Uneven Tire Wear

[SpeedFiend]

Has anyone noticed this on their bikes?

First is the Gen 2 second is the Gen 1, 9k and 11k on them respectively. I haven't been racing NASCAR, so I'm not sure why I'm seeing the left side wearing faster than the right. The rears on both bikes wear even. Do I just have a propensity to turn left? I can't imagine it's solely from being put on the kickstand?



P.S. Yes, I know I need new tires. Yes, I am getting new tires.

[shawnski]

you need new tires... sorry you mentioned that..
could be alignment, bearings are bad, Check that both fork tubes are at the same height in the upper fork bridge.
that is just few i can think for the front tire..
the rear tires mostly is the alignment.. when you adjust the chain make sure it is align correctly..

[pack mule]

My rear always wears a little more on the left, never seen one on the right. The outside of the curve is longer and you can see farther, hence my wear on the left. I can't explain the right though.

[kml]

Motorcycle Tire Wear

cheers
ken

[dadofthree]

That's normal, left hand turn radius is much longer than rights in the US and roads are sloped for drainage.

[lil charlie]

Happens to every bike I've had.

[SpeedFiend]

Ahh that makes sense. It adds up over 10k miles.

[Tufbusa]

You need an A$$ Whoopin for running those tires that far past too thin to be safe!

You obviously favor left hand turns. Everyone has a favorite side and everyone's tires ware more on their favored side both front and rear. Had nothing to do with the crown in the road or the longer turns radius on left turns.

I think most riders (Me included) favor left turns. I favor left turns because I'm so aware of the consequences of a get off and ending up in oncoming traffic. That FORD emblem in the grill of an F350 gets awfully big just before impact!

[E Zurcher]

Done a lot of reading on this subject because I have the same problem with my front tires. I went to a Roadsmart 2 on the front for just this reason. I am not an agressive rider and I commute so I want longer tire life. I'll let you know how it goes on that front.

The explanation at the link posted by kml above makes the most sense to me.

[mysticblu999]

When I wear one side more then the other I simply flip the tire and keep going. LMAO

[Jacobs]

A lot of highway riding...slanted roads for water drain off

[dadofthree]

A lot of highway riding...slanted roads for water drain off

The same thing happened on my bikes as a kid. No shocker here.

[Trout]

...I'm seeing the left side wearing faster than the right.

I've noticed this on my last few bikes (that I kept long enough to wear out front tires). The worst was a 2001 K1200RS. It's not a condition unique to your bike. They all seem to wear on the left for some reason. I researched it once and found a lot of speculation and "expert" opinion.

Don't worry about it. Get new tires and go riding.

[dadofthree]

Alright I'll be a left hand tire wear expert in the US. When we make left hand turns we have to travel much farther than when we turn right. Depending on the typr riding you do a bigger factor might be That roads are designed on a slight grade from center to outside so that water drains off the road. This also caused greater wear on the clutch side of the tires.

[pan]

Yep, slope of road for drainage.
Here in Australia our tyres wear on the right side.

[dadofthree]

Yep, slope of road for drainage.
Here in Australia our tyres wear on the right side.

and your toilets swirl in reverse sorry I couldn't resist

[Tufbusa]

Alright I'll be a left hand tire wear expert in the US. When we make left hand turns we have to travel much farther than when we turn right. Depending on the typr riding you do a bigger factor might be That roads are designed on a slight grade from center to outside so that water drains off the road. This also caused greater wear on the clutch side of the tires.

Have you been drinking again Robert?

If you are actually buying into this "Road Slope" (Which is actually called CAMBER by the way) thingy let me give you some food for thought.

Here in Washington State our roads are designed with a 2% camber for drainage. Lord knows with all the water we get here there is a real need for drainage. I'm fairly sure the rest of the country does about the same (2%). If you have a 10 ft lane 2% means you have two tenths of one foot difference in elevation over a ten foot span which equals to about 2.5 inches. Now consider the elevation change over the width of your front tire which is about 4 inches. The difference is so small you'd need a feeler gauge to measure it.

Think about it Robert, 2.5 inches of elevation change over 10 ft. Do you really think this is going to cause your tire to ware more out on the shoulder. Look at the picture of Ken's example. The cords are showing way out on the shoulder not near the center where you would think if the tire was running on a 2% slope.

Wives tale I tell ya, WIVES TALE!

I'll bet the dude that came up with this theory was testing weed for the state of California when this thought occurred to him!

[dadofthree]

To answer your question , absolutely. It's not a big secret. You are better than I ever gave credit if you ride down the road at a 2% angle friend. You don't, you ride like the rest of us lowly creatures, straight up and down without angle ( in the straights ). Like I said I wore out that side of my bike tires as a kid. You even have a member from down under stating he has the same wear on the opposite side of the tire. I was hoping someone that drives / rides in the other lane would reply.

[E Zurcher]

I believe they ride on the left side in Austrailia. Visit the link, it makes sense. Road camber has very little effect. Visit the link!

Motorcycle Tire Wear

[dadofthree]

I believe they ride on the left side in Austrailia. Visit the link, it makes sense. Road camber has very little effect. Visit the link!

Motorcycle Tire Wear

That was my point. The opposite side of his tire wears sir.