I've got a question. If you were to ride backwards for 5000 miles on the original 407F tire, would it still cup?
I hate to say this, since by now everyone on the site most likely thinks I'm one of those nutcases who see's conspiracies everywhere, but I don't believe for one moment that someone at Dunlop seriously thought the front tire pattern should be opposite of the rear tire pattern (might be a good idea on a four wheel drive to allow better traction in reverse though). Let me propose another theory. Folks familiar with these tires know that there is a little arrow molded into the sidewall of a motorcycle tire that indicates the proper direction for mounting that tire. What if the real problem is that they made the molds for the tires with the arrow pointing the wrong way? So now they have a huge pile of tires where the tread design and the rotation arrows do not match properly. What do you do in that instance?
1. Look the other way and hope nobody notices your screwup (that seems to be a very popular choice these days).
2. Accept the fact that you screwed up and tell the boss you just caused the company to lose a few million dollars (not a very popular choice at all).
3. Advise the customer to ignore the rotation arrows. (I somehow think the legal department would have a big problem with this one.)
4. Mount the tires per the rotation arrows even though that means the tread is backward which will compromise the life of the tire and possibly also compromise the traction characteristics.
5. Quit your job and let the next guy worry about it.
If you read the dealer letter from the MoCo on this issue, you will note that they specifically mention NOT mounting the 407F backward to solve the problem. If you search through Department of Transportation regulations you will probably find the reason why they will not now or at any time recommend mounting tires with the arrows backwards. I wonder, though, if you were to take a dremel tool and grind off the arrows

......................
Jerry

btw, I think Dunlop and MoCo chose options number 1 and number 4.