My Michelin Pilot Activ Rear/Front Tire Opinions

[Bill Reber]

If your on a wing ? They all have a low speed wobble , this can be fixed at a price , however mother Honda said just keep both hand on the bars.

 

[Trail Blazer]

hello all; I have a 2000 gl1500 se with Champion trike kit and I have been looking @ Michelin pilot activ or bridge stone bt-45 for front what do you'll use
the Bais or the radial . I have always run Bais on my 1500 . I called a dealer checking on price and he said they put radial on the 1500 trikes they build. just wanted some feed back thanks

 

[John Luciano]

Do not use a radial on the front of a trike. Find another. Dealer.
My DFT trike is a hands off at any speed. No wobble from 20 MPH to 60.

 

[skuuter]

All I can add is what my dealer told me . Mounted forward means the rain groves do the job putting the water out to the side and back. mounting backwards the water can't chanel correctly . This is the opinion of Sumter Honda they build CSC and Champion and they stock the MPA and smeam to know Trikes well.

Having ridden mine (mounted forward both times), and Two Other Member's Trikes mounted in reverse in the rain, I can attest to this being fact. Reverse Mounting throws more water forward that tends to get blown back on the Trike (no real issue though) from Your forward movement. The other thing I have noticed is definetly more "road noise" when mounted backwards. My next Michelin Pilot Activ will probably get mounted in reverse so I can personally compare Tread Life between the Two Mounting Types.....Reports posted here.....ThumbUp

 

[Pegasus1300]

hello all; I have a 2000 gl1500 se with Champion trike kit and I have been looking @ Michelin pilot activ or bridge stone bt-45 for front what do you'll use
the Bais or the radial . I have always run Bais on my 1500 . I called a dealer checking on price and he said they put radial on the 1500 trikes they build. just wanted some feed back thanks

I also have a 1990 GL1500 with a TriKing conversion.I have the Pilot Active mounted forwards and in bias ply.It handles much better the the E3 that it replaced and I feel very good about its milage.It now has over 5000 mi and shows very little wear.

 

[Jenkinsrawhide]

Over 20,000 miles on my MPA in reverse rotation and a lot more to go. NO cupping yet and still looks good but I use Dyna beads in all my tires.

 

[Rev Ray]

You guy's convenced me,put the pilot tire on in reverse & installed stainless steel wheel balancers.Changed the ride tremendously.(Im sold)




0

 

[bassfisher]

Do using Dyna Beads require as filtered vlave core or are you just reinstalling the old valve core?

 

[Eagle Man]

Bass Fisher

I don't use filtered valve cores, but when I check trike tires for proper inflation, I make sure the valve core is at 9 o'clock or so and give it a shot of air to clear dyna beads out of valve core stem, just in case some get hung up there. You'll stand there and watch your tire go flat if some beads are stuck in the valve core, when applying your tire gage w/out first cleaning it out.

I'm running a Pilot Activ, mounted in reverse rotation, and have right at 30K on it with about 1/16 tread left. I'll be replacing it with the Bridgestone Battlax BT45, mounted straight up. My Pilot Active has the characteristic tire buzz from a slight cupping of the tire, that you can sense in the trike handle bar grips. This seems to be a common fault of the Pilot Activ.

I am very pleased how the Pilot Activ sticks in turns, kind of like a bull dog hanging on to a watermellon!

1,500 miles to go to my 100K mile service. I've replaced zero parts, and this trike has been an excellent investment and a great ride!

Eagle Man
'08 GL1800 CSC Cobra XL

 

[bassfisher]

Thanks Eagle I was just curious after seeing the DynaBead site that showed installing a Filtered valve core. Might just have to make that investment in the product

 

[skuuter]

"BUMP"

 

[Krautster]

I see that this tire is mostly for Hondas ect.. I looked couldnt find one in 16" for my Harley,, any suggestions..

 

[skuuter]

"BUMP"

 

[skuuter]

"BUMP"

 

[Fisher]

I am getting a new tire Michelin but what about rear tires on my trike it has 17 size I can't find anything ?? Joe:xzqxz:

 

[skuuter]

Yep, not a lot of Sport Bike rear Tire Options out there in the "17 Range".....

 

[Joltman62]

Had one on a 09 wing with champion live axle trike kit. Ditto your likes. Personally speaking, if there is a better more readily available tire I don't know of it! I too ran mine forward and traded the wing in for a spyder ( dumb senior moment if there ever was!) anyhow I had 8500 miles and no cupping or issues with safe tread to spare. My next champion (spring '14) I will have the pilot installed at delivery!

 

[skuuter]

No use beating the "Dead Horse" to death in this one Folks....Lots of discussion and opinions in this Thread....Read, make Your Decisions on the straight up/reverse mounted, PSI, etc. ......try Your preferences...if You like it, Great, if not, try the other option(s) suggested.....this has been discussed over and over during the past several years here at TRIKE TALK.com really leaving nothing to add......Thanks, skuuter....ThumbUp

 

[StorminNormin]

Thanks Skuuter, This has certainly been an interesting read.. :xzqxz: I have read it from the very first post. For sure, I do not have any question that has not been answered here, more than once. With that being said, I personally thank all of you for your input and valuable information. I am in the process of moving toward getting my 95 GL1500SE triked in the near future and the tire question, obviously came to mind. I have a fix now. But I ain't going to tell anyone what that is or why!

Thanks again for all the info. This truly a great forum.:clapping::clapping:

 

[skuuter]

Thanks Skuuter, This has certainly been an interesting read.. :xzqxz: I have read it from the very first post. For sure, I do not have any question that has not been answered here, more than once. With that being said, I personally thank all of you for your input and valuable information. I am in the process of moving toward getting my 95 GL1500SE triked in the near future and the tire question, obviously came to mind. I have a fix now. But I ain't going to tell anyone what that is or why!

Thanks again for all the info. This truly a great forum.:clapping::clapping:

Perfect Post for This Thread...."READ-n-DECIDE".....ThumbUp:10:

 

[cjmitch]

All I can add is what my dealer told me . Mounted forward means the rain groves do the job putting the water out to the side and back. mounting backwards the water can't channel correctly .

Then your dealer did not do something as simple as looking at and comparing the tires side-by-side

PLEASE turn that tire around.. here is why
See picture below

On the far LEFT is a MPA in normal rotation
In the middle is an Honda OEM ire in normal rotation

PLEASE NOTE the direction of the rain grooves
MPA normal = Up / outwards
OEM normal - DOWN / OUTWARDS - The CORRECT ORIENTATION

They are 180 degrees out of phase IE pointed the WRONG WAY.
If you mount this REAR WHEEL tire as indicated by its arrow the rain dispersion grooves will be BACKWARDS
On the RIGHT is a picture of a MPA in REVERSE rotation.
NOTE now that the rain grooves are orientated in the direction of the OEM tire which is....
map reversed = DOWN / Outwards - THE CORRECT oRIENTATION

This is definitive visual reason for reversing the rotation of the tire.
Reverse the tire

 

[Judge Judy]

That's a great visual. I've been on the fence, but this has kinda of led me down the reverse mounted path...

 

[StorminNormin]

I agree with the above! GREAT VISUAL!! It is easier to see the difference and I even went out and looked at my own front tire to compare.

Thanks!:clapping:

 

[skuuter]

Ride One mounted each way on really twisty roads in heavy rain...My Personal Observations: REVERSED: More Road Noise, More Water Spray sent back toward the Trike, and more filling the fender, easier to aqua plane at speeds of 60+ mph.....STRAIGHT UP: Quieter, Better Water Cleaning, much harder to aqua plane and takes speeds that shouldn't be run to achieve this.

Ride One mounted each way on really twisty roads on dry, hot Summer days...My Personal Observations: REVERSED: Much more Road Noise, Easier to break traction if pushed hard into corners (skating).....STRAIGHT UP: Much Quieter, much better traction if pushed hard into corners.

When mounted in Reverse, by testimonies from Owners here, MOST seem to get more miles out of these Tires than mounted Straight Up. If the absolute maximum amount of mileage is Your sole reason for using this type Tire set-up, then, YES, reversed is probably Your Best Option.....if You have Increased Mileage, and "Other Expectations" from this Tire set-up, then You might want to experiment over time with both options and/or borrow a Friend's Trike. I NEVER recommend riding to the point of aqua planning or pushing Trikes to the point of pushing the frontend unless You know You are an extremely veteran Rider, and preferably with a Racing Background, and even then, only on Very Familiar Roads and with Other Riders accompanying You.....ThumbUp

 

[StorminNormin]

Good advice Skuuter!!

 

[jfingalls]

Skuuter, you are spot on. if someone believes that reverse mounted MPA will disperse the water outward during rotation, they need a course in hydraulics. The bottom line (as I have said before) is safety. Reverse rotation can cause unwanted issues when pushed to it's limit - that is for example, heavy rain at speeds over 40 mph YOU WILL BE IN DANGER of causing a hydraulic condition (refered to as hydroplaning) that could cause erratic steering control conditions.

 

[skuuter]

Skuuter, you are spot on. if someone believes that reverse mounted MPA will disperse the water outward during rotation, they need a course in hydraulics. The bottom line (as I have said before) is safety. Reverse rotation can cause unwanted issues when pushed to it's limit - that is for example, heavy rain at speeds over 40 mph YOU WILL BE IN DANGER of causing a hydraulic condition (refered to as hydroplaning) that could cause erratic steering control conditions.

I used "aqua" so ALL Our Members, USA and International would get a quick read on it......"amazing" for a "Tennessee Boy".....:laugh:...

 

[RcSuD]

I think some people are not looking at the pictures properly. It is the bottom of the tire that makes contact with the road. It is easy to see that in the reverse rotation, the water is funneled to the center of the tire. Normal rotation the water is funneled from the center of the tire, back and outwards.

Listen to Skuuter's observations people. He's right, especially if you're concerned about safety.

 

[Calgary]

Ride One mounted each way on really twisty roads in heavy rain...My Personal Observations: REVERSED: More Road Noise, More Water Spray sent back toward the Trike, and more filling the fender, easier to aqua plane at speeds of 60+ mph.....STRAIGHT UP: Quieter, Better Water Cleaning, much harder to aqua plane and takes speeds that shouldn't be run to achieve this.

Ride One mounted each way on really twisty roads on dry, hot Summer days...My Personal Observations: REVERSED: Much more Road Noise, Easier to break traction if pushed hard into corners (skating).....STRAIGHT UP: Much Quieter, much better traction if pushed hard into corners.

When mounted in Reverse, by testimonies from Owners here, MOST seem to get more miles out of these Tires than mounted Straight Up. If the absolute maximum amount of mileage is Your sole reason for using this type Tire set-up, then, YES, reversed is probably Your Best Option.....if You have Increased Mileage, and "Other Expectations" from this Tire set-up, then You might want to experiment over time with both options and/or borrow a Friend's Trike. I NEVER recommend riding to the point of aqua planning or pushing Trikes to the point of pushing the frontend unless You know You are an extremely veteran Rider, and preferably with a Racing Background, and even then, only on Very Familiar Roads and with Other Riders accompanying You.....ThumbUp

Great info skuuter - thanx for sharing!

 

[cjmitch]

I think some people are not looking at the pictures properly. It is the bottom of the tire that makes contact with the road. It is easy to see that in the reverse rotation, the water is funneled to the center of the tire. Normal rotation the water is funneled from the center of the tire, back and outwards.
Listen to Skuuter's observations people. He's right, especially if you're concerned about safety.

No you are incorrect, the visual evidence says exactly the opposite.
the 2 tires ABOVE on the left are orientated with the rotational arrow facing towards you, (ie rolling the tire towards you) you are not looking at the back of the tires you are looking at the front.

The first one (LEFT) is an MPA, the middle tire a STOCK OEM gl1800 tire. Both arrows pointed in the same direction.
The tread patterns are now 180 degrees out of phase and REVERSED.
The tire on the RIGHT is the SAME MPA turned AROUND, (Arrows in opposite direction) and you can clearly see the tread patterns on the reversed tire match the OEM TIRE tread pattern (DOWN AND OUT). you don't have to look a the bottom of a tire to know what the contact patch is going to look like... the tire is round it will be the same.

Observations:
REVERSED:
More Road Noise,
More Water Spray sent back toward the Trike, and more filling the fender, easier to aqua plane at speeds of 60+ mph.....

STRAIGHT UP: Quieter, Better Water Cleaning, much harder to aqua plane and takes speeds that shouldn't be run to achieve this.

The test result above stated about water being thrown back towards the trike is exactly what is supposed to happen, you want the water to be funneled behind the tire(ie around & towards the bike), you don't want the tire to throw the water back up in FRONT of you where the tire will run over it again. So you experience of the spray being sent back towards the trike is what is supposed to happen.

I will concede the noise point although I do not notice it.

But what you are in effect saying is that Honda using their OEM tires has designed their bike to have the tires installed with their grooves backwards.
that makes no sense at all. It The Honda OEM grooves are the standard pattern, then the MPA MUST be reversed