Just wanted to let you guys to double check when you get a tire put on your bike. HD replaced the front tire for me because of the problem with the 09 road glide. Had the new tire on the bike for about 500-800 miles and felt that the bike rode different. I thought is because I need a back tire or the 95 degres in temp changed the ride. Replaced the back tire and it was still there. Then felt a wobble and vibration in the handbars at 40-45 mph. Took it to another HD dealer because I was on a trip. They noticed the tire was put on with the arrow rotation in wrong direction and the thread pattern was wearing odd. The dealer that replace the tire orginally did reimburse me for the tire but not for the cost to adjust the steering neck bolt. I feel that the vibration from the tire on the wrong rotation loosed up the bolt. I know that you need to adjust the steering neck bolt at 25,000 miles. I only have 19266 when I took it to the dealer for the wobble. I never had the wobble before does it just start with no warning or does it take time and it gives you warning?

Any thoughts on this?

 

The front tire on my '09 Ultra Classic was dicovered to be mounted backward during the 1000 mile service.

 

There was a lengthy thread on this subject about a year ago. It was determined that it really doesn't matter which way the arrow goes on a front tire as it is not subject to the constant rotational torque forces that rear tire experiences.

 

When I was repairing the RKC's front end, I found the Rt.-side rotor to be warped/bent and bought a take-off thru ebay. I put the 'new' one on, then went to mount the front wheel. I noticed the tire arrow was backward and upon further examination, found that I was now sporting two Rt.-stamped/numbered rotors. My local service department told me then, that there had been a move afoot in the H-D Touring community (not necessarily here) to reverse the front wheel to address some kind of steering/braking issue. I asked if I should be concerned with now having two Rt. brake rotors (everything seemed to roll/stop just fine), and didn't get a passionate answer yea/nay. I'm living with it for now.

 

Talked to the dealership and discovered that the thread pattern was switched because of uneven tire wear which in turn caused the vibration. The dealer changed the tire free of charge. Talk to your service department.

 

I stood in a showroom of a dealer in Houston one day admiring 3 new Street Glides, I asked the salesman if it mattered which way round the tires were, since 2 were one way and the 3rd was the other way… he didn’t know… and just looked confused… I bought my Street Glide at a different dealership the following day lol

 

the arrows are there for a reason

 

Not entirely accurate. It's a complicated issue for 2009 bikes. When they changed the tires in the 2009 model to go with the new frame, Dunlop recommended that the tread pattern on the front tire should be the reverse of the pattern direction on the rear tire. HD thought that having the same tread pattern rotating in different directions on the same bike would cause confusion to both the dealers and the customers.

So Dunlop reversed the direction on the front tire (reversed the arrow on the sidewall). Unfortunately with the front/rear treads now rotating in the same direction, the front tires were displaying cupping. This caused 09 bikes to have a nasty wobble as they wore down and showed cupping. HD ended up warrantying all the front tires for 09 touring bikes BUT only if the customer complained of "handling issues".

In 2010 HD listened to Dunlop and let them reverse the arrow on the sidewall. It was the same tire but with the rotation direction on the front tire reversed. All 2010 touring bikes had the "reverse" tread setup.

So next time you ride with a guy on a 2009 touring bike, check his front tire. If the tire rotates in the same direction as the rear tire, he's got a front tire installed from 2009 that is likely to develop cupping (if it hasn't already) resulting in handling issues. Just complain to any dealer about the handling (not the tire rotation) and the dealer should replace the tire with a 2010 model. Some install it for free, others prorate based on mileage.

If you check all 2010 touring bikes (with original or replacement HD tires), you'll see that the rotation of the front tread is exactly the same as the rear tire, only reversed.

 

This is a good article that explains about motorcycle tires.

 

I ran across this article and have to add that I have an 06 EGC and I run Dunlop Elite III's on my Glide and I must also confirm that the tread pattern is reversed on the front wheel. I run a TWR Stabilizer Link so I feel no adverse effects from a wobble or see any adverse tire wear.