Well I measured the tread on front tire 2/32 guess what I need a new one but which brand what seems to work best OEM really is made for 2 wheelers anything better available? help. ride safely fearless

 

There are some but they tend to be softer tires and you wear them out quicker.

I am trying to give you an example but the name of the particular tire is on the tip of my tongue in just won't come out. You know how that works.

But as a rule of thumb, I stick to whatever HD has be it OEM or otherwise since they are going to cover themselves for liability purposes which means the tire is going to be as safe as a are can be, top-quality and all so you have the best protection and that to me is important.

The others out there may not have the quality control that you know you will get from anything HD is selling to you.

Since tires are critically important, I wouldn't screw with anything other than what you get from a HD dealership. Yes, it may be a bit costly but it will cost dramatically more if you get another tire that just doesn't hold up the way it should if you know what I mean.

I am not sure the above helps but at least that is my line of thinking.

BuzzCap7

 

Mount a rear motorcycle tire (same size) in the reverse direction. Rear tire same size has between 9/32 - 11/32 plus duel compound harder in the center. The rear tire is designed to withstand the force of acceleration by mounting it on the front reversing the directions it will now withstand the force of deceleration.

 

When I had my '12, I had 25k miles on the original tire and only changed it when I put chrome wheels on. I have 11k on that replacement tire (moved over to the '14). The first tire could have easily gotten 30k miles. A friend had 32k miles on his original tire on his '11 trike.

With this said I will be staying with the OEM tires on the front.

 

Don't know the reason but my 14 at 11,000 it was down to the wear bar (2/32) talked to 3 other 14 trike owners and they had about the same mileage before changing front tire. The older models got much better mileage out of their front tires.

I ran 36psi in the front tire and it was checked weekly don't ride hard thought the curves.

 

Believe it or not, motorcycle manufacturers spend a crap load of money, developing tires for their specific models. Sure, you can go with a different model tire, even in a different size, but are you really getting "better" performance?

To some, performance means tire life.
To some, performance means tire friction.
To some, performance means tire friction, when cold.
To some, performance means tire friction, when wet.
To some, performance means puncture resiliency
To some, performance means how much smoke it makes when skidding.
To some, performance means load rating.

and there's tons of other reasons.

YMMV

 

This is from Avon tires explains reverse rotation much better.

http://cyrilhuzeblog.com/2009/08/23/...-by-avon-tyres

 

OEM front tire here. Looked at many others, and talked to others and they had gone back to OEM after trying out others. My 2013 ran about 19,500 and still had some life but since dealer had a 30% off sale, went for the new tire. I do ride hard in the turns so my tire wore faster than others I have seen. I put on at 20,000 before putting in storage. Now I am set for spring rain without any worry.

 

when I owned the Wing trikes, I would put either a Michilen Pilot Active or a Bridgstone Battle Ax ( BT-45) on the front. Got very good mileage and preformance from both, although I did like the BT 45 better.
I'll watch my tire anad see how it does, may go with the BT45 when I change.

*NOTE* both tires above were rear, sport touring, bias ply tires mounted in reverse

 

I don't buy into that. The front is a front for a reason. I'll trust the tire engineers know best.