uneven front tire wear -bearings?

[peels]

hey all, noticed my front tire has uneven wear, biased to the left side. I attributed this wear to the fact that on my way to work in the morning, there is a 90 degree left hander, with a stop sign before i turn onto the highway. I am normally speeding into that corner, and braking through it while still leaned. On the way home, there's only 20 yds before that going right, so no speed carried, or braking.

Im sure its ok, Ive heard of it on BIG bikes...


but to be safe I checked the front wheel bearings when I last had the bike apart because of it 500 miles ago....no play, quiet. Checked again this mornin(still on bike though) Well, I'm taking a ride up into N. Michigan next week, and its bugging me a bit.



maybe just replace...at only 28,000 miles...? If so, found a pic of them it looks like a normal job to me. take rings out and push or drive them out?

couldn't find much here with a search, it doesn't seem to be a common failure, just a maintenance item.

[CycleRob]

peels, Two talking points:

1--Are you riding on a lot of back roads? They have a natural crown where it is high in the middle and lower on both road edges, effectively wearing out left-of-center on the front tire.

2--Most riders do not realize it but they have a preference for cornering one way over the other. It could be center mass it not on center line. For me, a rock solid right winger, I enjoy sharp left turns slightly more on my current 2009 F800ST. The chicken strips on the left of the front tire are slightly narrower than the right side strip. The bike's belt tensioner eccentric adjuster assembly is supposed to maintain perfect alignment, and I am now curious how close it really is.
3--I doubt the wheel bearings are the cause. Mine were solid and quiet at 43K miles. Replacing them is easy with a wheel bearing remover http://www.motionpro.com/product/08-0269 That is the best one made . . . used it often for years in a shop environment. Installing the bearings requires the proper 1/2" drive socket to drive in the outer race, then the axle and spacer tube for alignment when installing the 2nd bearing. You could just bang them out with a sharp edged drift pin and brute edge loading forces, but be careful about hitting your hands!

Straying off topic . . . On every bike with a chain drive, it is very likely that the front and rear wheels are not in alignment, let alone be in perfect alignment. Part of the misalignment is, after taught string checking and setting the alignment on many race bike setups is in the factory stamped-in alignment marks. Even expensive Ducati bikes miss the marks. Shaft drive bikes can have very slight mis-alignment, sometimes engineered-in intentionally (BMW).

BTW, I performed a string alignment at a years past BMW Bash in New York after the Ducati rider mentioned it cornered differently going right and going left. The ride day was over so I got the string from my truck's toolbox and we checked it out. Found that the adjuster marks were matched good but there was quite a bit of wheel alignment error. Together we patiently corrected it and he took it for a ride. The wide eyes and smile on his face upon returning said it all.
OK, back on topic

[riceburner]

peels, Two talking points:

1--Are you riding on a lot of back roads? They have a natural crown where it is high in the middle and lower on both road edges, effectively wearing out left-of-center on the front tire.

This - most UK bikes have the right side of tyres wear slightly faster for this reason.

Do you have any pics?

[peels]

indeed, gentlemen...

cyclerob, you are probably correct on your explanation of corner preference. I was thinking about that when I posted...... I dropped my bike turning right YEARS ago. (slow speed on paint, but still) I put a LOT more miles on my bike in last year than I ever have in any previous year, tons of backroads trips. Makes sense.

nothing to see here..... bearings are totally fine, gettin a new front tire soon, and movin on

big shaft drive fan, vs chain....

i forgot to take a pic riceburner.

[Keppelj]

Politics aside, and for whatever reason, I think at least some of us are better cornering one way or the other. During a past auto racing obsession someone pointed out that I cornered better right than left. Never occurred to me. On the roadster though, much more confident/comfortable laying into right-handlers.

[gregor]

Different kinds of tyres have worn differently on my bike. Maybe for the reasons above. Nothing to worry about I'd say.

[lcarlson]

Another factor is that in places where you drive on the right side of the road, left turns are actually longer than right turns of equal radius, since you're riding the OUTSIDE of the left-handers. Small difference, but over time....

[Rainroad]

I agree with the fact that left turns are longer than right turns. Also, the roads are usually crowned; higher in the center so the contact patch averages further to the left side of the tire. My PR4 GTs and previously used PR3 and PR2 wore in a similar manner. The left side starts to wear smooth, then the center, then the right. This much wear is not safe for a MC tire but occurred during a mountain road trip. When I returned after 300 miles in the Smokeys the front tire was fairly slick with no more than an inch wide strip of tread left near each sidewall. The dual compound tire had worked well. The rider (me) had just tested the tire a bit too long. I got 10K from that front tire. The best I have managed from a rear tire (on a R1150RT) is 9,000 so far.
I am considering changing to a less expensive tire brand but I may be spoiled by the great handling of the PR4 GT. the PR4 GT rear (170/60 X 17) are $201 each locally. Any suggestions?

[peels]

Another factor is that in places where you drive on the right side of the road, left turns are actually longer than right turns of equal radius, since you're riding the OUTSIDE of the left-handers. Small difference, but over time....

never crossed my mind.

"the more you know"

ive been thinking about this while riding, and another thing Iv'e noticed... at least personally. Fear of sliding into oncoming traffic. left handers, im in a ditch. right handers, im a hood ornament. all subliminal, but i noticed it.

FYI New tire going on in the morning. I'm leaving for Michigan Friday, and My wife and best friend both made me feel bad about the bald strip.

[machew01]

Another factor is that in places where you drive on the right side of the road, left turns are actually longer than right turns of equal radius, since you're riding the OUTSIDE of the left-handers. Small difference, but over time....

I've noticed on a number of different motorcycles (from different manufacturers) that when the front tire lasts a full life, the left side of the tire will display more wear than the right. Of course, this makes perfectly good sense. Where people drive on the right side of the road (like most of us do in North Carolina), left turns cover more ground than right turns.

mac

[Boxer]

Mac, also I've noticed that in NC they put a lot of really abrasive stuff in the asphalt mix and tires wear a lot faster on those roads. That's why I ride REALLY fast across NC to get to Virginia and West "By God" Virginia.