tire..rear to front question

[Lbyvik]

Hey guys..

I'm on a four corners trip on my '93 K1100 LT....Virginia to Quebec City to Key west to Sandyeggo to Vancouver and home...Im in Pensacola right now and need a new front tire...The folx im staying with have a new, 110/90-80, marked as a rear tire....he's going to give it to me which would save me some serious coin.  $150 is like 10 fill-ups (about 1600-2000 miles of travel) and being a teacher that is significant for me. 

So two questions....

1) It appears the tire height shouldn't be a problem.  90 vs the spec'd 80...so should it fit?

2) What "real" difference is there between front and rear? 

Seems to me as long as the tire fits the rim properly, then into the frame and fork properly there should not be an issue.  Mind you, I like the twisties but I'm no where near as aggressive as the olden days.

The tire is the Shinko 712 street/cruiser.  Before some of you flame on me about shinko's....I run the 705 series on my KLR and get as good as or better mileage out of them than the metzlers and Conti's I was running and have NEVER had a single issue with them....so I'm happy with them...

Also I have a Metzler Lazer on my K11 right now and only got 6000 miles out of it (80% highway) and am VERY disappointed by that.

[Scott_]

I'm not surprised about your mileage out of the Metzler.
I'm running PR2 radial on the front of both of my LT's, and an Avon Azero on the rear and I can easily get 10K+ out of them.

Don't know what to tell you about the "front/rear" designations. I would check the mfgr date code on the tire though, you never know how long the tire may have been setting around but still be "new, unmounted".

[johnny]

so its a 110/90-80 18 rear tire...

the front tior is rounded almost to the bead and made for turning in... the rear tior is not rounded like the front and dosent come close to the bead and is made for delivering power while trailing the front... a rear on the front would need to be mounted in reverses of the roatation arrow...

im thinking a rear profile on the front of a motocrick will rub something under loading... its tight under there...dont know till you try it though...

personally i wouldnt do it because a bad ride isnt worth trying to save $150 on the front end to me... i go through 4 sets of tiors a year... whats another $150 in the big scheme of things...

j o

[Lbyvik]

Its looking like the height is going to be the real issue....
It seems that its ok to put the rear on the front as long as the tire is "reversed".  Its a load handling issue according to others on another forum.

6000 miles for a front tire is ridiculous...I should get AT LEAST 10K out of a front tire.  I run Shinko's on my K100rs and get 10K out of a rear easily...and they will still pass VA's safety inspection.  Albeit only just.

As for $150 in the grand scheme of things.....you have no idea how much that is for me.  I've got this trip budgeted to the penny.  This tire was going to save me about $90...$60 for a new shinko and about $30 to mount and balance....Like I said...$150 is nearly 2000 miles of gas, or 10 days of breakfast and lunch, or 4 nights in a motel 6 (when its too miserable to camp) or 2 weeks of groceries.  $150 is 14% of my net income that I get to keep after paying child support...it matters to me.

[Scott_]

...and they will still pass VA's safety inspection.  Albeit only just.   

Putting a tire marked "rear" on the front may raise a flag at inspection time.........

I hear what you are saying about child support, BTDT, have 1 year left myself, then college..........

Like Johnny, I don't think I'd risk it either. Should something happen, God forbid, having an improper equipment installation could give some shark lawyer a reason to fight paying any insurance $.
Not to mention, a good reputable bike shop shouldn't mount up a setup like that, for liability reasons on their part.

[K75RT Keith]

Rubber compound on the Laser is rather soft so it has more grip.  One of the trade offs with any brand of tire.  Some give you lots of grip others give lots of miles.  depending on your riding style and where you ride you may have to for go some of one to get the other.   My Laser front got changed out last weekend for my ride across country.  My rear, a ME88, bought at the same time as the first front tire, has enough tread for another 12000 miles easy.   Shinkos have improved alot over the last few years.  Early ones were really crappy.  They seemed to have found a balance on quality for the price.