After I mounted my Continental Road Attack I noticed something...

[powert]

...on the front. There are direction arrows on the sidewall and tread to indicate the direction of rotation. The rear is fine but on the front the direction arrow on the sidewall is pointing in the opposite direction as the arrow on the tread and the tread pattern itself is in the opposite direction as the rear. I think there has been an oops with this and I am going to have to remove and reinstall the tire. Any thoughts or similar experiences?

[wswartzwel]

The arrow on the side wall is the one you use for front tire rotation.


I have seen this on other brands as well.. Side wall arrow pointing the same on the rear as tread arrow, and opposite on the front. Not sure what the arrow in the tread means. I think it has something to do with the directional forces applied to the tire, and the tread splices in manufacturing.... The front and rear tire forces would be opposite, since the rear tire mostly pushes the bike, while the front has its greatest forces slowing the bike when on the brakes..
Would love to know why they do it, as it can be confusing... Again you use the arrows on the sidewall of the tire for rotational direction.

[boxercup]

Greetings,

There is one short explanation.

Don't do this at home! :-))!

Web find:

Rotation and balance marks
One of the more critical marks on a motorcycle tire is the rotation arrow, or arrows. 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.

Another mark to look for when mounting a tire is a painted balance dot, or dots. Most tires are pre-balanced by the manufacturer. They will then put a mark on the tire indicating where the valve stem should line up.

[mullerjd]

That's weird.. I've never seen a tire with the writing up-side-down either

[ckcarr]

The Road Attacks are not for amateurs!

[Bob Hancock]

Reference the front tire....either you have a bad one or I have a bad one cos on my Conti Road Attack the arrow on the side and the arrow in the tread go the same direction and both align with the pointy end of the tread. In your case, the arrow in the tread and the tread are properly aligned. The side arrow is pointing backwards. Continental owes you a new tire although you may be able to keep it for a collectors item. Kinda like a two headed coin.

[ckcarr]

Road Attack or Sport Attack?

My road attacks had proper arrows. The Sport Attacks I installed have the same similar reversed arrows.

[wswartzwel]

My Pirellis have reversed arrows too...

[tominator]

You brake with the front and accelerate with the rear...Sportecs are the same weird directional business.

Tomas

[powert]

Originally posted by ckcarr
Road Attack or Sport Attack?

My road attacks had proper arrows. The Sport Attacks I installed have the same similar reversed arrows.

Road Attack

On a seperate note what pressure should be a good starting point? The sidewall indicates a max of 42 psi. That seems a little high but I know it can differ between manufacturers.

[mullerjd]

I run 34 34 on all my sprotbikes and so far it's been a great combo.

[Bob Hancock]

I've always ran 34/36 on everything until I got the Conti's. The manufacturer strongly recommends 42/42 which sure seems high. So I've been inching up and now am running 38/40 and the tires do fine...no issues best I can tell. I'm hoping the higher pressures will give better mileage.

[Rocklee]

Got up this morning to post the very same post about the Road Attacks and the differing arrows on the front tire. The tread pattern also makes contact in the reverse when only the sidewall directional arrow is used.

[Bob Hancock]

Originally posted by Rocklee
Got up this morning to post the very same post about the Road Attacks and the differing arrows on the front tire. The tread pattern also makes contact in the reverse when only the sidewall directional arrow is used.

This is strange. Both side and tread arrows on my tires point forward, as does the pointy part of the tread when viewed from the top.
PS...go here and look at which way the pointy ends point. This pic tells me they're supposed to both point the same way. Am I right?
http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/motorcycle/themes/motorcycletires/sport/sportattack/contisportattack_en.html

[Rocklee]

The rear pattern flow is as the website photo depicts but my front tire (sidewall directional arrow observed) would be opposite.

[Bob Hancock]

Well then one of us has our front tire mounted the wrong way. Like you, I followed the side arrows for both ends, but the front points the same way as the rear....both as the pic at the Conti site.

[Rocklee]

I think mounting a directional tire backwards might be hazardous to my health!

[Rocklee]

Bob, maybe this is a Conti tire construction mishap. I would like to nail this issue down with them as well.

[Bob Hancock]

If what we have surmised is correct, then Conti has messed up. Who did you buy your tires from? Unless this strangeness is sorted out, I've just mounted my last set of Conti Road Attacks.

[Rocklee]

Got mine from Competition Accessories. Powert seems to have the same issue as mine but I'm not sure whether his front tire would roll in the reverse pattern flow in comparison to the rear tire tread flow.