Trike tires again

[bikerbillone]

Guess I'll find out. Be mounting a BT45 (rear} on the front soon. I've seen no posts on this thread about those running the BT45 and the experience.

 

[kimber45]

I just traded a 2010 TG that had 21.000 on a BT45 rear on the front. It would have gone 30,000 easy. Once this oem tire goes I will put a BT45 back on it.

 

[bikerbillone]

Thanks Kimber, that's the post I've been waiting for.

 

[RobertW]

I started this mess, so I'll finish it. I bought the Michelin Pilot Activ Rear Tire - 130/70H-18/-- to put on front of my Trike. I looked around for someone to mount it and found a Honda dealer locally that would put it on for $40. But, I also found a local shop that did it for $25. I took it to him and he said he would get it done and call me. He did and asked if I wanted it mounted reverse. I knew about that, but, didn't know why. He said the tread pattern is backwards on the rear tires. So, he finished it and did a real good job and balanced it also.

 

[riverrat]

Guess I'll find out. Be mounting a BT45 (rear} on the front soon. I've seen no posts on this thread about those running the BT45 and the experience.

here is a picture of my BT45 bias ply rear mounted in reverse rotation on the front of my 2010 GL1800 CSC trike. I ran 41 psi and dyna beads in it and it only lasted 10,000 miles. it was the second BT45 that I have ran with the same results........no more Battleax for me.

 

[bikerbillone]

Wow, that's unfortunate when I've been reading about the good results from this tire. I have one on my Road Smith mounted within the last two weeks. I'll be watching the performance.

 

[Lucky]

here is a picture of my BT45 bias ply rear mounted in reverse rotation on the front of my 2010 GL1800 CSC trike. I ran 41 psi and dyna beads in it and it only lasted 10,000 miles. it was the second BT45 that I have ran with the same results........no more Battleax for me.

I wonder if there may be other problems with your front tires.That seems unusual.Is the tire wearing the same on both sides?I have a 08/roadsmith with a BT45 with almost 10,000 on it and it still looks new.GOOD LUCK/RIDE SAFE

 

[riverrat]

no problems with my trike other than I push it hard in the Arkansas twisties. no one here can get much over 10,000 miles on a front tire unless they ride real easy. our chip & seal roads don't help much either.

here is a picture of one tire that I kept running to see just how bald I could get it. the tire wears even and there is no pull going down the road.

 

[trikermutha]

not sure but you do have alot of weight on the front end with that motor..

Hows is the rack and trail..for the steering?

Just some thoughts on my part..

 

[bikerbillone]

I wonder if there may be other problems with your front tires.That seems unusual.Is the tire wearing the same on both sides?I have a 08/roadsmith with a BT45 with almost 10,000 on it and it still looks new.GOOD LUCK/RIDE SAFE

Thanks Lucky, I am again inspired with my BT45 (rear).

 

[2Trikez]

I have a I.R.C. "Wild Flare" on the front wheel of my GL1200A homemade trike. It's the same as a stock sized front tire (16") for the bike. It also is being "run" in the normal rotation direction (as per arrow) at this time. I'm running it this way more so as a test than knowing anything about if it is good or bad this way. Might try another and reverse in future. I'm having some cupping issues at present but does NOT affect high speed handling or low speed handling. Run pressure from 38-41psi. in front tire. Depending on trip or local, rear tire pressures vary from 10psi to 20psi. At the moment I think there's about 8-9,000 miles on this (front) tire since install on this bike in 2010.

I do NOT have a rake kit installed, I currently need to do oil change in forks, maybe get new springs and seals...just because. Haven't done much traveling except short day trips and a couple weekenders (1200 mi. round trip) to make sure everything is working.

Rear tires are some regional brand of auto tire (205R/70/15) and are wearing well and just rotated from side to side. Rotation is to see if the rear tires DO have some "wear" from road "crown" over the time. Seems to me...there is "some" more wear on one tire more than other...by touchy feely method. Did not use tire depth gauge.

Would love to try a set of those "see-thru" tires on the rear of the trike!!ThumbUp

2TZ

 

[riverrat]

my trike is no different than anyone else's GL1800 trike with a CSC conversion and a 4.5 degree rake and there is not a problem with the way it runs down the road. I just posted my results to let everyone know that just because some people can get 20 something thousand miles out of a front tire that they shouldn't expect to get the same results. the roads that you ride and how aggressively you ride them will determine your mileage.
I can't say that the BT45 is a bad tire because it is not. it runs quiet and smooth and isn't bad about following grooves. it is also a good tire for wet roads but I have tried 2 of them and can't get much life out of them and it is time for me to try something different

ride easy or ride hard and in the end you pay for how you play.ThumbUp

tail of the dragon June 2013 - YouTube

 

[rvance]

I read EVERYTHING on all the trike boards I could find about front tires for trikes. I comes down to the MPA or BT45. The pros and cons of each seem to cancel each other out. The consensus seems to be that the MPA gets slightly longer life, but has more problems with vibration and cupping and a slightly harsher ride. Since I live 200 miles from any twisties I went with the BT45. It was also $40 cheaper. I have an '08 Motor Trike Adventure IRS with the 4.5 degree rake. The old tire was an Elite III. The ride is smoother and it is like I added power steering compared with the old tire.
rv

 

[wgj46]

This spring I purchased a 1997 GL1500 with a Lehman kit installed. (Triked in 1998) I have been following the subject of the wear on front tires on this forum since then as my front tire will need to be replaced soon. I have purchased a BT-45 (130/70-18 rear tire) which I will install during my winter maintenance.

All of the pictures that I have seen of the wear on the front tires experienced by the folks on this site and a couple of other sites show that the tires are worn in the centre of the tire. I also attended a Gold Wing get-together in Arkansas earlier this month. Again I saw that the front tire was worn in the centre of the tire on a trike. It appears that most folks are maintaining the tire pressure at 41 lbs. although the Honda Maintenance Manual indicates the maximum pressure of 33 lbs. I do understand that the trike has different forces being applied to the front tire than on a two wheeled Gold Wing

Question:
Why are these tires wearing in the centre of the tires??? My experience over the years is when I see a tire wearing in the center is that the tire is over inflated. Has anyone looked at or operated with different tire pressures to see what affect the pressure has on the wear of the front tire on a Gold Wing Trike???

 

[bikerbillone]

I'll be following the responses to this post....I'm running the BT45 (rear tire) on the front, as mentioned in my previous posts, running 40/41 psi. Only have a couple thousand miles on it, so too early to tell if there will be premature cupping or wear at that pressure. I did have a Honda dealer balk at mounting a rear tire on the front, so I had to sign on a 'hold harmless', and go into a long explanation with the GM of why I would do that. He finally gave the tech permission to mount the tire. Some of the motorcycle shops are totally clueless. Go figure.