They installed my front tire backwards. How much does it matter?

[FrameMount1200]

My local independent shop (two guys; the owner and one employee) installed my new front tire opposite the directional arrow. As much as it's a pain for all involved, I think I have to take it in and ask him to make it right. But I'm still curious: how much does it matter? The tire must be designed to sipe water in one specific direction, but I wonder if it matters with the tire's structure or contact material.

The thing is, it looks right intuitively (to me at least) but everywhere I've checked, including on the markings on the sidewall, it actually is backwards.

The tire is a Michelin Commander 21 90/90

[kitabel]

The carcass is biased to resist braking action (since it sees no other).
The rear tire is biased to resist acceleration.

[brucstoudt]

it's not correct.i would take it back.the directional arrow can't be argued,it's obvious.

[Tomcatt]

Originally Posted by brucstoudt

it's not correct.i would take it back.the directional arrow can't be argued,it's obvious.

+1
Go back and get it installed correctly. It matters because of how the tread rubber is lapped and how the tread pattern disperses water.

[Toejam503]

Hydroplaning would be the biggest concern.

[wolfryder]

Bring it back and get it put on acording to the arrow on the tire it will matter in the long run

[Andy56]

In the UK when the vehicle goes for its annual test the wording is the tyre must be fitted in accordance to the instructions on the sidewall.

What I did when I took my wheels in for new tyres was put an arrow on the brake disc for clarity.

[BKB]

I hope you don't need to ride in the rain a lot. But yes, get it put on the right direction. The Commanders are not good at braking on wet pavement. I was running a 110x19 & had to be very, VERY careful to not lock the front under any slow speed, wet conditions. The rear would slip under normal acceleration from a stop, also. I've put over 200,000 miles on 3 Sportsters in the last 20 years & the Michelin Commander IIs were the only tire I ever had that issue with. They cornered well, wet or dry, & lasted for about 12,000 miles, but I only used the one pair, when they were first newly available. Did not appreciate having to change my braking habits because of a tire choice. Nothing but Metzeler 880s & 888s for me, since then.

[Stairman]

I've never had the experience of riding on a reverse mounted tire so I can't say. What I will say is there has to be a good reason for the tire companies to go to the trouble of printing the arrow. I would take it back.

[bustert]

+1 on the hydro-planning issue. the pattern is supposed to point downward in a "V" shape.
as far as resistance to brake and acceleration, not so much.
do not think it is so much an issue with a mc but auto world makes a diff. direction tires run in reverse will get less miles. there are three types of patterns and each has +/-'s.
most race cars use directional for performance. a lot has to do with the environment in which the tire is run.
on mc tires, it makes a diff between running say a front on a rear position. been there done that because i was forced to do so. smoked that tire in 3k miles.
way back when, tires were universal more or less.