The guy at the local tire shop mounted my pilot 2 front tire running backward just getting ideas if this is a big deal or do I make the maroon remount it? Its on a R1100RS
I mounted a pr2 backwards once, put maybe 2,000 on it before I noticed. I switched it back but didn't notice anything different. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
I'd start with the premis that the guy/gal simply made a mistake (as it has been known to happen with humans). Return, point out the mistake, and ask them to fix it. Yes, it is a big deal.
I think reversing the mount is a common mistake with PR2s as the tread pattern "looks backward" when it is actually correctly mounted. Take it back, it won't be the first time a tire is reversed.
Put some Karoo 3's on recently. First glance, I thought the front was mounted backwards. But it's correct to the rotation markings on the sidewall. Still, a couple of times other bikers have commented I have in on backwards. Point is, the fella that mounted mine HAD to have looked at the rotation marks. :)
Tire manufacturers spend millions of dollars designing tires and they design them to work in one direction for a reason so they put direction indicators on them to be sure they are mounted for best performance, safety and mileage. Most riders probably couldn't tell the difference just by the handling but the makers have spent countless hours testing minor details of the performance of the tire.
My ninja goes 205mph in reverse, must have been why it felt normal. Yep. I didn't notice until I saw a picture here of one correctly mounted. I almost told the guy it was backwards but figured I better double check first. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
I've seen really cheap tires with directional arrows pointing both ways. One way for front mounting and the opposite for rear. Usually you can tell by the tread patterns angleing out from the center in V-like patterns. Water dispersal and treadwear are affected. The latter by tread flex. What most people call cupping is wear associated with tread flex. Flex at the treads.
Not just cheap ones. I just installed an Avon AM26 that was listed by the vendor as a rear (120\80-17) but a lot of the Pacific Coast guys use these on the front. Tire arrived with arrows for both Front Rotation and Rear Rotation.
The tread splice is also a factor in mounting direction aside from tread pattern....i.e. Dunlop K81's are mounted in opposite direction front and rear despite the pattern being symmetrical. Avon has a good tire reference that explains this at http://www.avonmoto.com/download/Tires101forConsumers.pdf and here is a quote from it...
I had a front mounted backwards by a bmw dealer tech once despite the fact I had drawn direction on both sides of the rim, in two places, w/ a Sharpie & the factory marks still being clear. Svc mgr noticed me examining the wheel & asked what's up? I was trying to see if I was seeing correctly & wondering if I would simply turn the wheel around to re-install (dual-disc). Mgr looked at the tire, shook his head, took it back to the shop for the remount. His philosophy was you just paid for a job to be done, not done improperly. The aforementioned tech was not happy...fuck 'im.
The directional arrows do seem to be hard to find on the PR's (at least the PR3's that I've run). IIRC, it's very subtle, not a huge arrow with "ROTATION" in all caps like a lot of tires.