What are the feelings of replacing the front tire of a trike and putting on a dark side tire. Since the trike doesn't lean what are the disavantages?

 

[homeless]

I know this post is a few months old but I domiln't see a definate answer as yet so there may still be interest. I am running the Pilot Activ rear tire in the 130/70 size on the front of my BMW/Hannigan trike. It's working great. No fitment problems at all. I'm not sure how long it will last but currently with 10,000 miles on it I can tell it's going to last longer than anything else I've tried. I'm happy with it. As always YMMV.

ciao homeless

 

[Bill Reber]

All I can say is a few years back I did see a car tire on the front of a old Yamaha venture Trike. I did ask him if it handled worth beans , the old Fart offered to run me to Bat Cave and back to Lake Lure , hell I thought he was nuts and at the time I was on a Bandit and never even thought about trikes. Now that I know what a rider can do on a well made trike I sure am glad I did not take him on LOL !

 

[Seavon]

I chickened out and did not want to take a chance of the 130/70 and I bought another Metzer 880 before I saw the post that the 130/70 works. Will try it next time.

 

[Mr Orange]

Go vote for BMW in the poll, what do you ride?

http://www.triketalk.com/forum/general-discussion-5/what-do-you-ride-15964/

 

[TexasAl]

Sometimes you need to try it to see if it works.

 

[homeless]

Hi all, Just an update on the front tire thread. I just replaced my Pilot Activ 130/70-17. It still had a few miles in it but I wanted to ride some. The tire had a bit over 24,000 miles on it when replaced. Due to the excellent service from this tire I replaced it with the same tire. Overall I think it worked great.

ciao homeless

 

[jaxbobg]

Thanks for the info about the Pilot Activ 130/17. I need to replace the Metzeler 120/17 in a few months. (2nd one on the LT/Hannigan in 38,000 miles)

My neighbor rides a Goldwing and suggested that I try a Bridgestone BT45, reverse rotation, but I too was concerned about mounting a 130/17 on the front.

He says the BT has more tread in the center and will last longer under the tread scrubbing experienced on the trike. We also looked at the fender clearance and it doesn't look to be a problem.

Any thoughts?

 

[dadog6575]

bigger tire did you reverse the direction? Thanks

:Santa:

Hi all, Just an update on the front tire thread. I just replaced my Pilot Activ 130/70-17. It still had a few miles in it but I wanted to ride some. The tire had a bit over 24,000 miles on it when replaced. Due to the excellent service from this tire I replaced it with the same tire. Overall I think it worked great.

ciao homeless

 

[ebiss9]

bigger tire did you reverse the direction? Thanks:Santa:

This is an older thread but yes, if you use a tire intended for a rear wheel on the front end then it should be reversed. The way I understand it is a rear tire is designed mainly toward acceleration and by reversing the direction you would be applying the same type of rotational load on the front with breaking. I put one on my K1200LT Hannigan trike conversion and it's working well. The only thing I noticed is a bit more tire road noise probably from the tread being reversed.........