The Honda PCX / Forza / ADV150 / SH Forums

Well, I got the new front tire for my scoot today. I was pondering something someone said on Modern Vespa, so I was looking at the tire for something unrelated when I happened to observe that the direction arrow on the front tire, if followed, will leave my tread pattern on the front, opposite to that of the rear. Has anyone else noted this on their city-grips? Is this normal for this tire? I know some manufacturers will reverse the pattern from front to rear, just trying to make sure this is actually the case for this tire. Granted, tread direction isn't as crucial on the front as it is the back anyway, but it's worth doing right.

I've had that on bike tires, before. The front tread might be reversed for braking(?)

The arrow points in the direction the tire/tyre/terr rotates when the bikes in forward motion, pay no attention to the direction its pointing to the world (up, down, backward, forward). We had this goofiness in here before so don't start taking pictures because that makes peoples brain fart over this simple thing.

Right Homie, I got that bit. Heheh. I was just double checking.

J.d.b., I suspect it is for braking as well. Makes sense as the rear tire's job is to propel and the front tire often has to do the bulk of the stopping work.

The arrows need to follow the direction of rotation.

Nothing else.

We have City Grips on our bikes and we had the same concern when we had them installed. Not only did I ask on this forum, but I also asked the dealer. I have been assured that this is the correct installation for it by everyone. Soon, just go with it.

The thread pattern weighs hydroplane tendencies against grip under a braking load by design. Tending to gather the thread and not spread apart on the front gripping the road and managing water at the same time. An ultimate design and the best choice for effective control... the rear not so much.

That being said the rear tire/tyre/terr reverses the pattern designed to compress the thread and grip the road on acceleration and provides less grip when braking. The rear tire/tyre/terr is much less effective for stopping as we all experience and hydroplane control is a fail for the rear end, its all about acceleration and perhaps getting your tire to the road in water under acceleration.

This is my understanding of motorcycle thread pattern configuration. It's a delicate trade off to the best it can be weighing water management and grip under common surface variations. Use your front brake with confidence as its got you covered in most situations and use the rear as an afterthought but together for sure. Sand, gravel, snow and ice are all beyond the limitation of a safe ride for two wheels.... discretion advised.

I believe as scooter owners we don't need tires made for bigger bikes we need tires made to hold the road... we have no low end LOL. There is room for improvement for scooters so there's your invention for the day.

Here's a thought (if GN approves) why not intentionally install our rear Michelin backwards so as to gain the braking features and anti-hydroplane qualities and the heck with any acceleration traction? We are scooters with no concern for losing contact with the road under full acceleration. ummmm what about that?

That sounds like an "out" for the insurance company.

homie wrote:Here's a thought (if GN approves) why not intentionally install our rear Michelin backwards so as to gain the braking features and anti-hydroplane qualities and the heck with any acceleration traction? We are scooters with no concern for losing contact with the road under full acceleration. ummmm what about that?

When I was learning how to install tires, the instructor was very specific about this, he said that a front tire mounted backwards will probably be ok, but a rear tire mounted backwards is asking for a crash on a wet road.

homie wrote:The thread pattern weighs hydroplane tendencies against grip under a braking load by design. Tending to gather the thread and not spread apart on the front gripping the road and managing water at the same time. An ultimate design and the best choice for effective control... the rear not so much.

That being said the rear tire/tyre/terr reverses the pattern designed to compress the thread and grip the road on acceleration and provides less grip when braking. The rear tire/tyre/terr is much less effective for stopping as we all experience and hydroplane control is a fail for the rear end, its all about acceleration and perhaps getting your tire to the road in water under acceleration.

This is my understanding of motorcycle thread pattern configuration. It's a delicate trade off to the best it can be weighing water management and grip under common surface variations. Use your front brake with confidence as its got you covered in most situations and use the rear as an afterthought but together for sure. Sand, gravel, snow and ice are all beyond the limitation of a safe ride for two wheels.... discretion advised.

I believe as scooter owners we don't need tires made for bigger bikes we need tires made to hold the road... we have no low end LOL. There is room for improvement for scooters so there's your invention for the day.

You know, I kinda covered all you said about rear vs. front tread in one sentence above. Lol. Funny Homie.

Tbh, I often use the combined brakes on the PCX first since they use both front and rear brakes, then work in the other two Pistons on the front as stopping needs arise. Of course I engine brake as much as I can before using the wheel brakes. All this happens in fractions of a second, but it's like staged braking. I look at the combined brakes as stage 1.

Back in December when i crashed, I kinda skipped using the combined brakes and that ended badly since I grabbed way too much front brake. Sure, they are not going to stop the bike entirely, but when slowing before a corner or going down a hill or for anticipated changes in traffic patterns, the CBS is an excellent stage 1 option. Since December, I try not to brake without it.

honkerman wrote:

homie wrote:Here's a thought (if GN approves) why not intentionally install our rear Michelin backwards so as to gain the braking features and anti-hydroplane qualities and the heck with any acceleration traction? We are scooters with no concern for losing contact with the road under full acceleration. ummmm what about that?

When I was learning how to install tires, the instructor was very specific about this, he said that a front tire mounted backwards will probably be ok, but a rear tire mounted backwards is asking for a crash on a wet road.

To be clear he didn't recommend mounting the front tire backward either, just suggested it might not be as disastrous as doing so with a rear and you could probably get away with it.

honkerman wrote:

honkerman wrote:

homie wrote:Here's a thought (if GN approves) why not intentionally install our rear Michelin backwards so as to gain the braking features and anti-hydroplane qualities and the heck with any acceleration traction? We are scooters with no concern for losing contact with the road under full acceleration. ummmm what about that?

When I was learning how to install tires, the instructor was very specific about this, he said that a front tire mounted backwards will probably be ok, but a rear tire mounted backwards is asking for a crash on a wet road.

To be clear he didn't recommend mounting the front tire backward either, just suggested it might not be as disastrous as doing so with a rear and you could probably get away with it.

Thank you for sorting that out honkyman... alrighty then we shall have none of that! Tire makers have got our backs hopefully. I think I would have went down on my PCX by now if I was still on IRC's. The Mich'es are doing a fine job.

The tyres are directional because of the finishing of the tread laminate, to minimise risk of it unpeeling in use.

I'm giving up now.

homie wrote:Use your front brake with confidence as its got you covered in most situations and use the rear as an afterthought but together for sure.

Braking control for a scooter on the road, always use both levers together.
Always, no exceptions.
If you do not have ABS, in low grip situations use a good deal less front and remember that...
Front wheel lock usually = a crash
Rear wheel lock usually = a short skid

If you enjoy the benefit of ABS fitment, so long as the scooter is upright you can safely pull the levers as hard as you possibly can, the wheels will never lock.

Motorcycle/scooter tyres for road use should be installed as per manufacturers recommendations.