Met a friend yesterday for lunch. He's rider, done the Arctic Circle 4 times from South Florida and 48 states many times.

Anyway, Aside from using a car tire in the rear of his road bike he also mentioned that for the past 10 years he's used a rear tire reversed on the front. His reasoning is the rear is thicker, takes the pot holes better.
Anyone ever hear of that?

Say's water sheds by pushing it forward and away instead of back and away.

 

reasonable. The additional rotating weight alone will create noticeable stability gains thus handling potholes and debris better.

 

In the past it was routine that some tyres were suitable for both front and rear use and carried arrows showing which direction to fit them on each wheel. Your friend is obviously not a tyre expert - if using a rear tyre on the front then install it the other way around! I trust tyre makers and as I don't have any plans to ride the sort of distances your pal does, will carry on using front and rear tyres!

 

Tires have different forces depending on if mounted on front or rear. Acceleration on the rear, braking on the front. Thus the reason for mounting them backwards .

 

On a Harley I am much more concerned with wet handling over competition level braking. I don't subscribe to the reverse mount front in this case. All drama, insignificant effect. Tires are directional - mount them correctly.

 

He may not be a tire expert but he rides more than anyone I know and I don't mean weekends and bar hopping. Pretty much spends his summers on the road since retirement. Key West to Arctic Circle then down to the Pan Am to Costa Rica 2 years ago to give you a idea he's a rider. I suspect he knows what he's talking about.
Was at the local indy shop yesterday and brought this up. Most there looked at me like I was crazy but one guy who has been around for many years said that's what he does too on his long ride bike. Went outside and sure enough taxi tire on the rear and reversed rear on the front. Say's it's much more stable on broken roads and potholes.
I may give this a try next time I need tires on the RK.

 

 

That chap knows what he's at! Unless you're into similar marathon rides and spending a long time on rough roads, modern conventional front and rear tyres are the way ahead IMHO.

 

Reverse mounting tires - stupidest crap I have heard in a long time. Some people just take what they hear or read and believe it without thought, understanding or validation. Even worse, they then preach it like they are experts even though they themselves have no direct experience. Just think about it for fricken minute. The front moves the same direction as the rear. Follow the tire markings. Unbelievable!!

 

^Wrong...

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