Yet Another Tire Question

[leo3wheel]

Will be traveling to Florida Keys with CaptainJoe at the end of March, 3,000 miles roundtrip. Have a '09 RSV Hannigan trike with 7,500 miles on it. Wondering if I need to replace the front tire before trip.

 

The new OEM Bridgestone tire had a thread depth of 9/32". Our front tire now has thread depths of 6/32" center and 4/32" sides. Appears front tire was being run underinflated.

Always used Hannigan recommendation, 35 psi front and 28 psi rear. Based on the wear, believe I need to up the front pressure. If I up the front pressure, wonder if original tire will last for my trip? Center is only down 3/32" from the new depth. Hate to throw tire away before its time is up, and weather will be milder when I return from my trip.

 

Ordered a new AM42 rear tire for front and Ride-On balancer/sealant. These should arrive in a few days. Do you feel the tire replacement is necessary before my trip?

 

Thanks!

[RedRider]

Put the new tire on and keep the old one around. When the new tire wears out, put the older tire back on and run it until the tread is uncomfortably low. Win/Win.

 

RR

[warriorhoneybee]

i second that,last thing you want on a trip is tire trouble,TRUST ME. one other thought is make it down there and than replace the tire for trip back home but i thing the first option gives you more for your buck.

[RandyR]

I got 10,000 out of the oem Bridgestone on my RSTD before it was shot. I expect the trike is harder on tires than an RSTD. You'd be pushing it to do a 3k rt. If you have room to pack the new front, then maybe have it mounted halfway into your trip somewhere while keeping an eye on the old one.

[CaptainJoe]

Leo,

 

Are trikes hard on front tires? Do they have a tendency to scuff the outer edges because of the extra weight?

 

If they are, I'd change to newer tire, before the trip...

 

if they aren't and your tire was simply low and you've got it under control(no leaks) your still double the mimnimum tread in the center... I'd probably wear it out.

 

I always wear flat spots in center of treads as I ride the interstates a lot!

 

Perhaps some of our trike riders will chime in, if not create a new thread or perhaps pm a few of them.

[leo3wheel]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. Using a new Avon with Ride-On will certainly give me peace of mind. Last thing I want is to waste vacation time getting a tire fixed. Have a feeling the Avon Venom tire is going to give a much nicer ride.

 

Do not believe trikes are any harder on tires. Some folks are getting impressive mileage by mounting rear tires on the front. I've been running 35 psi on the front, as recommended by Hannigan, and this is not enough. Talked with Cougar, and he runs 40/42 psi. Believe this would give better wear across the tire. Live and learn.

 

Bugs me that I could possibly make the trip with no trouble, but it is not certain. If I was driving locally, I could get a lot more mileage out of that tire. If I take the old tire off, I'll never put it back on.

 

Learned a lot from talking with others and surfing the Web. Our trike never felt right on twisties, and I'm starting to learn why. Don't believe the Hannigan tire pressure recommendations are correct for performance. Will up the front pressure from 35 psi to 42 psi if the front tire allows. Going to raise the rear tires to 32 psi on the left and 34 psi on the right. Raising the tire pressures should improve wear and gas mileage. Putting a higher psi on the right rear tire will help correct for the road crown. Ordered a new Avon Venom AM42 rear tire for the front. According to Avon and based on feedback from many, many trikers, will most likely mount rear tire backwards on front to reduce strain on tire belts. Will use Ride-On balancer/tire sealant in new AM42 to reduce chance of punctues, to keep tire balanced, to keep tire cooler and to provide smoother ride. To help with lean of our trike, raised the front fork pressures from 0 psi to 4 psi. This helped a lot with lean on highway ramps. Would also like to stiffen up the rear trike shocks. Hopefully, these improvements will improve the ride, gas mileage and tire wear on our trike.

 

Guess I've talked myself into changing the front tire...........

[leo3wheel]

Had a nice conversation with John at Hannigan. He told me that the Avon Venom AM42 rear tire that I ordered for the front of our trike is an excellent choice.

He did say that Avon tire may wear faster than the hard Bridgestone tire, but the traction is excellent. Using a rear tire up front will extend the useable tire

life. As for reversing the rear tire up front, John said it's up to me. The belts should be fine at the speeds we travel. Mounting according to the

arrow may provide better water dispersion in the rain. According to the trike talk survey, thus far, not many folks have heard of any issues relating to the

running rear tires in the forward direction on the front of a trike. May as well mount the rear tire as a normal front tire.

 

As for the tire pressures, John admitted that there is a typo in the Hannigan Owner's Manual that I have. John says front tire pressure should be around 40 psi.

This is what Hannigan recommends.

 

Hannigan Motorsports Official Policy regarding Tire Pressures (psi)

per Jim Gooch-Chief Trike Tech HMS

Front: 38-41 psi

Rear: 26-30 psi

 

As for the rear springs, standard setting is 3. Sometimes folks boost right spring to 4 to correct for crown of road. Told not to use settings 1 & 5.

[leo3wheel]

Had dealer mount a new Avon Venom rear tire on the front of our trike in reverse direction. Trike runs well, so it is a done deal.

[warriorhoneybee]

why reverse direction?

[leo3wheel]

why reverse direction?

 

Because Avon recommends doing so with a rear tire on front. They recommend this because of tire belt construction. Many, many trikers do this, mainly with Michelin Pilot Activ tire. Unfortuantely, Michelin tires do not fit front of RSV.

[warriorhoneybee]

thanks for the fyi