tire wear

It has been noticed that my Conti. RB2 is about down to the wear bars on the left side, center groove and right side are ok. Out of curiosity has anyone ever accidently or on purpose run a tire in the wrong direction? What happens to the ride if the arrow is pointing the wrong way?

most likely from the crown in the roads, any tire tech will tell you that reversing a used tire to eek out a few more miles would not be a good thing to do....

Cause of aggravated left side wear is debated- some say "road crown" others say "longer left turns". IT si common on many tires/bikes.
Regardless of causation, reversing the tire would be a poor choice.
Best to just get that piece of crap RB2 off the bike ASAP. They were lousy handling tires when they were about the only option 30 years ago- they are an even worse choice now.

Maybe I should ride sidesaddle for awhile?
Or maybe move to England.
Well I've been running Contis. for 30 years on that bike, it's what I'm used to and I am not a road racer, canyon carver kind of rider. I know how people are about this kind of thing. Take Metz for example, some people swear at them sone swear on them. My wife wouldn't run Metz if they were free.

Finally! Somebody's cheaper than me!

Why not put some duct tape on the left side?


Seriously, Contis are a good all-around tire, and they're cheap. By the time you turn the tire around, you've already got more time in the scheme than it's worth. Spring for new tires, and tubes- and be glad for another day of riding above ground!

last 3 tires have been contis. Cheap and get the job done. Been getting some decent mileage out of them as well.

Front tire wear is more dramatic on the left side aswell.

tires

I didn't know they STILL made the RB2 ÔÇô
IMO, the only good reason to fit an antique ribbed front tire ...
is for a period correct resto on an antique bike that isn't ridden.

Anyway,
from the Dunlop Q&A page:
There are now two main reasons for directional arrows. The first being that some motorcycle tires now have tread patterns that are designed for a specific rotation for optimum performance, particularly on wet roads. Directional arrows indicate proper directional rotation.
Secondly, running a tire will set up a wear pattern that may cause ride disturbance if reversed. The directional arrow insures that a tire can be re-fitted in the original direction.

from the AMA:
Today's specialized tires generally have a tread pattern that must go in only one direction. Some manufacturers even state that their tread patterns are designed to disperse water, and by mounting the tire backwards, they won't work.
The other big reason for noting wheel direction has to do with the manufacturing process. The tread rubber is initially a flat strip that's cut to length, at an angle, and then spliced together with the two ends overlapping, creating a hoop. Under acceleration, a tire mounted backwards will try to peel back this splice. The opposite is true for the front wheel, where directional forces are reversed under hard braking.

from Continental:
Where a tyre has a direction of rotation arrow moulded upon it, the tyre must be fitted so that the relevant front or rear tyre follows the direction of rotation when the motorcycle is being ridden forward. Road handling and tyre wear may worsen, or damage to the tyre can occur in extreme circumstances if these instructions are not followed.

and my thought:
Your health and safety depend entirely upon two tiny little oval patches of rubber where the TIRES meet the road ÔÇô
Tires are NOT a good choice to be (foolishly) pinching your pennies.

well, just to play devil's advocate (and support a position that i thoroughly DO NOT support)- the RB2 is not to be considered a "specialized" (nor a "modern) tire, and is not built with any particular consideration to directional application.
with that said- it's still a mediocre handling, old technology, rain-groove tracking, weak performing POS.
for an additional ~$40, i'm putting Lasertecs on my airhead. Far superior tire.

IIRC, the original Conti Twins- the RB-2 and the K112- were designed for the '70s airheads. They were, at the time, a great sort of "all-around" tire- no pretentions about racing, or high speed touring even.

They were a good enough tire- I rode them for close to 30 years, on every surface imaginable(I think) and in every kind of weather. From the chipped rocks on the Top o' the World Highway, to the Trail Ridge to the Blue Ridge to one winter in Mass when I didn't OWN a car- and they worked fine.

Motorcycles have come a long way in the last 20 years- tires have too. The old Contis still have a couple things in their favor, and I guess this is why they're still available. They offer a 'casual' rider a great value- if I shopped around, I bet I can still get a set, front and rear, for under $150. In today's market, that's cheap! They'll last pretty well- I got a pretty consistent 7-9k on a K112, twice that on an RB-2. They'll work pretty well on whatever you roll them over, if you put them on a bike close to the same age as their design.
And- last but not least- if you get a flat tire, a used Conti twin can be dismounted/remounted with your hands, the sidewall is that soft.

Oh- all that, and people still buy them. They'll make 'em til they sit on the shelf.

I don't think I have them on anything anymore, nothing that runs anyway, but they were a good tire in their day, and still offer a good value for riders who believe in speed limits......careful on the steel-grate bridges though! RB-2s were kinda scary on rain grooves, too.

I use Metzelers now-

.......and I wouldn't even THINK of reversing a tire to get another few miles out of it- even if it wasn't dangerous. I just don't like changing tires that much!

from many reputable sources (none of which are available for quoting right now), it is TIRE technology improvements that have advanced every area of m/c performance over the last 30 years. With better tires with carcasses/sidewalls that would not flex so readily, frames could be made stiffer to cancel out their flexing in corners. With better tires that had greater grip to the pavement, engines could be made to develop greater HP and torque, and thus faster speeds and accelerations. Without the tire advances, a more powerful engine would have only caused the tires to spin and burn out faster. With these better tires, suspensions could now be upgraded to take advantage of the improved grip and wear characteristics. As tires improved, so did most everything else.

The PO installed a new set of Continental Blitz tires on my R60. They still had the molding "whiskers" on the tread at purchase. They are a directional tire, and the sidewalls seem quite stiff.

How would the experts here rate this tire? What kind of life should I expect? Any other particulars/comments on the Blitz?

I run Metzler M3 Sportecs on my other bike, and am very pleased with Metler tires.

Thanks for all the input, humourous and serious. What's a Lasertec?

http://arizonamoto.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SWMT&Category_Code=ME33
0039 & 0007 for most airheads.