Uneven Tire Wear

[cyberwolf009]

It looks like I'm going to be in the market for new tires sooner rather than later. I just noticed some uneven wear on the rear (PR4) and that lead me to the realization that the tires are older than I thought. The rear tire is worn much more on the left side than it is on the right. Is there anything beside low pressure that I should be investigating that would cause this type of wear?

 

[dduelin]

Michelins can wear like this. Not unusual to see unsymmetrical wear patterns and motorcycles in general wear the left sides more than the right. What is the date on the tires? They are probably not old in the sense of age.

 

[paulcb]

My theory is that, in countries that drive on the right side of the road, motorcycle tires will wear more on the left side than the right because, on average, left turns are much longer and are done at a higher speeds and greater lean angle than right turns. I don't buy the cambered road reason because the wear is too far up the side of the tire to be caused by that. My .02.

 

[Larry Fine]

No, it's reportedly typical in right-side countries due to road crowns and left turns.

 

[Larry Fine]

My .02.

Why don't interstate cloverleaf ramps compensate? And what's wear like in left-side countries?

 

[paulcb]

Why don't interstate cloverleaf ramps compensate? And what's wear like in left-side countries?

They might, if you rode them enough, but I think they are a rare occurrence compared to normal day to day riding on surface streets where left turns are always longer than right turns. Just a theory that I read about a few years ago and makes the most sense to me, compared to others.

 

[cyberwolf009]

What is the date on the tires? They are probably not old in the sense of age.

4814, I believe it was on the rear, so 5 years old. And thanks for the info.

 

[John_Diego]

Try to only make right turns until the tread wear is even

 

[Upt' North]

Why don't interstate cloverleaf ramps compensate? And what's wear like in left-side countries?

As someone who used to work in the vehicle repair market and later when I examined vehicles following serious collisions it was accepted that here in the UK we lived in a "clockwise world", tyre wear, suspension wear etc would usually reinforce that theory.
Upt'North.