Tire question- Front is on backwards?

I had new tires put on my Maxim X. They put the front on in the opposite direction of the "DRIVE -->" arrow. When I questioned them on it, they said that it was on purpose, it gets better traction for braking this way. It sounds like a load of hooey to me, but is there any merit to it, or do I need to take it back in and make them switch it so the drive is turning the same way (forward)?

The back tire is right. They said that one had to be that way because it is the drive tire that pushes the bike.

 

they are the people that you see going down a one way street the wrong way. they cant read!!

There is a reason the arrow is on there. to get crap and water off the tread.

Rob

 

Agreed - get them to fix it and never deal with them again. They are obviously not concerned about correcting their mistakes and doing quality work.

As RcPriest says, the grooves in the tires are directional to clear away water and debris - better braking?!?! More like better hydroplaning!

 

Yup, the front tire goes on backwards and performs better than it's designed...

Just like if you wear your shoes on the wrong feet you can run faster, and if you wear your helmet backwards you'll be more aerodynamic.

I'd say the manufacturer did a whole lot of R&D and safety testing to put that arrow on the right way, and the hillbilly mechanic that put your tire on is just trying to cover himself for making the mistake.

In fact, I'd be so scared by the fact that not only did he put it on the wrong way and tried to justify his mistake by saying it will perform better, that I would take it to a different shop to have it fixed.

Why can't all the window licker's just go work at burger king?

 

Yeah, they know better than the manufactures :roll: .

Make them put it on the right way then don't bother going back to them for future work. It is dangerous to install a rotational tire the wrong way.

 

gremlin484: window licker's

 

LOL, Thanks guys, that is what I was thinking. I haven't delt with that shop in years because of a tow they overcharged me for many years ago. I figured it was time to give them another chance. They blew it.

 

Blew it and blatantly lied to you to try and cover it up is more like it.
Poor example of a shop - and a good reason to never darken their door again.

 

Bring it back and ask the mechanic to close his eyes than slap him across the head and at the same time say "Dumd Shit"

 

Everyone's comments are bang on.

The one known exception was in the 250 4-stroke production class, where rear tire sizes weren't available in stickier compounds, so they ran fronts backwards on the rear. It was all dry weather racing so it didn't seem to matter. On the front they ran an oversized (for the bike) tire (a 90 instead of an 80), lifted the front fender a hair and off they went to the races

W.R.T. the original poster and the crazy shop... well... get them to fix it as it's not a good street plan

 

I have seen in some of my catalogs that certain tires when mounted on the front (i assume they are for rear use also) have to be mounted in the reverse fashion. If you look through any motorcycle magazine or simular item, you will notice 90% of all the bike have the front tire mounted in the reverse. I would get ahold of the tire manufacturer either by phone or website and ask them to get a correct answer before accusing someone of being stupid first. As you yourself would expect of someone else.

 

Sounds like a load to me. I'm not familiar with what you're referring to Capy, but I would at least think that the mechanic would say something before mounting the tire.

"hey, you're aware that when mounted on the front, this tire should be mounted backwards right?"

Why wait until after the mount to let it be known?

Greg

 

Ive heard of people mounting automotive directional tires backwars for autocross, for the same reason, added braking, the thing you lose though is the ability to disperse water in the rain, Im not sure if the same is true for motorcycle tires but again as capy said, id look into it before you go ape shit on the shop that mounted it.

 

If the bike shop mounted my tire in reverse - without my instruction or permission - then they made a mistake regardless if others have done it. Asking someone to do something correctly and complaining when they do it wrong is acceptable.

They put it on backwards and copped out with the "pros mount it in reverse" to cover their ass.

 

The rear tire that came on my bike had two arrows, one for rear and the other for front. Of course they pointed opposite directions.

The fact that your arrow is labeled "Drive" concerns me. Sounds like it might be different for the non drive wheel. I believe my current tires are labeled "Rotation" and only have one arrow.

I'd check it out very carefully before accusing anyone of doing it wrong.

What is the tire?

 

Only time I've seen directional tires run backwards with some merrit was on offroaders that run the mud bogs . They'll often run narrower front tires than the back ones and run them backwards . Idea behind that is that the narrower fronts won't plow as much as wide ones , and when you do get stuck , you can slam it into reverse , and the front wheels with the tires on backwards are now going to grab and push you back out of your ruts more effectively because they are turning and grabbing the way the manufacturer intended them to . Can't see this being good for your maxim :lol:

 

I have the Kenda K671 Cruisers, as can be seen here: http://www.kendausa.com/motorcycle/street.html

Picked them up for $119.00 for the pair with free shipping. Cost me $30 to get them mounted, and $2 to dispose of the worn out tires.

 

Separate front and rear designs. Clearly directional tread.

Them boyz be BSing you.

 

yep, and them boyz be fixing it no charge. Went there after work, and told them to change it!

 

LOL, just read their webpage again, and saw this right near the top above the tire models and descriptions:

"All of Kenda's directional motorcycle tires are marked with an arrow on the sidewall.
These tires should be mounted with the arrow pointing in the direction of travel."

 

I'd go back and stand right in front of the guy and start yelling:

"GREEN SIDE UP, ... GREEN SIDE UP, ... GREEN SIDE UP!!!"

Then, I'd hand him a little notebook and a pencil and tell him to write it down for me and start yelling it again:

"GREEN SIDE UP, ... (write it down) ... GREEN SIDE UP"

When he finishes writing it down, and hands the notebook and pencil back to you ... say:

"No, no ... I brought that in for you ... keep it!"

When he ask you about what to do with the "Green side up?"

"Pretend you've got a job workin' for me ... laying SOD!"

 

It used to be very common for tyres to be fitted in the reverse direction when fitted to the front and a lot of tyres were designed with that in mind

This was mainly to do with tyre construction and tread splices, so it isn't unnecessarily wrong to do, the arrow gives the direction for DRIVE, is it driving on the front?

What brand and tread pattern are they?

 

I have the Kenda K671 Cruisers

www.kendausa.com

"All of Kenda's directional motorcycle tires are marked with an arrow on the sidewall.
These tires should be mounted with the arrow pointing in the direction of travel."

 

seems fairly obvious they did stuff it up then :lol:

When I first started riding there weren't really any directional patterns and the majority of tyres were fitted in the reverse direction when fitted to the from and this was indicated on the sidewall with different arrows for front or rear fitment