[fuzzybutt]

the absolute only thing i use the dealer for (other than dealer only parts) is tire mounting and balancing. i just never had the tools or the inclination to do it but after today i need to rethink that idea. went to the honda dealer here in columbia (no names mentioned) and got a new front tire mounted. got home and went to put the wheel back on the bike when i noticed the damn tire was on the wrong way (directional tire) i drove the 15 miles BACK to the dealer and pointed out the mistake, the said "ok no problem we'll take care of it right away" different tech did it this time. i went to put the wheel back into the car and guess what? tire was on BACKWARDS AGAIN! i went back in with the wheel again and the service manager said "it isnt on wrong this time, I looked at it" i slammed the wheel onto his desk and asked him to explain "how it is the tire is on right but yet\, the arrows show it isnt?!?!?" then went to the general manager with the wheel and showed him. got my money back, got a 25 buck gift certificate and the GM himself mounted and balanced the tire for me.

some people are like slinkies, basically useless but they still make me smile when i push them down the stairs

 

[Judeyramone]

Consider yourself lucky - the last time I got a tire mounted backwards (the last time I got a tire mounted), it was 40 miles ech way - twice.

 

[UngaWunga]

sounds like they did ya right after screwin up....

Or you should learn ot mount tires yerserlf.

 

[texmawby]

i always hated when i did that. it happened usually when i got real chatty with the customer, distracted, and then screwed up. i always was real embarassed when the customer pointed it out. however, i never did it twice to the same guy, on the same day.

tex

 

[chetriply]

Shit happens. I've done that before as well. I run the shop myself and Tex is right. Sometimes you just get to talking or the phone rings, etc. Now I just mark the arrow with a tire marker so my dumb ass gets it right the first time.

 

[joe c]

think of all of the bikes out there. disks on one side, disks on the other. basically, if its not something modern, something theyre not used to seeing and working on, you can be on real shakey ground. i took my dunlop 825's to have them mounted up. they guy starts telling me if i buy them from him, mounting is free or cheaper or whatever. so tell him if he gets those tires for me, ill do it. and hes like we can get these blah blah blah... and tells me to check back next week after the dunlop rep stops in. of course none of them knew anything when i went back. end story, do it yourself. and yes, i am getting way better at changing tires now. well, now that we have the tire machine.

jc

 

[ttilghman]

yeah-

this happened on the front of my CB350 racer this spring, but i didn't catch it until i was loading the bike on the truck after the first race day at summit. so there was no chance of remounting without shredding the tire. i think the biggest reason for directionals is so the tread channels the rain in the right direction? thing is, summit this spring was in the rain....i kinda don't thing so, but maybe that's why i went down twice, or perhaps it was just the "bold" outside pass attempt out of the carousel.... where i ended up sharing a smoke with tex along the tire wall. anyway, i went on to run the rest of the season with the mis-directed front and it seemed mostly OK. i did loose the front coming out of T2 at NHIS once and had lots of chatter at frontierland, but i'm not comfortable blaming the tire, i had lots of good laps with it too.

oh, and i always use a sharpie or a grease pencil to mark a few arrows on the rim when i take them to a dealer for mounting....for what that's worth.

-tt

 

[fuzzybutt]

so, is it safe to run a street bike with the tire in the wrong direction? mine are right now but i have a friend that is in the same situation on his gs850.

some people are like slinkies, basically useless but they still make me smile when i push them down the stairs

 

[ttilghman]

i don't know that it's safe to run a backwards tire. i do know that once you've run it, it's dangerous to remount it in the right direction...that rolling the tire in two different directions will shred it. i'd be especially careful in the wet. i'm not sure exactly what goes into tire construction, but the best i can tell, the directional is really just for the tread pattern and best resistance to hydroplaneing. i wasn't 100% comfortable with the reversed tire in the dry, but i don't really think it slowed me down or caused any problems. there is plenty of tire left, but i'll be changing it for the new season.

best. tt

 

[joe c]

im pretty sure its done. rear tires mounted on front, front tires mounted on rears. i know if seen front tires mounted on rears but i cant know for sure that ive seen the other way around. mostly just because i just cant remember.

jc

 

[texmawby]

i've run reversed tires for years. at first on the derbi (two fronts, rear reversed), and last on the cb350 when the dealer was out of rears and i needed one. i had no problems in the wet or dry. i have crashed before, i just won't attribute any of it to my tires being mis-directional in wet or dry conditions. ususally i crash cause i make a fucking stupid decision.

tex

 

[fuzzybutt]

it's a front tire, just mounted with the arrows running in the wrong direction is all

some people are like slinkies, basically useless but they still make me smile when i push them down the stairs