Not much has been said about the front bias-ply tire on the Tri-Glide. I'm curious to know why the front isn't a radial as the rear. Enquiring minds want to know!
I'm sure the engineering powers at H-D must have a good reason. Maybe a radical change in handling was occuring in tests? I don't even know if there is a warning anywhere stating "do not install radial tire on front rim!"
I have noticed a little skipping of the front tire when I pushed it into a turn on acceleration. Anybody want to test a radial on their front rim?

 

First off your not going to find a radial motorcycle to fit the stock rim. I also looked into this and even asked Dunlop via email about it, the response was we are not considering making one at this time. The problem I see is that the front tire Harley is using on theyre trikes like the rest of us is a tire made for 2 wheel bikes.

The tire is rounded for handling for a 2 wheel bike and the front tire has less tread depth 8/32 new compared to a rear tire which has 11/32" . There are Honda Goldwing riders taking the Michellin Pilot Activ rear tire fliping the direction and mounting it on the front with much success.

The argument from most tire makers is that when you flip the rear tire you add forces on the plys that were layed to go the other direction on the rear tire and there might be a handling issue riding in the rain and possible separation with the tread direction change. I have read "Grimm" who is a member here say heys taken a Dunlop rear tire reversed the rotation and mounted on the front with no issues.

Im considering doing a rear Dunlop MU85b16 77H ( the 77H is the higher weight load rear tire ) after I use up the Avon front tire I have sitting here at the house to replace the front E3 Dunlop Im running now. Im getting around 15- 17K on a front tire.

 

Yeah
quite a few trike riders of the GW are using the Michelin and the Bridgstone Battleaxe bias ply tire made for the rear of a sportbike, mounting it in reverse and some not mounting it in reverse.
One rider talked to the reps from Michelin and they advised him to mount it in reverse rotation. I don't recall all of the conversation but it was like the rear tire is designed to push and shed water on the rear of the bike, mounting it on the front in reverse rotation helps shed water and help in the brakeing applaction...also the bias ply has a stiffer sidewall, not as much flexing when turning the trike....if someone wants the whole statement from the rider I can get it and email it to you...

I had a 2007 GW trike and used both Michelin and Bridgstone bias ply tires.
With the stock Honda tire ( Dunlop) I was getting 5, to 7 thousand miles...with the bias ply tire I got over 20,000 miles....and most do also...

 

I'm pretty happy with the way mine handles now, tire life doesn't seem to be much of an issue as my dad has over 11,000 mile on his front tire and it still looks new. It would be just my luck that I'd try some tire not meant to be on there and I'd crash and burn in a glorious ball of fire.

 

+1 I agree. I do believe the stiffer sidewall is what you need. If the sidewall is too flexible, when the front starts to skip with hard cornering, you might break the seal.

 

Good point! I could see all that stress on one single flexing sidewall could pop it off the rim. The tire should have a stiff sidewall. I've had good luck on previous bikes----16,000 miles+ on the front tire. Let's see how this trike tire holds out.

 

The radial tire used on the front of a trike does have a softer sidewall. This is why conversion kit companies recommend maximum air pressure. When corning the radial tire on a trike there's a tendency for the radial to roll under itself and cause the trike to push into a corner.

When power is applied to the back wheel less weight is on the front radial which causes the tire to skip across the pavement. This could result in loss of steering control. Also, the use of hard front braking during a turn could result in the bead separating from the rim when in an emergency maneuver.

Also worth mentioning is when a tire is in reverse direction of it's intended rotation there is the possibility of sidewall belt separation which will result in sidewall damage or blow out. This statement is actually from a tire manufacturer but I believe this more directed toward a wheel that provides torque to the tire such as the rear tire. Stopping forces are pretty demanding too and could separate the reversed sidewall construction as well.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm stick'n to it.