I sent one front tire to the tire shop to get a seal fixed. They gave me it with the tire on back wards and I did not notice until I got home. Is it just a traction thing for it to be place on correctly? If so I'm OK with that since its just the stock Good Year tracker which is not that aggressive anyways.

Is the tire desgned to rotate only one way and is not safe somehow?

 

Yes, it matters........ It is a safety issue. That tire will have less traction, and when in 4wd, could cause your handlebars to pull hard to one side. It might cause an unstable condition and you could loose control or flip your ATV. Not to mention that it looks stupid too. Get it fixed. ---My .02c

 

i would think your fine.. i hear some people turn the tires around during the winter months due to the fact some tires get better traction that way... however i have never done 50 backwards so im not sure

 

With certain tires like the Terracross Radial, I don't think it matters because the tread pattern is the same either way its mounted. But for a MudLite or similar tire, you probably don't want to run it backwards.

 

Get it switched. These tires have a directional tread. It is made to push mud out to the sides. I agree with Jodaanja on the steering issue. It would be one thing if they were both backwards. You would just lose traction.

 

ive know people to turn their tires and run them that way for better forward trction w/out any issues. just break it down and turn over if your worried too much about it, or take it back and them they didint put it back on right.

 

Both fronts have to be frontward, but some people run the back tires backward in snow. not me. As Moose pointed out it clears out the tread when they're the right way.