Uneven front tire wear

Alberto

Alberto

Joined
Sep 4, 2019
Messages
422
Age
49
Location
Georgia
Bike
ST1100
Still haven't replaced tires, my fault. Going to do it soon. But noticed, that front tire worn really unevenly- left side is gone, but right side looks relatively good. Steering is great, bike rides straight without holding handlebars. That's odd. Can it be tire manufacturer defect?
IMG_20221106_161441.jpg
 
Hard to see the one side due to the shadow affect from sun.

But -- What color blue is you bike. Is that a stock color or just the sun light making it look like a lighter metallic blue
 
Typical for right-side-of-the-road riding. You actually have three wear patterns. The left, worn side, the right worn side, and the beveled center, caused by the road crown. You likely corner harder to the left.
 
It's normal in countries that ride on the right hand side of the road.

Uneven front tire wear | Tires/Wheels

I notice that my front tire is wearing unevenly. It is wearing out on one side only. How is that possible? I am I riding crooked? My wife always told my I was a little off balance:):)
www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com

Uneven Tire wear! | Tires/Wheels

Just got back from a 3k mile ride through NV and modly in CA. The wear on the front tire was not even! THe left side of the front tire was almost down to the cords but the right side was still good for anothe 1500 miles! Any clews, ideas? One more thing the bike turns to the right and almost...
www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com
 
Larry Fine said:
Typical for right-side-of-the-road riding.
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I thought about it first, but in that case rear tire should have the same wear unevenness as front? But it is absolutely symmetrical, even chicken strips same on both sides...
 
Alberto said:
I thought about it first, but in that case rear tire should have the same wear unevenness as front? But it is absolutely symmetrical, even chicken strips same on both sides...
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I have the same experience. Braking may be involved.
 
From what I have seen on my bikes it is most likely the tire. If all tires wore the same on a particular bike I would say it is the bike but if you try another brand and it wears different then it is the tire not the bike. I have seen a lot of uneven wear on my ST1300 but the new Bridgestone T32 GTs wore very evenly with little to no feathering or cupping.
 
This is my first set of tires on ST, so I'll be able to see difference with other brand in other 25K km) Going to test Turkish Anlas tire, quite easier to find my size of this manufacturer here in Georgia
 
My left hand side of the front tire always wears faster than the right side, say 2:1 faster.
So what I did this time was when the left side was at about 3mm and the right side was at 5-6 mm, I reversed the front tire.
Now it looks like both sides are at 2 mm after riding about another 3000 Km's since I reversed the tire.
Never actually measured the tread depth, all measurement taken are approximate.
 
Al Gully said:
My left hand side of the front tire always wears faster than the right side, say 2:1 faster.
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The same for me, on the right side 3mm of treads left, on the left side -2mm i think. I wouldn't reverse my tire even though if I noticed this issue sooner, because my tire has a directional pattern.

Looks like it is common issue, didn't know that.
 
Alberto said:
color was stolen from BMW R1200CL, capri blue metallic, if I remember right ) Hope nobody will punish me here for this apostasy :)
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I like that shade of blue. The h
whole bike looks good.

As for punishment. Free to choose to be different.
 
Alberto said:
The same for me, on the right side 3mm of treads left, on the left side -2mm i think. I wouldn't reverse my tire even though if I noticed this issue sooner, because my tire has a directional pattern.
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Even if it did not have a directional tread pattern, you still have little tread on one side. Tire wear is not linear, you get fewer miles on the last few mm than on the first few. This means that even with uneven abrasion due to riding patterns your thinner side will wear more quickly.
 
SMSW said:
Even if it did not have a directional tread pattern, you still have little tread on one side. Tire wear is not linear, you get fewer miles on the last few mm than on the first few. This means that even with uneven abrasion due to riding patterns your thinner side will wear more quickly.
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Go on then fella, explain that to me, please bear in mind I'm a bit slow.
Why does the last bit of tread wear quicker?
I'd have thought that the added movement of deeper tread would show greater wear when a tyre was new. Also when the tyre wears, especially when travelling in a straight'ish line, the contact would be greater from squaring off. Although I refer you to the point I alluded to earlier.
Upt'North.
 
Upt' North said:
Go on then fella, explain that to me..
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I've read this in a couple of places. As the rubber tread blocks wear down, there is less mass behind them, and they squirm on the pavement more than a new tire. I have not graphed the tread depth vs. miles for my own tires, but at least a couple of other guys here have said they noticed the same thing. John Heath pointed out that the smaller diameter tire will do more revs per mile.
 
Upt' North said:
The last point does make some sense.
Upt'North.
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Yeah, but it's wrong. I was wrong. You got me thinking - I'm repeating something I have not verified is true, so I emailed customer support at PIrelli Tire*. This is the response I got:

"Thank you for reaching out. Tires do not wear linearly over their service life. Typically, tires wear slightly quicker earlier in their service life and wear at a slower rate as the tread becomes more worn. The tread rubber represents a significant amount of weight, so as the tread wears, the rolling resistance of the tire generally decreases, helping slow the rate of wear. If we can be of any further assistance, please let us know."
Pirelli Consumer Affairs
Consumer.Affairs@Pirelli.com
1-800-PIRELLI (option 2)

*I tried Michelin, but the website that came up seemed to be all advertising offered no customer support contact info.

Edit: 11/10/22 - Just got an answer from Conti and waiting for one from the Michelin email I sent yesterday.
Continental said:
"Treadwear is not linear; tires tend to wear faster when new, with the wear slowing as the tires compress. So, the first 2/32" of wear will be much faster than the last 2/32" of wear. However, there is not set calculation for the rate of wear as this will vary by driver, vehicle set up and local road condition."

Edit 11/14/22 - After two emails, Michelin would not answer my question - "Is tire wear linear..." This is what they said:
Your treadwear is determined by the following factors:
- Type of vehicle (heavier vehicles will wear tires more rapidly)
- Driving habits (aggressive driving accelerates wear)
- Driving style (in-town driving results in quicker wear rate than highway driving)
- Geographical location (tires wear quicker in a mountainous region)
- How vehicle is maintained (regular alignment/suspension checks)
- How tires are maintained (proper air pressure and rotations)
A tire will have less rolling resistance when is worn out in comparison with a new or half way worn tire.
Note that two different customer service people answered exactly the same...suggesting they looked up 'tire wear' on their computer and knee jerk printed out what it said - ignoring my question.
 
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SMSW said:
I've read this in a couple of places. As the rubber tread blocks wear down, there is less mass behind them, and they squirm on the pavement more than a new tire. I have not graphed the tread depth vs. miles for my own tires, but at least a couple of other guys here have said they noticed the same thing. John Heath pointed out that the smaller diameter tire will do more revs per mile.
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I’m glad you thought about it with a little more detail. The squirming definition makes no sense whatsoever especially if you’ve ever ridden a universal or a knobby tread tire on the street. A new tire with a lot of tread squirms a whole lot more because the taller blocks or knobs more easily bend and deform compared to a worn knob or no knob at all. As knobs wear down they become less likely to squirm.
 
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