noisy 165 70 14 michelin ds front tire

Am i supposed to flip it to go against the opposite of the arrow? I got rumbling noise from 40mph to 52mph.

I never heard of anyone putting a car tire on the front of a two wheel bike.

I have heard of Goldwing owners putting a rear MC tire on the front, in some cases rotating backwards from the arrow. They had a car tire on the rear.

The reasoning as I recall was that the correct orientation on the rear was to provide better push while the backwards orientation helps with stopping...

I assume car tire----take it off before you kill yourself-- OEM scootertires last at least 25,000 miles and are designed to perform with single trac vehicle.

My left over 2013 SilverWing has 22,000 miles on original front----will go at least 25,000 plus and of course be re-placed with scooter tire---Michelin SC in my case, balanced with "Ride On". So still cheap to run scooter tires....even when you ride a lot.

its a motorcycle tire

Part of a post of mine from the darkside experience private section

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There are differing opinions as to which rotation direction to mount the rear tire up front. I had mine mounted in the normal direction as the tread is designed to evacuate water best in forward rotation. Remember even when mounted on the rear of a bike, that there are also forces acting on that rear tire in braking which is in the opposite direction from acceleration forces. Even more so on a larger heavier bike, especially if it is heavily laden with a passenger and extra gear.

The bike I have it mounted on is much smaller and lighter and I don't carry a passenger. Still I don't think even that matters that much. On the rear, the forces work the tire in both directions, on the front it is freewheeling and only gets force put to it when braking; and that is mostly after the engine and rear wheel have already slowed the bike down. The point is that the front tire does not get stressed as much as the rear tire. This becomes evident if you stop and think about it; front tire even if slightly taller is narrower, probably with tread not as deep as the rear yet typically lasts twice as long as the rear tire which is much wider and usually has a deeper tread.

So, on the much larger, heavier bikes, mounting a rear tire up front in reverse rotation makes sense to some of those guys. Then there are others who mount it in normal rotation for many of the same reasons I did.
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And I'll add more to why I think a front tire lasts longer than the rear.
If one recalls from my discussions on why a car tire lasts longer, and why a bike rear tire wears out quicker they will note that the rear tire spends more time in the upright position. This is not entirely true for the front wheel. By virtue of the fork rake, any turn of the handle bars off of perfectly straight ahead will put the front tire tread off of the centerline and will use tread off the center line more than the rear tire does. (even more so when leaned into a turn and/or when counter steering.)

Not sure why you are getting rumbling at certain speeds. I'll speculate that it could be a tread harmonic sort of thing. I've heard rumbling at times as well on my Reflex scooter with a Silverwing rear tire up front and mostly when turning. But honestly I can't tell for sure whether it is from the tire on the front, the car tire on the rear or both.

So not car tire, but rear mc on front? Why. Is not 120/80S correct size for scooter front?

john grinsel wrote:

So not car tire, but rear mc on front?  Why.  Is not 120/80S correct size for scooter front?

I'm sure they know that is the normally used standard size. That's part of the point.... to use a different size to get the desired benefits from the car tire on the rear & rear scooter tire up front arrangement.
This is may be done to compensate/equalize diameter ratio between front and rear and to even out ride height. There may be aesthetic reasons as well. There are probably other sizes of front tires that will fit, but rear scooter tires are convenient to use to get the ride evened out and to have a deeper longer lasting tread. And some people just don't want to be common cowering sheep and rather like being experimental and pioneering.

And before you even ask, I can tell you that yes, it affects the feel and manner the front behaves with a wider tire up front and we already know you wouldn't like like it. If someone tries it and find they don't like how it feels or rides, then they can go back to the normally used front tire or just back to all scooter tires. At that point, they should have already accepted the possibility of it not working out for them and should not have remorse for buying tires that they likely won't be using again. (so they could sell them to recoup somewhat)

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bandito2... a car tire heretic... and proud of it

I was the first to to try a 155 70 13 hercules Raptice tire ,and found the ride and handling very good. I then went D DS with a Avon Strycker rear tire and had to replace after the tire scalloped so bad after 2 k kl on it. I then went to a 120 80 14 Michelin sc and after more then 25k kl ,it is good for another 10 k kl before replacing the tire .Avon would not give a replacement .Avon is now off my list to replace when the time for a new tire.

tinman wrote:

I was the first to to try a 155 70 13 hercules Raptice tire ,and found the ride and handling very good. I then went D DS with a Avon Strycker rear tire and had to replace after the tire scalloped so bad after 2 k kl on it. I then went to a 120 80 14 Michelin sc and after more then 25k kl ,it is good for another 10 k kl before replacing the tire .Avon would not give a replacement .Avon is now off my list to replace when the time for a new tire.

I had an Avon Stryker on the Rear of my Silverwing only for a short while. It was awful on wet roads and I was so glad to get it off and put on the 165/65R13 car tire which is WAY better in the wet. I'm probably the first to use a 165/65R13. Of all the car tires that are available, that size is closest in diameter to the stock scooter tire and has no negative effect on the ABS brakes.

Yeah, I'm not fond of the Avons either.

Bandito 2, I had an Avon Viper Stryke rear tyre delaminate a four x four inch patch of rubber down to the "canvas" after only 3000miles. I certainly will not be using Avons again.

well the tire is quiet now that half of the tread has worn off, i would buy another rear next tine and try to flip it around to see any difference