Uneven Front Tire Wear

[JMHJ]

I've got a new set of tires for this (Dunlop Roadsmart 3), but until last night I guess I was in denial that I've got more going on here than new tires is going to fix (see the steel showing on the left side of the tire). Comments?

I was looking at a couple of fork aligning videos today, and one of my sons has experience with a local guy who is real good at setting up the suspension (and teaching how to). I'm thinking, like if the forks aren't adjusted evenly?

That's a Pirelli Angel GT, for what that's worth.

Uneven Front Tire Wear.jpg

[Burque73]

When you take both hands off does it pull one direction or the other? Not sure if that's the cause, just curious. Both of my bikes pull left just a tad. I can lean off the right side and correct it or keep a little pressure on the right grip. Been that way for years but I've never noticed uneaven wear like that.

Maybe something simple like your riding style. It's easier to make a sharp left turn than a right (for me anyway).

[Grimly]

I used to have uneven wear on the front, the right side all the time.
It was the number of roundabouts on the roads I used, and I'd be in the habit of hoofing it around them (other side of the road, here).
Since I moved to a place with almost no roundabouts on my normal routes, the problem simply doesn't exist.

[JMHJ]

Man, I hope it's as simple as something like that. I don't see it on the rear though.

I didn't even think about the hands off thing, but I had it out for just a bit a few minutes ago (to circulate the oil, move some gas through the carbs and so forth since I can't ride it regular 'til I change that), and it was rock solid straight ahead with no hands.

I wonder if the old brake pads had something to do with it? They were worn different, and kinda weird, especially on the left if I'm not mistaken.

[bwringer]

More wear on the left is perfectly normal, healthy, and expected front tire wear on a motorcycle ridden in the US. You got your money's worth and then some.

Notice Grimly mentioned his wear was on the right... and he's in a country that rides on the opposite side of the road.

Change your tires and rock on.

And next time, maybe change them sooner. That tire was beyond worn out a long time ago.



This has been a very common question on motorcycle fora ever since the first primitive BBS made of sticks and mud dialed in. There are many harebrained theories out there, and much ignorance is spread hand to hand.

In the end, the explanation is pretty simple: you travel a much greater distance on average when you turn left in places where you ride on the right. And the reverse is true in places where you ride on the left.

The solution, of course, is simple; spend half your time riding in the North America, Germany, France, etc. and the other half riding in India, the UK, Japan, Australia, etc.

[Burque73]

Man, I hope it's as simple as something like that. I don't see it on the rear though.

I didn't even think about the hands off thing, but I had it out for just a bit a few minutes ago (to circulate the oil, move some gas through the carbs and so forth since I can't ride it regular 'til I change that), and it was rock solid straight ahead with no hands.

I wonder if the old brake pads had something to do with it? They were worn different, and kinda weird, especially on the left if I'm not mistaken.

Brake pistons may be hanging up on one side and dragging the rotor causing one side to wear out faster. Had that problem on my GS a couple of years ago. The pistons inside the caliper were gummed up. Cleaned and flushed the system and problem solved.

[JMHJ]

Awesome! I'm going to put on the new Dunlop and quit worrying.

I'm going to keep a check on the rotors and that too (sometimes I feel all three of them after a ride, for temp differences; or all the wheels on my 4-wheelers, for that matter, if I suspect a problem). Fluid was clean, but yeah, pistons prob need attention. The new pads felt SO good though.

[bwringer]

FWIW, uneven brake caliper action (whatever its cause or other effects) will NOT cause a bike to pull to one side or the other, or make the tire wear weird or anything like that. Otherwise, the millions of motorcycles with single front rotors could not exist.

As noted, your front tire wear pattern is entirely normal, healthy, and typical; you simply used this tire far longer than you might have.

Front tires are weird in a few other ways... It's also quite normal to see "scalloping" wear, especially in unusually heavy bikes that are ridden harder than most. You don't seem to have much scalloping (AKA "lumpy" wear), but you can probably feel some. The wear in your picture is very typical for a street bike.

And not that anyone asked, but speaking of normal front tire wear... with knobby or blocky dual-sport tires that spend a lot of time on pavement, which is almost all of them, it's completely normal to see heavier wear in every other block. Yes, it's weird, and has always caused significant alarm and angst among people new to dual-sporting. The physics of this phenomenon are amazingly complex and involve the words "hysteresis" and "coefficients", but the main thing to remember is that every-other-block wear on blocky or knobby front tires is perfectly fine and normal and expected. If it starts to feel bothersome, replace the tire; if you don't like the way it looks, just, uh, don't look at it until it starts to actually feel weird...

[Cipher]

FWIW, uneven brake caliper action (whatever its cause or other effects) will NOT cause a bike to pull to one side or the other, or make the tire wear weird or anything like that. Otherwise, the millions of motorcycles with single front rotors could not exist.

As noted, your front tire wear pattern is entirely normal, healthy, and typical; you simply used this tire far longer than you might have.

Front tires are weird in a few other ways... It's also quite normal to see "scalloping" wear, especially in unusually heavy bikes that are ridden harder than most. You don't seem to have much scalloping (AKA "lumpy" wear), but you can probably feel some. The wear in your picture is very typical for a street bike.

And not that anyone asked, but speaking of normal front tire wear... with knobby or blocky dual-sport tires that spend a lot of time on pavement, which is almost all of them, it's completely normal to see heavier wear in every other block. Yes, it's weird, and has always caused significant alarm and angst among people new to dual-sporting. The physics of this phenomenon are amazingly complex and involve the words "hysteresis" and "coefficients", but the main thing to remember is that every-other-block wear on blocky or knobby front tires is perfectly fine and normal and expected. If it starts to feel bothersome, replace the tire; if you don't like the way it looks, just, uh, don't look at it until it starts to actually feel weird...

Nonsense. A single rotor front brake twists the forks and causes uneven wear of both tire and brake pads. It arises from the tolerances in stanchions and wheel and steering bearings. Utter ignorance to suggest a things existence is proof of flawlessness.

[rphillips]

Personally, I've never seen a front tire ever worn, so obviously different, from this completely slick, and through to the cords, on one side and still ample tread left, plum to the edge, on the other side... I'd be like JMHJ, trying to find what has caused it. Don't know about the knobbys, I've never had any.

[Big Block]

How many miles are on that tire?

[JMHJ]

A little over 5,000 miles on it are mine. Checking POs records, it looks like both front and rear were put on a little over 5,000 before that, so a little over 10,000. I usually wear out a rear first though, so that's odd... The rear's close to done, but wearing more evenly.

I want to believe the left/right side of the road thing, but I've changed a few front tires, and don't remember seeing this before.

One thing that's a bit odd is if I raise the frontend (which isn't very high or often - I'm 240lbs) under hard accel, or maybe the 1-2 shift, the bars sometimes give a quick shimmy instead of a smooth up and down, like maybe I'm pressing one side harder than the other or something. Prob has nothing to do with the wear though. If I was doing that all the time, I'd be turning... It's just when there's no resistance on that front wheel for a short second.

[JMHJ]

That sort of brings me back to the suspension setup Q; my son had this issue with his GSX-R600 and the guy that rebuilt his forks got him sorted out. I don't remember seeing his tire, or exactly what was wrong though. My forks aren't leaking (his were), and I did the wire ties on the tubes trick, to see how far they compress in normal riding, and that seemed Ok (a couple inches left at the top of the tubes, I believe).

[Rob S.]

I usually wear out a rear first though, so that's odd... The rear's close to done, but wearing more evenly.

My rear wears out a LOT quicker than the front. I'm sure that's normal for a big-bore inline four.

[Burque73]

I must be relying more on the front brake 'cause my front wears as fast or faster than the rear. The FJR1300 and the GS850G are like that. I have Michelin Road 5's on the Yamah and Shinko tourmasters on the GS. Hey, something else funny (ish) one of my shoes wears out faster than the other. Seriously.

In regards to uneaven tire wear, maybe this old adage applies....Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.