Uneven wear on front tire

[rongway]

Hello All,

I have a brand new Sprint ST and have noticed that the front tire wears uneven. The wear on the tire is off-center and if you are looking at the front of the bike, the wear is more on the right side than the left. If I measure from the edge of the rim to the wear pattern on the right and left, there is over 1/2 inch difference. I took it to the dealer for the 500 mile service and was told that there was nothing wrong with the wear. The mechanic checked it out and said that he couldn't find anything wrong with the setup or alignment.

The bike seems to ride normally and doesn't display any riding issues (wobbles, shakes, weird noises, etc...), but I've never seen this on any other bike I've ever owned.

Has anyone else had this same issue?

Thanks,
Andrew

[deller4210]

I have an 02 ST and at 500 miles front tire wear, for my kind of riding is barely discernible. I suppose this is based on the brand and type of tires installed but I assume they are stock as delivered and should wear slower than a true sport tire. Is this wear better described as cupping, with high points at the trailing edge of the tread or is it truly off to one side? :-D

[dolson]

The BT57's that came with my '02 as stock fitment were garbage.
Within the first 500 miles the front started to cup. With a very light touch you could feel it shimmy and it got worse from there. The dealer rebalanced and all but no go. I burned them off as fast as I could and went with the Z6's. I wouldn't expect too much out of the stock tires.

Don

[kwellzz]

I would think it is more due to the pressures that may have been in the tire. The wear on the right side is due to the camber of the road and can be accelerated if overloaded or running improper pressures. Chip and seal roads are particularly tough on tires as well.

[deller4210]

dolson, mine was delivered with BT010's so I have no experience with the BT57s, but I got 6000 miles out of them. Subsequently I replaced them with BT020's and again another 6000 miles. I just installed the BT021's but have not put many miles on them as of yet but so far they seem fine. I failed to mention the Michelins that only delivered 3000 miles or the Pirelli Diablo Corsas that vibrated like mad. I wonder what tires came stock on wrongways 06 Sprint? Wrongway, what's the stock tire on your bike?
:-D

[rongway]

The stock tire are BT020's. The issue I'm having is not cupping, but wear like I am in a constant lean. It doesn't seem to matter what road I'm on, or if I am riding on the right or left side (as to the issue of road camber). I have had many bikes and have been riding for over 18 years and thi is the first time I have seen this. I know there will be times when a tire will wear a little uneven, say when you do a 600-700 trip in the fast lane, but this is wearing this way every time I look at it. Also, the wearing would be indicative of riding in the slow lane, which I do very infrequently. 2 miles or 50, it's always the same. Just wanted to see if there is something I should be aware of in the Sprints.

[ This message was edited by: rongway on 2007-07-06 03:36 ]

[airrider03]

rongway, do you ride with the saddlebags?
If yes, do you pay attention to reasonably balancing them?
I remember on a long trip I stuffed two water bottles into one side and rode off. It threw the bike off balance, especially around corners where your vertical g's increase on one side much greater than the other.

[bobw3592]

rongway, here is a link to a tire wear article with some interesting photos and comments. Good luck.

Bob

CLICKY HERE

[ This message was edited by: bobw3592 on 2007-07-06 07:20 ]

[airrider03]

Bob, very informative article. I think it's spot on with the explanation. Like rongway says...(from the pilots position, not head on)) his left side is wearing more than the right.

So what we need to do is find a partner in a country that drives on the wrong side of the road and swap bikes so we can maximize our tire wear.
:

[rongway]

Bob,

Thanks for the article. I had read a number of others, but never with this explanation. This makes total sense now.

~Andrew