So I've scoured the forum, and others..... and I hear all these reasons for my front tire to wear on the left much more than the right. Right looks good with lots of tread. I read the crown in the road, turning left is longer than right, etc, etc. I get it. Both true. But MOST of my riding is straight up. And my rear tire wears evenly. so I don't buy the crown and so on. I ride a 2003 1800R with spokes. (Looking for some cast rims for it). I'm thinking it has to be something in the forks, alignment, something. I have my tires changed at a local large shop, reputable. I don't visually see anything out of align and the bike doesn't pull left or right. Cruses fine, straight down the road. I do ride probably a little more aggressive than some but less than others. I don't baby it but I'm not racing either. I thought I read one that someone changed their fork springs to the progressives (guessing 11-1520's). I don't want to go through the expense if it's not going to fix the issue. So I figured I'd come ask the experts. I need to replace my front again so before I go buy a tire I prefer to figure out the issue. I did get over 10K on my Metzler 888, back tire still has a lot of life. Front has a spot where the threads are now showing. Found it when I was leaving the office, walked up to my bike and noticed a colored spot on my front tire, looked closer and found threads. Like I said earlier, right side has a lot of tread, not new looking but far from worn looking. That side would easily go another 10K plus. Anyone have the same experience and found the issue? Before I buy a tire, any recommendations aside from the 888? I do like them. They stick well, ride good and I think wear well if my wear was normal on the front. TIA
I've searched, haven't found an answer, front tire wear
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Yes, it's all those factors you don't believe are causing the uneven wear pattern.
If your forks weren't aligned properly, the brake rotors would be grinding very very loudly so much you'd hear that over the bike and your pads would be worn uneven as well
If your wheel wasn't aligned properly, your rotors would be grinding loudly and you'd hear it etc....
You said it yourself, the bike tracks straight so it's not an alignment issue
What tires are you using, what pressures are you running and how often do you check the pressures? Some brands are more likely to wear uneven than others, tire pressures being too low or too high are the most common cause of uneven wear
If your forks weren't aligned properly, the brake rotors would be grinding very very loudly so much you'd hear that over the bike and your pads would be worn uneven as well
If your wheel wasn't aligned properly, your rotors would be grinding loudly and you'd hear it etc....
You said it yourself, the bike tracks straight so it's not an alignment issue
What tires are you using, what pressures are you running and how often do you check the pressures? Some brands are more likely to wear uneven than others, tire pressures being too low or too high are the most common cause of uneven wear
Forgive me for being lazy or redundant (not reading everything in those long posts 😜), but those of us who live in countries that drive on the right, the increased wear on the left side of our (especially front) motorcycle tires is explained for that reason, that you take a much longer arc on turns and at intersections when turning left than turning right, not to mention the crown in the road that adds to left side wear, both front and rear.
You can’t do much about that wear on the left side of your tires, because of what I wrote in my earlier post – the longer arc on left turns, but you can counteract a little bit of the wear caused by the crown of the road, if you try to ride on the right slope of the wheel rut, if you know what I mean😜
Tire pressure is hugely important, both for tire life, safety and handling, even gas mileage. I run at around 40 psi rear and 38 front. As far as where your ride on the road, invariably, I’m all over the place, dodging tar snakes, potholes, evading distracted drivers who don’t care or see me.😊 I was just giving him the geometry of it, that you’re going to have more tire wear on the left side. And I’m sure that our partners who live in countries like Australia, UK, Japan will confirm (if they’ve noticed) that there’s more tire wear on the right side of their tires, since they drive on the left.
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Here's one more way to know that it's not just your bike or just the VTX....you see this same question on EVERY motorcycle forum. I was on several Harley boards and a Victory board and they all had the same left side wear and even saw a right side wear thread from friends from across the pond in England. So weather you want to believe the crown of the road or left turns longer or other theories aren't the real causes....they probably are the real causes
2002 VTX1800R Lowered 2" Rhinehardt Flush Cut, Brown County X with Flames Air Box Cover
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Now that’s a fancy graphic! One guy actually showed by trigonometry that it has to be the left turns more than the crown of the road because the wear is too far from the center of the tread to all be because of the crown of the road. So the crown of the road is part of it, but the main cause of the uneven tread wear is left turn arcs being longer.
In any case, the OP doesn’t have to be worried that it’s his bike or his riding habits. It’s a universal problem. I guess one way around it is to spend half your time riding in the UK 😊
The true indicator of what causes tire wear is friction. And the wear ONLY occurs where friction is present. When you look at where the wear is on left side of tire, lean the bike over until the contact with the ground matches the wear spot. THIS is the approximate lean angle of your bike when you take a curve and cause the friction that scuffs off a little rubber. It’s just that simple. Wear only occurs when there is contact.
hmm one thing I am curious about he says the rear tire doesn't wear like his front tire does, and everyone I have ever talked to says that the front tire outlasts the rear tire by 2 to 1 or more so why is his being replaced more often. granted I don't know if he replaces the front more then the back, or even at a 1 to 1 rate. But I am curious with spoked wheels if the spokes are not tight enough? or too tight can it affect the tire?
2002 VTX1800R Lowered 2" Rhinehardt Flush Cut, Brown County X with Flames Air Box Cover
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I have gone thru more rear tires than front.
I guess that had to do with geometry of bike lowered in rear and stock on front till the last set of tires went on, changed tube seals, and shorter springs.
2002 VTX1800R Lowered 2" Rhinehardt Flush Cut, Brown County X with Flames Air Box Cover
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darkside would be a tight fit under my fender. It would give WYFY a less harsh ride.
“WiFi” or “wifey”? 😜
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Here's my thought. 1) measuring from the top triple tree to the axle bolt on each side to see if it's the same. You might, MIGHT, need work on the forks. But here's the my other thought. When you ride you hold balance the bike straight up and down. So look at the road you're riding on. If you notice no road, except maybe a primary freeway, is flat. Every road has a crown to it for drainage. I'm saying that the road is crowned, bowed, arched from the center line. So while you're riding completely upright you're bike is riding on an angled road. I've kinda noticed this on my rear tire. The only thing I could do to try and fight it is to get hard rubber tires.
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