I’ve just started to find some new tyres for my Cali 1100
When checking the bike hand book I found that it says that “the front tyre must be fitted with the arrow pointing against the direction of rotation”
On my bike the arrow faces the direction of rotation.
So question is what’s the reason and does it make any difference?
PS
I can remember reading somewhere that not all tyres will fit the Cali as they fit the swing arm. Anyone know where that info is 'cos I can’t find it tris2014-07-11 13:18:39
This has happened to me twice now on two separate California’s. Once with Pirelli Sport Demon rear on a 99 Cali EV and i cannot remember the other make that was fitted to my current 97 Cali 1100 when i bought it but that fouled the drive shaft tube as well. Took it off immediately and binned it.Both tyres were the correct specified size though and yet still fouled the drive tube particularly with a pillion.Now have Metzeler ME 880 Marathons fitted front and rear on my Cali 1100i and they have been superb in all respects and definitely NO FOULING!
Just ordereda pair of pilot actives today for the wifes stone 1100 cally, what is this about putting the front tyre on backwards, first Ive heard of this.
Hi T Muncher, there was a thread a while ago about this and to be honest after reading it , it sort of made sense if it is accurate and more to the point still relevant with the advancement of tyres since it was written!!!Basically the rear tyre is designed primarily to supply forward thrust however the front tyre’s primary objective is to supply steering and maximum braking effort.Now where you have a tyre that is of such a size that depending on application could be fitted to the rear wheel on a small bike but may be the front tyre on a larger one then that same tyre has different roles to play hence the different rotational direction ie on the front it has to supply the same level of adhesion when being braked as it would if on the rear and being forced to push the bike forward.If i have picked this up wrong then someone please correct me.For me, always running bigger bikes i always just follow directional arrow for front and rear and nothing has gone wrong so far.The handbook for my 97 Cali gives same advice re reversing direction on front wheel but says:- NB adhere to these instructions unless tyre manufacturer says otherwise. My bike is now 17 years old and things have moved on massively in tyre construction and on looking at my front wheel now, the Metzeler Marathon has FRONT stamped on in large print and direction of rotation is direction of travel so i will leave things as they are which is exactly what my handbook instructs me to do ie follow the tyre manufactureres advice!.
Older tyres could be fitted front or rear and then you fitted with the direction arrow reversed to allow for braking forces on the front tyre.Modern tyres are marked front or rear in my experience and in this case the direction arrow goes with rotation both front and rear.Edited to say just as Dazguzzi says.
iandunmore2014-07-14 13:26:09
Metzler Laser front and Marathon rear is an excellent combination for handling and longevity on any Cali EV or similar.If it’s a later model with the steel rims and without an exact width match for the rear (150???) a size down rather than up will give the better handling.
Agreed.My Cali 100i came with a decent Battleaxe front tyre but a knackered rear - looked as if he used it for drag racing or only ever rode on Motorways, virtually smooth in the centre and immaculate toward the side-walls.New Battleaxe on the rear fits snugly, minimal clearance at the drive shaft, but handles brilliantly, good in the wet, too.
