Uneven front tire wear.

ANDRASTA

ANDRASTA

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I have been riding since 2009 but first time encountering this.

Upon close inspection of my front tire I noticed some uneven tire wear.

The only thing that comes to mind is a failing right fork seal might have lead to the uneven wear. I know this because I am rebuilding my forks and the right seal is gone.

Is it possible that due to the failing fork and sagging down to the right slightly, it causes me to lean to the left slightly causing the uneven wear?? I know my front end is lined up right.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I do think it is attributed the the fork seal but any other ideas??




THanks..
 
How many miles are on that tire?

A fork seal being gone won't cause abnormal wear.
 
There is many different variables that could come to mind. Your suspension very well could've been a factor along with possible tire pressure? You won't really know. Id look into a new tire though none the less. You could ride with that a bit longer but if you're paranoid or just want to play it safe id look into a new front. Check out petes-superbike.com they got great prices
 
Maybe you just turn left a lot more than right?
 
More wear on left may be because you may be cornering faster and at harder lean angles on sharp to intermediate left hand turns than on right turns. This is because left turns tend to have greater turn radii which in turn may lead to greater confidence at higher speeds in a turn. Left turns also tend to mean more travelling distance in the turn than a right turn, and quite noticeably more in town or tight twisties.

Another possibility may be the crown that most roads have. Higher at the centerline means that your tire will have more contact patch on the high side, that being the left side of your tire.

Or, your bike is screwed.
 
Thanks for the replies guys,

Yes Maybe I am just turning left more. I was going to get new tires this season. I was infact looking at petes superbike.

Any suggestions on tires? Bike is a 90 gsxr 1100. Its ported head, jet kit, exhaust, the whole deal. I mostly ride street but wouldn't mind doing a few track days this year.

I considered the Pilot road 4s but I really like the Bridgestone Bt16PRO hypersport due to the fact that the bike is a bit heavier, and , the price is great.
 
I run Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa's on my k8 1000, like them a lot and not priced bad either like them more then my Dunlop Q3's i had on my 600
 
ANDRASTA said:
I have been riding since 2009 but first time encountering this.

Upon close inspection of my front tire I noticed some uneven tire wear.

The only thing that comes to mind is a failing right fork seal might have lead to the uneven wear. I know this because I am rebuilding my forks and the right seal is gone.

Is it possible that due to the failing fork and sagging down to the right slightly, it causes me to lean to the left slightly causing the uneven wear?? I know my front end is lined up right.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I do think it is attributed the the fork seal but any other ideas??
THanks..
Click to expand...


I had a similar problem two years ago. Turned out it was the front springs. Put on some Progressive springs and that fixed it right up. I also replaced the Bridgestones that were on the bike with Pirelli Sport Demons. For me, the Pirelli's work the best. Good luck with yours.
 
Riceburner said:
Ya think that's bad...this is what happened to mine in the fall....all around both sides....

Click to expand...

SC's (DOT's)? I've seen this before on SC's that were ridden at near freezing temps. SP's - street version, shouldn't have this issue.
 
kml said:
http://www.rattlebars.com/tirewear/index.html
Click to expand...

Good link, but you expect GTAM to read all those words?

Why is this wear more evident on the left front in most cases? Actually, excessive side tire wear is only evident on the left front in countries where one rides on the right side of the road. Riding right means that the left side of your tire will have more (and likely faster) miles on it than the right side. Left hand turns have a larger radius than right hand turns in right side driving countries, hence you ride farther (and likely faster) turning left than turning right with subsequent increased side band wear on the tire's left side. The left side of your tire has more miles on it (in some extreme cases, twice as many) than the right side of your tire. And the side of your tire only gets mileage when you are leaned in a turn, otherwise, this area of your tire does not contact the pavement at all as shown in the photo.
 
buck said:
SC's (DOT's)? I've seen this before on SC's that were ridden at near freezing temps. SP's - street version, shouldn't have this issue.
Click to expand...

yep SC1. Happened after it got put away for the winter. So was ridden at close to or below 0C. I've run Supercorsa Pros for years and they were fine. Guess the SC1s are more sensitive to the extremes.
 
Riceburner said:
yep SC1. Happened after it got put away for the winter. So was ridden at close to or below 0C. I've run Supercorsa Pros for years and they were fine. Guess the SC1s are more sensitive to the extremes.
Click to expand...

Now I've seen it happen on two sets of SC's. I have SC1's also. Guess come winter, I will not move bike around on those tires!
 
CafeRay said:
Please explain how fork springs could cause or solve this issue.
Click to expand...

Well, if I recall correctly. The springs were worn out and the tire was wearing uneven. I had high spots all over the front tire. When I mentioned this to my mechanic he told me to change the springs and the tire. I haven't had any issue since. Oh yeah by the way, I wasn't to happy to be changing the new Bridgestone that was on the bike for only 1 season. In the end everything worked out. :hello1:
 
Cupping is pretty common on front tires. It's not really an indication of worn out anything other than a worn out tire.


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