Front tire?

[Saltywheels]

Re: Trike front tire

John, JBJ Cycles did attempt to snug the front steering bearing. Was not loose. I already run 20-21 / 40-41 psi. Seems to work best for mostly 2-up. Thks a ton

 

[Jimsjinx]

Re: Trike front tire

If you have three wheels on the ground, and have a wobble, something is very wrong. The dreaded "tank slap", and wheel shake is only "normal" on a two wheel vehicle. Notably the GoldWing. jimsjinx

 

[Doug Nie]

Needing to replace the front tire on my new to me 95 GoldWing/Roadsmith trike. What is the recommended tire to use. Before the trike, I rode Avons on the two wheeled Valkyrie.
DO you go forward or reverse the tire?

 

[Gold Rush]

Bridgestone BT-45 bias ply or Michelin Pilot Activ (MPA) are to two most often used rear tires run on the front. To do reverse or forward rotation is a personal choice. Unless you are a real hard breaker I don't think you will ever damage the carcass by mounting in forward rotation. Don't know about the MPA but the tread pattern on the BT-45 looks to me like it will shed water really well in the reverse rotation mount. That seems to be the main issue with the nay-sayers...

I run BT-45 reversed and will continue...

 

[don graham]

I'm using the Bridgestone BT 45 on my 2007 Wing. Only have a few thousand miles on it so far but i'm happy with it so far. Rides good, even used it in a hard rain. I do have it reversed. The shop I had put it on says they do a lot of reverse mountings.

 

[leo3wheel]

Really like our Avon Venom rear tire reverse-mounted.

 

[Doug Nie]

Thanks for the information.
I have used Avons, will speak to the mechanic Monday.

What size did you use?

 

[leo3wheel]

Thanks for the information.
I have used Avons, will speak to the mechanic Monday.

What size did you use?

Doug, You have a Goldwing, and I have a RSV. The tire sizes are most likely different. What I did is bought a Avon Venom AM42 rear tire that is the same exact size as the OEM Bridgestone front tire I had. The recommended front tire size on a RSV is 150/80HB-16. Changing to the Venom rear tire increased the load rating from 71 to 77 and tread depth from 9/32" to 11/32". Our Yamaha dealer had no problem reverse-mounting the rear tire. He just had me sign that I approved this work. Just returned from Key West/Tampa ride, 3,877 miles. Front tire tread is now 10/32" in the center. The interstate speeds are 70 mph down south. Just set the cruise control and let the trike go. Never had to slow down on curves. Really like the AM42.

 

[oldbear]

I spoke with Doug L. at Roadsmith the day before yesterday about a new front tire on mine when I do the conversion (hopefully late next week). Anyway, what he recommended to me for the Roadsmith kit on my Wing was the Michelin Pilot Activ mount for reverse rotation...Since they make the kits, I figure he knows what works so that's what I've got coming to have put on mine when the conversion kit is installed. (Current front tire is "worn" but not worn out, however I want to ride the conversion once it's done and not have to worry 'bout tires for a while :wave4:

 

[leo3wheel]

Many folks are achieving great results with the MPA. If we go with Michelin on our trike, it would have to be the Michelin Commander 2. This tire is cheaper than the Avon Venom, and I may consider it in the future. For now, I'm enjoying what we have. Hoping we won't need a new front tire for a very long time. You are smart to replace your front tire with a new rear tire. Your trike will handle great! :Trike1:

 

[Doug Nie]

Oldbear,
That is interesting that Doug would tell you that he recommended reversing the Michelin.
I spoke to Mary at their Daytona store today and she said that they recommend the Bridgestone G701 Extera front tire. They will not mount a reversed tire in their store.

 

[Rosy]

Avon Venom AM41 Front
130/70B/18
This tire is made for Goldwing with extra side wall support for the heavy cruisers. Avon says it also resist cupping. I know I have had good luck with my Avon front and will put another one on my Hannigan.

Rosy
From NH

 

[oldbear]

Oldbear,
That is interesting that Doug would tell you that he recommended reversing the Michelin.
I spoke to Mary at their Daytona store today and she said that they recommend the Bridgestone G701 Extera front tire. They will not mount a reversed tire in their store.

I don't know what happened, however I can tell you that I have ordered an MPA for my bike and it will be mounted as Doug suggested when the kit arrives later this week. I'd call Doug and ask him if I had any questions. Since they're the folks that make the kit, they "should" know what will work the best (or at least you'd hope they would)

 

[John Luciano]

One word of caution.... Be sure the tire you choose is a. Bias ply not radial ..

 

[chaz_36]

All I can tell you is based on personal experience.....I use Michelin Pilot Activ (bias ply rear sport bike tire) in same size as original front mounted in reverse. Bias ply tire has stiffer sidewalls for more precise steering and rear tire has different profile that provides more tread contact. One on my current trike now has over 22,000 miles, lots of tread left. Several friends/customers have had similar experience with this tire.

 

[John Luciano]

I was the 1st person to mention this back in 2001 back then we used a Macadam 50 ( no longer produced. I have 23,000 on mine and it now looks like a brand new Dunlap front tire that came on the bike. I measured the tread depth when I purchased the tire and it is now 1/2 the depth. Although you can't say it is half gone because I would need to run it bald . I fig. Another 7,000 maybe 5,000

 

[Doug Nie]

John,
What t ire are you running. I didn't see it listed.

 

[Doug Nie]

I ordered a MPA today, will be mounted next Tuesday.
Thanks for all of your information.

 

[earlyriser4444]

I am about to change my BT 45 Good Year at 18,000 miles. Cupped like mad and more importantly, it has a slit BETWEEN the treads about two inches long and right down to the cord. Have NO IDEA how this happens. Any ideas????

 

[dalelj]

What tire pressure are you running in the MPA?

Thanks,

Dale

 

[dalelj]

Can you tell me the tire pressure your running in your MPA front tire?

Thanks,

Dale

 

[Nana]

Dale, typically most keep the front tire around 40 psi. The rear tires on the trike are usually kept much lower than that. There are several threads discussing the rear pressure in particular, but perhaps this one will give you some info that will help: http://www.triketalk.com/forum/harley-trikes-6/rough-ride-10986/

 

[Mick]

I am about to change my BT 45 Good Year at 18,000 miles. Cupped like mad and more importantly, it has a slit BETWEEN the treads about two inches long and right down to the cord. Have NO IDEA how this happens. Any ideas????

Mine had something similar a little over 17,ooo miles. I had small cracks inside the tread running parallel to the tread. It just started this year. I wonder if Bridgestone is having an issue because mine is the 3rd one Ive heard of with this sort of problem. I wish Avon would get moving or Michelin would step up to the plate for us trikers.

 

[whittswing]

Front Tires for GL1800 Trike

What is the best front tire to run on a GL1800 trike?

 

[Gold Rush]

Re: Front Tires for GL1800 Trike

There are several. Most popular are the Michelin Pilot Activ (MPA) and Bridgestone BT45 with around 40 lbs. of air. Both are rear sport bias ply tires. I know Bridgestone makes a radial version so be sure to specify the bias ply one. Some mount the tire as indicated by the arrows. Some of us mount in reverse rotation. To be honest I doubt it makes much difference either way unless you push the envelope a bit.

I have correspondence from a couple manufacturers saying it is best to do the reverse rotation... Has to do with the carcass design....

 

[Rosy]

Re: Front Tires for GL1800 Trike

What is the best front tire to run on a GL1800 trike?

Avon Venom AM41 front: 130/70R18 which has reinforced cords for the heavier Goldwing and Avon says it resist cuping.
I run a Avon Cobra right now, but will switch to a AM41 when this one wears out, but so far having good luck on wear. Pay a little bit more.

Regards,

Rosy
From NH

 

[Scott1]

Re: Front Tires for GL1800 Trike

There are several. Most popular are the Michelin Pilot Activ (MPA) and Bridgestone BT45 with around 40 lbs. of air. Both are rear sport bias ply tires. I know Bridgestone makes a radial version so be sure to specify the bias ply one. Some mount the tire as indicated by the arrows. Some of us mount in reverse rotation. To be honest I doubt it makes much difference either way unless you push the envelope a bit.

I have correspondence from a couple manufacturers saying it is best to do the reverse rotation... Has to do with the carcass design....

:Agree: Both are good tires, and I have the BT-45 on my GW1800/MT. The BT-45 is suppose to run a little quieter than the MPA.

 

[msrvpeig]

Re: Front Tires for GL1800 Trike

Just put on my first BT45 about 2500 miles ago, after 3 MPAs that all got over 20,000 miles each. I wanted to try the BT45 because the last two MPAs cupped pretty bad. No cupping so far and I've noticed that I don't get that humming/vibration in the handlebars with the BT45 that I got with the MPAs. So far, I'm liking the BT45 better, but it's too soon to tell for sure.

 

[whittswing]

Re: Front Tires for GL1800 Trike

Thanks everyone - will definitely check these out.

 

[don graham]

Re: Front Tires for GL1800 Trike

Got about 4K on the BT 45 so far. Rides great. Reverse rotation was how my shop said to do it. Make sure you get the same size as the Wing front since they come in a number of sizes.