TGlide Front Tire Stuff

[Trent]

Got almost 15,000 miles on my "11...Front tire ready for replacement..Been researching with my dealer and here is what we are doing. Gonna put on a rear tire with the identical tread pattern as the stock front tire, and reverse the direction. This will be an experiment for them too, as they have not had anyone wear out a front tire on a TG yet, so this will be their first replacement with a rear tire.
Tire part # is 43102-91B { MT90/B16 } Dunlop.. Wider, beefier, deeper tread.
The tire guy has put rear tires on the front of 2 wheelers before..many times he sez.. but this will be the first trike. Not doing it till next week when I get my 15,000 service done.

[Bikerbozo]

I will be curious how that does. I am just now on my 3rd front tire on my '10 TG at 40,000 miles. Keep in mind I push it a little further than normal, sane people. It does wear different than 2-wheeler.

[427dave]

I have 22,000 miles on my original stock front tire. I am looking at either the MT90B16 rear tire or a MU85B16 rear tire. Has anyone used the MU85B16? Does it clear the fender? The Mt90B16 rear tire, is it wider than the MT90B16 stock front tire?

[Trent]

It is just a little wider...Looks like it will fit with no problem though. My appt for service and tire change is July 5th. I will report then how it fits.

[BinIdaho]

I'm ready for 2nd front tire (15K+) before 7/25 (leaving for Carson City, NV)...would be interested to know and see your setup Trent. What's the cost factor vs regular front tire?

[427dave]

I finally installed a MT90B16 rear tire on the front. The dealer had never heard of this but was willing to do it. He installed it in the reverse rotation also. Our ride home I could notice it seemed to steer better. Course my old front tire was worn down to the wear strips.

[Trent]

Hey Barb...The tire I am puttin' on...MT90B16... is $240.00 which includes installation. I dunno what the regular front tire costs. Our dealer has never installed a rear tire reversed on the front of a TG either, but they are sure willing to give it a go, and want to watch the results.
After tomorrow's ride, I will be right at 15,000 and the wear bars are just starting to show. Appt for service and tire is Thurs. Headed on a 2,000 mile ride next week so that was perfect timing. Will hook up with ya over the weekend if you can! Call me...871-1554

[Trent]

Got my new rear front reversed tire installed and the 15,000 mile service done today...Got a busy day tomorrow but will take up into the mountains and try it out in the twisties on Sat. The short ride I went on when I picked it up tells me that I will like the way it handles. I sure like seeing that deeper tread on there also. Will give a report after the weekend.

[DakotaTG]

Trent - I'm waiting to hear how the tire change works for you. I take it you are heading up ID55 tomorrow to try it out. I'm at a little over 12K on the trike and the front tire is looking pretty good yet. I did get to do a fair amount of twisties myself a couple weeks ago when we went down to the Black Hills. Rode thru Spearfish Canyon and around the Hill City area mostly. Weather was great and the scenery was great as well. Have a safe ride and let us know how it went.

2011 Merlot and Black TG, lift kit, deflectors, no cat using SE header and of course some bling.

[Trent]

Hey Dakota...You are correct...up 21 to Lowman then down 55. We did the McCall turn on Wed the 4th. When we left, the front tire wear bars were not quite showing. When we got home 300 miles later, they were!...That was perfect timing...went into the shop yesterday with 14,975 miles right on the nose. I had 'em put new brake pads all the way around also...Rear ones were down pretty low. Have a good safe ridin' weekend yourself!!

[Trent]

Tried out the new rear reversed front tire today in the mountain passes and curves north of Boise. I could tell immediatly that the front tire gripped the pavement and handled way better.. Now,,did it grip and handle any better than my original tire did when it was brand new? Cant say fer sure. I have been ridin' the last few thousand miles on a tire worn well below half, to fully down to the wear bars,, so a brand new tire is gonna feel way better to me no matter what is on there.

I can say for sure that I am very pleased with the way it felt and gripped the curves, but I cannot honestly say it was any better than the original, cuz I just don't remember. I did notice that on certain types of really smooth newer pavement, there was a little more of a tread buzz at 40 to 50 MPH, but it was not an irritating noise. Actually, I liked hearing it cuz that meant I had a brand new tire with really deep treads gettin' broken in! I figure that will go away after a coupla thousand miles. After almost 200 miles, it did even not wear off the little nubbins right in the center of the tire, and I went thru a wide variety of tight and sweeping curves from 30 to 75 mph. While parked next to some other bikes, I checked out the front tires on several and you can obviously see the tread depth and the meatier looking differences between mine and theirs.
So...no complaints up to this point, and I give it 5 stars for the really solid feel and curvy road griptionality. { Is that a word? Ha! } Next I will just see how it wears. Oh..When I checked the air pressure before I left, it was at 38. I dropped it down to 32.

[arnie]

How's the tire working out for you? Any less tread noise as it gets mileage on it.

[Trent]

I have 3200 miles on that front tire now...I don't have a tread depth gauge so I cant tell how much it has worn yet. There is no road buzz at all now, and it only did that on certain types of pavement and at certain speeds. Feels really good in the curves and twistys. When I drive thru dirt and get it dusty, then ride on pavement, you can see the contact area with the pavement where the dust wears off, and it appears the conatact area is a lot wider than the stock oe tire was. I have had a coupla of alert riders notice the deep treads and ask me what kinda front tire I have. When I tell them what it is, you can see the perplexness on their face while they absorb it, but say it makes sense to them to do that. So... no complaints from me at all. Curious to see how it wearing at next service.

[FLTR2008TRIKE]

Im running a MU85B rear tire in reverse for the last 12k miles and Im pleased with how the tire is wearing and handling. Just rode home from Maggie Valley on Sunday and got caught in a heavy downpour. To date I have not had one issue with the front handling with the rear tire mounted in reverse in the rain.

I think I will get a easy 25k miles of use from this tire providing I dont pick up a screw in it.