Michelin rear tire on front reversed

[MDRanger]

Heya Seniors. Is this recommended? Common? New trend? The brand threads go on endlessly I am sure but this seems to be a technical safety question. The michelin has good reviews but apparently is not offered in the standard goldwing front tire size of 130-70r-18. Do any of you run a front tire a little wider, taller, or any departure from this stock size. If so it opens up the choices considerably. Is it recommended to run a rear tire on the front and reverse the direction for technical stress reasons?

[vtxcandyred]

I run a Bridgestone Battleaxe in the correct direction on my 93SE. Try joining here and read all about it.>>>>>http://mcdarksiders.forumotion.com/<<<<

[WingAdmin]

I just put an Avon Roadrider tire on my wife's bike front - it's a universal fit, that is intended to go one way on the rear, and reversed if put in the front. That said, it is designed as such. You can get a pretty good speed wobble if the tire is designed for rear fitment and is put on the front backward.

[Mekirker1971]

Why would the fitment change the direction the tire needs to spin? I'd think if the tire was directional, there would only be one correct way to spin regardlees of where it is mounted.

[jdvorchak]

It is considered dangerous to reverse the direction of rotation on a directional tire. The tread is designed to move water out of the way to reduce hydroplaning. If you reverse the direction you defeat that design feature. Trust me you don't want the front tire hydroplaning on a 1000 lb motorcycle at 40 mph.

[dingdong]

If you inspect your tires you will find that the rear tire and front tire have the tread pattern reversed. It is a growing trend for Darksiders to go "double darkside." The only reason for using a rear tire on the front is because the rear tires have a deeper tread pattern. Longer life. Just like with a car tire this is causing quite an uproar with non believers.

Popcorn anyone?

[MDRanger]

Thanks all. I agree VTX. Good Idea Wingadmin! That is common sense popcorn DingDong I'll be mounting a michelin rear on the front in the correct direction it was designed for. Enjoy this useful post/article from Moto enthusiast.
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As was pointed out, some tires are designed to handle more stress in one direction than the other. While the braking stress is in the same direction, no matter where the tire is installed, a rear tire has continuous stress on it during riding, from pushing the machine against the wind resistance on the highway. That's why front tires last so much longer for long distance riders. The rear tire is under constant acceleration stress, while the front tire is just coasting along. The theory is, since the rear tire is constructed to withstand constant acceleration stress and front tires are not, turning it backwards before mounting it on the front will enable the rear tire to withstand the braking stress better. This theory comes from back when all bikes were standard bikes and had more weight on the front tire than today's cruisers do.

When you get hard on the front brake on a standard bike, the weight shift will probably not be enough to do a 'stoppie', but it will put much more weight on the front tire during braking than even the heaviest cruiser bike will. That extra weight is what allows the braking stress to be increased far beyond what a cruiser front tire experiences. The braking stress on a cruiser's front tire is unlikely to unravel any rear tire, no matter which way it is mounted. After all, the rear tire is made to be able to handle constant acceleration stress and braking stress, which are in opposite directions, and under much more weight than the cruiser's front wheel experiences during braking.

Consequently, it would seem to be best when mounting a rear tire on the front of a cruiser, to mount the tire in the normal direction if it has angled rain grooves. The angled rain grooves would tend to pull water into the center of the tire, if mounted backwards. With the classic tread patterns of vertical grooves or squared blocks, it doesn't matter which way the tire rotates in the rain.

All theory aside, I have looked at the front tires on many cruisers ridden by people like me, who ride long distances routinely and never let rain stop them from riding, no matter how bad the storm is. I find rain grooves running in all directions and tires mounted both with and against the arrows. Since everyone slows down in heavy rain because of reduced visibility, it doesn't seem to make any difference. The only time I have ever known a front tire on a bike to hydroplane is when I saw someone hit standing water doing 60 mph on a clear sunny day.

[Badon3]

Hi I have been a Triker for a12 years..When I Trikes my new2002 wing it had 2700 miles on it my front stock tire cupped bar at 9000 miles ..I bought a Mich.rear tire and mounted it backwards because that's what all the Trike forums I went too and my Trike installer said to do.I put on 400 00 miles on thattire in 5 years and never had a problem..If I drove a 2 wheeler I don't know if I would run a rear tire on t.he front Just thinking safety.

[suvcw04]

Mu 05 trike has a Michelin back tire on the front, reverse direction, and Michelen Aqua-somthings on the back.

[MDRanger]

A trike is a different animal and I think the main concern on 2 wheels is chanelling the wet stuff. After 9k on the michelin rear front tire I am very pleased with it. I mounted it according to factory recommended rotation.

[ranger 3]

I also run a rear tire reversed on the front. Niehaus cycle, which is a very large dealer in IL. put them on like this.