Flipping front rim?

[shell015]

I do a fair amount of trackdays and like to flip my tires to help even the wear and get more tracktime on a set of tires. On my previous track bike (Daytona 675) the front rim was symetrical on both sides, so all I had to do was pull the axle, turn the rim around and remount. The S1000RR rim looks symetrical, but with the ABS ring on the left, if I got another ABS ring for the right side, would I be able to flip the rim instead of unmounting/remounting the tire?

[S1000RR ROB]

i would highly suggest that u dont do this the wheel is directional....


and even more to the point your tyres are directional aswell and will not perform as they did and at worst de laminate or completely fall apart...

DO NOT DO THIS

[Karlb]

if the wheel bolts up correctly other than the obvious traction differences in having the tread pattern reversed there should be no issue,heck my last bike RSVF Factory had the front wheel bolted up backwards from the factory (tire was on corrrectly though), didnt notice it till the first tire change, decided to leave it that way till the front brake pads needed replacing as the brake pads will need to rebed in when you swap the wheel around, this was the consensus with myself and the service guys down at AF1 racing , but as the OP asked the biggest question would be is the wheel symetrical as to bolting up swapped around?? all that said I also had a shop spoon a front tire on backwars on me once and didnt look at when I left the shop for the 100+ mile ride home (I was running late and in a hurry), bike just didnt feel planted the whole way and I couldnt get my corning down smoothly running hyperspeeds home (really wondered what was wrong with me that I was riding that way) pulled in the garage, hopped off the bike and looked back while walking away, saw the problem immediately!!! last time I had a shop do a tire change unless it was during a long road trip and it had to be done

[shell015]

Originally Posted by S1000RR ROB

i would highly suggest that u dont do this the wheel is directional....


and even more to the point your tyres are directional aswell and will not perform as they did and at worst de laminate or completely fall apart...

DO NOT DO THIS

I've been flipping tires for years doing trackdays and never had an issue. Almost everyone else I know who does trackdays also flip their tires, including control riders/racers too. The only thing the tread does is help cut water if it's raining, which wouldn't work properly if the tire is flipped. In regards to the wheel being directional, other than the ABS ring on the left side, what is it about the wheel that means it can't run backwards? I'm thinking it's directional only because of the ABS ring and they don't want someone to mount it incorrectly. I dunno.

[LiterBoy]

Originally Posted by shell015

I...In regards to the wheel being directional, other than the ABS ring on the left side, what is it about the wheel that means it can't run backwards? I'm thinking it's directional only because of the ABS ring and they don't want someone to mount it incorrectly. I dunno.

I seem to recall both my CBRs having directional wheels, but no ABS. They were also symmetrical. In fact, one was a 1993 CBR-F, so I suppose it must have something to do with the construction of the wheel itself--there was no ABS on any Honda sportbike at that time, as I recall.

I have no idea what might make an otherwise symmetrical wheel unidirectional, however. It's a very interesting question.

[shell015]

Originally Posted by LiterBoy

I seem to recall both my CBRs having directional wheels, but no ABS. They were also symmetrical. In fact, one was a 1993 CBR-F, so I suppose it must have something to do with the construction of the wheel itself--there was no ABS on any Honda sportbike at that time, as I recall.

I have no idea what might make an otherwise symmetrical wheel unidirectional, however. It's a very interesting question.

I think a lot of bikes have symetrical front rims. As mentioned above, the 675 rim was symetrical and I never had issues with running it backwards, tire and rim, on the track. I'm not a slow poke by any means either and run in the Advanced group with NESBA. Come to think of it, my 1050 Tiger also has a symetrical front rim and dumb me mounted the rim/tire backwards prior to a 6000 mile ride in 9 days (visited western USA) in 2008 and didn't realize until I got home that I had screwed up. Fortunately there was no rain during the trip, otherwise it could have been bad for traction. No issues otherwise.

[AMRRA12]

I have no idea about the rim but race and DOT race tire can be flipped, as a matter of fact Dunlop puts a "directional arrow" on there slicks for the soul purpose to avoid people calling and asking "what direction do my tires go on?"

if a tire can be flipped is determined more by "belt pattern" than anything (note) if you flip a DOT race (on the track) and your in the rain you're going to have a water evacuation issue due to reversed tire siping (groves)


street tire should never be flipped the belt patters are to varied and in most cases run diagonal to the rotation to stiffen up the center for longer life

[edchung]

Regarding tire-flipping, it is dependent on the tire!

I know from experience that an American Dunlop D211GP-A Rear *CAN NOT* be run backwards safely - it de-laminates very quickly under heavy acceleration. I also know that a Euro D211GP did not have this problem, so it's something about the way the D211GP-A's are manufactured.

I haven't had a problem running-backwards the D211GP's or any Pirelli's that I useed in the past - it's a great way to get extra days on Thunderhill Raceway since it's mostly left-side wear - the D211GP-A is the first time I had a problem.

Lesson is: ask the tire manufacturer if you can flip that specific tire before you flip it.

[DanQ]

Originally Posted by AMRRA12

I have no idea about the rim but race and DOT race tire can be flipped, as a matter of fact Dunlop puts a "directional arrow" on there slicks for the soul purpose to avoid people calling and asking "what direction do my tires go on?"

if a tire can be flipped is determined more by "belt pattern" than anything (note) if you flip a DOT race (on the track) and your in the rain you're going to have a water evacuation issue due to reversed tire siping (groves)


street tire should never be flipped the belt patters are to varied and in most cases run diagonal to the rotation to stiffen up the center for longer life

Listen to this advice. Talk to the tire folks. There are tires out there that can be flipped, and tires that do not do well with it.

Originally Posted by edchung

Regarding tire-flipping, it is dependent on the tire!

I know from experience that an American Dunlop D211GP-A Rear *CAN NOT* be run backwards safely - it de-laminates very quickly under heavy acceleration. I also know that a Euro D211GP did not have this problem, so it's something about the way the D211GP-A's are manufactured.

I haven't had a problem running-backwards the D211GP's or any Pirelli's that I useed in the past - it's a great way to get extra days on Thunderhill Raceway since it's mostly left-side wear - the D211GP-A is the first time I had a problem.

Lesson is: ask the tire manufacturer if you can flip that specific tire before you flip it.

There are in fact some Dunlop tires that don't do well at all with being flipped. I've discussed this with Dave M. and posted on other forums about it, but searches are not working.

Please talk to the tire guy at the track.

[MotoMadMan]

Everyone is giving you great advice. Check with the manufacturer... Pirelli DOTs or Pirelli slicks have a zero degree belt so they are ok to flip.

I worked at a shop and saw a rear dunlop tire that was shredded from being mounted backwards. The guy had it happen on the freeway and luckily made it to the side of the road before it made him crash. I definitively wouldn't want anyone to find that one out the hard way.