FRONT TIRE ROTATION

[SPYD3R]

Just rotated my front tires for the 3rd time... i do this about every 7500 - 8000 miles...
does anyone else rotate their front tires? and, if so, how do you accomplish your rotation?

Me, i caulk marked each tire & rim appropriately with "L" or "R", and with an 'arrow' showing it's rotational direction... then i remove the tire from the rim, and reverse it back onto the same rim "L" to "L" & "R" to "R"... after balancing, i then install them "L" to "R" & "R" to "L".... this way, with each tire back on the SPYD3R, the rims & tires have changed side-to-side, but once was LEFT is now RIGHT, and RIGHT is now LEFT and the rotational direction stays the same as it was prior to the process...

I now have over 22,000 miles on my front KUMHO's and they are still looking good...
:bowdown: :thumbup: :yes:

 

[Chupaca]

Don't...!!

I have found rotating radial tires from left to right not a good idea. On cars you move the rears to the front the fronts to the rear so the wear is even. (miles/time on the driveline). Here you not only have rotational tires (oem kenda) but you have to dismount remount and balance. If there is uneven wear something else is going on and now with laser alignment these issues can be solved pretty easily and at a fair price. Jmo..:thumbup:

 

[ARtraveler]

I do not rotate my tires. Nothing scientific here, just lazy and cheap. :roflblack: I have got mostly 20 to 23 thousand miles out of a set of fronts, on three different :spyder2:'s.

 

[Kc6wfi]

Tires

My dealer (as a favor) during a 6000 mile service did a tire rotation, balance and alinment, after that I had a nasty wobble at 40 to 45 MPH. I searched the spyder web and found that in doing that the bike does not like it. Alot of other owners had the same problem and changed to car tires or rotated them back to solve the problem. The wear was not noticeable. I have about 9000 miles on the tires so i think i will leave them alone untill i need them replaced.

 

[Highwayman2013]

I don't think I will rotate them unless I get car tires that aren't directional, then I will go side to side without taking tires off the rim. Too much chance of damaging tires or rims.

 

[SPYD3R]

My dealer (as a favor) during a 6000 mile service did a tire rotation, balance and alinment, after that I had a nasty wobble at 40 to 45 MPH. I searched the spyder web and found that in doing that the bike does not like it. Alot of other owners had the same problem and changed to car tires or rotated them back to solve the problem. The wear was not noticeable. I have about 9000 miles on the tires so i think i will leave them alone untill i need them replaced.

keep in mind, when rotating your front tires from one side to the other... once they are back on the SPYD3R they are NOT TURNING in the opposite direction... they ARE TURNING in the same direction as before the rotation, just on the opposite side of your SPYD3R..... (if you follow my directions).

 

[ulflyer]

Unless you're doing all that rotating yourself, its costing about as much as a set of tires. I've never touched mine and with 32K the OEM's still got a lot of tread left.

 

[Highwayman2013]

keep in mind, when rotating your front tires from one side to the other... once they are back on the SPYD3R they are NOT TURNING in the opposite direction... they ARE TURNING in the same direction as before the rotation, just on the opposite side of your SPYD3R..... (if you follow my directions).

Like I said I wouldn't take the tires off the rim. Do it if you like, but if your Spyder is aligned the tires should wear just as well without all the fuss.

 

[Pennyrick]

Just rotated my front tires for the 3rd time... i do this about every 7500 - 8000 miles...
does anyone else rotate their front tires? and, if so, how do you accomplish your rotation?

Me, i caulk marked each tire & rim appropriately with "L" or "R", and with an 'arrow' showing it's rotational direction... then i remove the tire from the rim, and reverse it back onto the same rim "L" to "L" & "R" to "R"... after balancing, i then install them "L" to "R" & "R" to "L".... this way, with each tire back on the SPYD3R, the rims & tires have changed side-to-side, but once was LEFT is now RIGHT, and RIGHT is now LEFT and the rotational direction stays the same as it was prior to the process...

I now have over 22,000 miles on my front KUMHO's and they are still looking good...
:bowdown: :thumbup: :yes:



View attachment 80300 View attachment 80301

I rotated them once on my RT at 8,000 miles (mounted and remounted) but could never eliminate the 40-44 mph bounce the Spyder developed after that. Several tries to fix the problem by the dealer did not work and we finally agreed that the tires had become ingrained into one pattern that we disturbed irrevocably. The solution was to replace them both... Now have 10,000 on this set of tires and I would not think of rotating them again.

My wife's RT runs a bit behind mine in mileage but she now has 16,000 on hers and we have never touched the front tires. They still have lots of tread left and show no uneven wear.

if it ain't broke... don't fix it.

 

[flybuddy]

My front tires rotate every time I ride it. hyea:

 

[SPYD3R]

Unless you're doing all that rotating yourself, its costing about as much as a set of tires. I've never touched mine and with 32K the OEM's still got a lot of tread left.

$20 @ BROWN'S TIRE & MUFFLER in Greenville, SC.... tell Billy that Dan sent you....

 

[bluestratos]

I think the main purpose of rotation is to give even tread wear to prolong tire life. If you can remove, remount and balance your self then it may be worth the effort. If you pay to have it done then I would not rotate.

 

[NancysToy]

I have 25K on the Kendas in front of my RT, and they are wearing evenly and have about 40% of the useful life left. I don't think I could expect much better if I rotated. BRP's rotation recommendation was made as a makeshift response to the uneven tire wear problems many owners experienced...problems actually caused by alignment issues. BRP's attitude that it was "normal" was ill-advised at best. With a good alignment (preferably laser) your front tires should show long wear without the need for rotation. JMHO

 

[Bob Denman]

I'm gonna agree with D.T: if it ain't broke; I ain't fixing it, :thumbup:

 

[mcaccamise]

Or sell it off for a shiney new 2014 before the tires wear.

 

[Flash Gordon]

I have 25K on the Kendas in front of my RT, and they are wearing evenly and have about 40% of the useful life left. I don't think I could expect much better if I rotated. BRP's rotation recommendation was made as a makeshift response to the uneven tire wear problems many owners experienced...problems actually caused by alignment issues. BRP's attitude that it was "normal" was ill-advised at best. With a good alignment (preferably laser) your front tires should show long wear without the need for rotation. JMHO

My tires on my 2013 RT-L had less than 4,000 miles on them, and were 2/3 worn out. I purchased the Spyder the first part of Feb. I took it back to have the ball joints replaced and had them do an alignment using the method used at that time. Things went fair, but the tires bounced badly between 52 and 58 MPH. I had the Laser alignment done the first of Oct. It helped the handling but the tires still bounced at the same speeds, as before. I took it back and had the tires rotated and rebalanced yesterday. I will see how that works. A friend of mine has about 2,000 more miles on his, and his tires look like new. After talking to a tech. that does my service, he said that some of the Kendas got good mileage as stated above, and then others were out of round and were a piece of junk. It is a shame to purchase an expensive ride that has such junk for tires. I will be glad when these wear out (I may get another 2,000 miles out of them) so I can buy a new pair of car tires that will balance and be round and hopefully can get 20,000 miles out of them.JMHO

 

[bluestratos]

I agree with Scotty, BRP's alignments coming out of the factory are hit and miss, mine was out by 1 1/4" but my tires are wearing decently at 23K. Others are getting less than 10K on the fronts, unfortunately BRP buries their head in the sand on issues like this, much cheaper to blame rotation. I was so surprised at how much better my bike handles at freeway speeds after my laser alignment, I really did not expect much since I had already changed shocks and the sway bar.

 

[Dan_Ashley]

keep in mind, when rotating your front tires from one side to the other... once they are back on the SPYD3R they are NOT TURNING in the opposite direction... they ARE TURNING in the same direction as before the rotation, just on the opposite side of your SPYD3R..... (if you follow my directions).

Relative to the road, I agree with you. However relative to the bike, I am confused. It seems to me if you took the rims with the tires on them and just moved them right to left and left to right, then both tires would be rotating the opposite direction from what they were originally. If I am correct, and that's a big "if", then the tires would be rotating in the wrong direction per their rotational design. Note: I used the word "rotating", not the word "turning". Please let me know if my thinking is right or not. :dontknow:

 

[SPYD3R]

Relative to the road, I agree with you. However relative to the bike, I am confused. It seems to me if you took the rims with the tires on them and just moved them right to left and left to right, then both tires would be rotating the opposite direction from what they were originally. If I am correct, and that's a big "if", then the tires would be rotating in the wrong direction per their rotational design. Note: I used the word "rotating", not the word "turning". Please let me know if my thinking is right or not. :dontknow:

Dan, do the math....
mark an arrow with caulk indicating the forward path (roll, rotation, turn) on the outside wall of each tire as they currently sit on your SPYD3R, and the wheel/rim with a grease pencil with L for left & R for right, we'll call this Position #1...
now if you remove those tire/wheels, and switch them from side-to-side... the 'arrows' will show you that they would roll (rotate, turn) in the opposite direction now, Position #2... if you now remove the tire from the wheel, and have them remounted with the 'arrow' on the inside of the wheel, now look at the direction the tire would roll when moving forward, Position #3... it will rotate, roll, turn, in the direction as they did prior to the original removal, as in Position #1... you NEVER want to reverse the direction of the roll with radial tires, NEVER NEVER NEVER.... :lecturef_smilie:

always practice good maintenance, and you'll be riding by those stuck on the side of the road that don't....
Dan P
Easley, SC

 

[Dan_Ashley]

Dan, do the math....
mark an arrow with caulk indicating the forward path (roll, rotation, turn) on the outside wall of each tire as they currently sit on your SPYD3R, and the wheel/rim with a grease pencil with L for left & R for right, we'll call this Position #1...
now if you remove those tire/wheels, and switch them from side-to-side... the 'arrows' will show you that they would roll (rotate, turn) in the opposite direction now, Position #2... if you now remove the tire from the wheel, and have them remounted with the 'arrow' on the inside of the wheel, now look at the direction the tire would roll when moving forward, Position #3... it will rotate, roll, turn, in the direction as they did prior to the original removal, as in Position #1... you NEVER want to reverse the direction of the roll with radial tires, NEVER NEVER NEVER.... :lecturef_smilie:

always practice good maintenance, and you'll be riding by those stuck on the side of the road that don't....
Dan P
Easley, SC

thanks...got it...so, if I want to rotate the front tires, I need to dismount the tire from the rim, switch rims, rebalance, and then possibly realign the whole thing. To my lazy bones this sounds like too much effort to get, what--maybe another 1,000 miles out of a $125 tire????