Front tire replace

[Oldster]

I've been told that the front tires won't make 10,000 miles. Well, it seems to me that since the front tire doesn't actually lean and the rear tires are car tires, why can't I put a car tire on the front also. Anyone done this? Seems like it would be an improvement and of course greatly increase the miles. Thanks

 

[Jack Klarich]

You can read what others had to say here,

Time for front tire

2016 Tri-glide time for front tire. Stock tire didn’t last very long. Switched to Avon Trike tire and it did fair but it’s due to be replaced.Now considering rear tire mounted on front as done in numerous threads here. Has anyone considered or done an appropriate sized car tire aka going to the...

triketalk.com

 

[JTJersey]

My '21 Freewheeler got 19,000 on the front tire before I changed it. If I weren't going on a trip I'd of gotten an easy 20,000.

 

[Jack Klarich]

I am pretty sure I will get 20K out of my front tire

 

[cycle7447]

I am pretty sure I will get 20K out of my front tire

Me too = already has over 10,000 miles on it and looks great.

 

[Oldster]

Yep,saw those post about Avon and if staying with a motorcycle tire that sounds good. But the question was, does anyone know why we couldn't run a car tire on the front.

 

[JTJersey]

There aren't any car tires that skinny?

 

[Oldster]

You may be right but other than finding one that will fit is there any other reason to not use a car tire on the front? Do you know the rim width of the front rim?

 

[Oldster]

If it was possible to find a car tire for the front it would probably be cheaper and last 50,000 miles.

 

[cycle7447]

Look at this thread.

Car Tire on Front

front tire wondering if I could put a car tire on the front of my Ultraclassic/frankenstein trike.

triketalk.com

 

[JTJersey]

As far as the rim width my factory front tire for my '21 Freewheeler is a Dunlop 130/60B19 . This apparently means that the Tire width is 130 (mm?) and the width is 19" . Detailed explanation at Dennis Kirk linked below.

https://www.denniskirk.com/learn/tire-sizes-explained

 

[Oldster]

I guess the only way to do this would be a different front fender and wheel etc,etc. I'm afraid this is one of those deals where anything is possible if you have enough money. I'm thinking you could buy a lot of front tires for what you'd spend doing this. Well, forget that idea!

 

[Notgrownup]

You’re looking for a Unicorn …

 

[PosseRider]

I've been told that the front tires won't make 10,000 miles. Well, it seems to me that since the front tire doesn't actually lean and the rear tires are car tires, why can't I put a car tire on the front also. Anyone done this? Seems like it would be an improvement and of course greatly increase the miles. Thanks

well over 10k on my Avon... what was the guy smokin that told u that ??

 

[ISP-FL]

I think how many miles you end up getting on a stock front tire of a HD trike depends on two main factors. First of all how hard you ride curves and twisties. Awhile back on a boys trip to the mountains there were 3 HD trikes on the group. After riding for several days really hard on some twisties we were shocked at how much all of our front tires had worn down. Mine was almost new and now I'm guessing it will have to be changed out at around 12,000 miles.

I think the other factor that determines how many miles you get is personal preference. Some riders simply change them out at less wear than others.

Overall since owning HD trikes (about 8 years) I have averaged 15,000 miles on front tires.

 

[Notgrownup]

I’ve got 8000 plus miles on the original tire on my trike and it looks like new still.

 

[Marc H]

I've been told that the front tires won't make 10,000 miles. Well, it seems to me that since the front tire doesn't actually lean and the rear tires are car tires, why can't I put a car tire on the front also. Anyone done this? Seems like it would be an improvement and of course greatly increase the miles. Than

I've been told that the front tires won't make 10,000 miles. Well, it seems to me that since the front tire doesn't actually lean and the rear tires are car tires, why can't I put a car tire on the front also. Anyone done this? Seems like it would be an improvement and of course greatly increase the miles. Thanks

As far as I know it would require a complete front suspension change.Only one I have seen was by EML trikes.Very expensive if all your after is more mileage.

 

[gobblechaser]

I have owned one goldwing and on my second tri glide and the average front tire life has been
about 8000 miles. I have tried just about every major tire brand over the years

 

[JTJersey]

I have owned one goldwing and on my second tri glide and the average front tire life has been
about 8000 miles. I have tried just about every major tire brand over the years

This is really out of the ordinary. What prompted you to change them so early?

 

[pwhoever]

This is just MHO and from my own observations... One thing to consider about running a car tire on the front. Besides it needing an expensive upgrade to widen the forks to handle a car tire, you also have more rubber contact on the ground as car tires have a flatter profile.
I'm sure many will agree that the best feeling a trike owner gets is when a front tire is new. Front tires on trikes will only use the center of the tire as trikes don't lean like a regular motorcycle does. When tire is new, the contact patch isn't very large. Over time and as miles get racked up, the front tire begins to develop a more flattened profile. You may not realize it while it's happening but as the profile flattens out, it becomes harder to turn handlebars left or right especially when driving slower. It is putting more stress in the front suspension components. Once it becomes time to change it out and put a new tire on front, you will notice the difference right away although you may not realize why.

By doing a front end upgrade to be able to utilize a car tire, it will already be harder to turn as the rubber contact patch starts off larger to begin with. Car tires start out with a flatter profile. Yes, you will probably end up being able to get significantly more miles on it before the trad is wore down, but you will start off right away with the turning difficulty and it won't get any easier. So, this is the main reason why I wouldn't even consider doing an upgrade to be able to use a car tire on the front. Just to add, on motorcycles, a popular but controversial thing many including myself did when I was still on 2 wheels was going darkside. That means using a car tire on the rear wheel. For those that have done it, they will probably tell you that going straight was fine but when turning, a little more effort would sometimes be needed as the tire would want to stand back up again. Using it on the rear makes more sense though because it is always aligned with the frame of the bike as opposed to the turning that happens with a front wheel. Hopefully this made sense???