Front tyre/tire wear question

[dazzler24]

I'm close to getting some new rubber for my bike and have been keeping an eye on the rear tyre to gauge when I make the move and haven't paid too much attention to the front.

Today I thought I'd have a close look at the front and discovered uneven wear that I thought was unusual.  The wear that I'm seeing is more pronounced on one side (right side looking from seated position) than the other and could be described as a chamfered effect.

The wear on the right side is down to the wear markers where there's still quite a way to go on the left.  On the first pic below I've drawn a line to try to indicate the more pronounced 'chamfer' I'm referring to.

I know we ride on the left side of the road here but wouldn't have thought the camber would influence the wear that much?

Just wanted to be sure that there's nothing wrong with alignment or suspension setup before I spend my hard earned (now dwindling - thanks COVID-19!) cash on new boots.  The wheel has been off when I had the front suspension worked.

Solo rider; Front pressure - 230kpa/33PSI; Mileage - 6800Kms/11,000miles

Open to comments from the learned masses.

 

RIGHT SIDE                                                                                               LEFT SIDE

 

[BBB]

That does look weird @dazzler24. It looks like you ride NASCAR!

The wear should be much more even and normally flatter in the centre due to upright being the most common riding position. I presume the wheel span freely or you would have noticed, so unlikely to be a front axle issue. As you’ve had suspension work recently I would check that both forks are the same height in the triple trees and that the wheel was put back on correctly. There’s a tightening sequence in the manual.

It could also be due to a misaligned rear wheel, which is easier to mess up when adjusting the chain. It should be parallel in the swing arm, so look at the markers on the swing arm and they should be in the same positions, but do a visual check from behind with the bike on the centre stand as well. The chain should run straight.

[HGP61]

Had a similar experience a few years ago when I was running My Diversion 900. On a weekend run to Applecross I could feel a very very slight vibtation through the bars. On examination you could see the slightly different shape on the right hand side of the tyre and what felt like "flat spots" between the tyre grooves. The handling felt incredible the next week when nem tyres were fitted.

[BBB]

Screen grabs of the relevant parts of the manual. Note the suggestion to bounce the forks before tightening the axle.

 

[dazzler24]

28 minutes ago, BBB said:

Screen grabs of the relevant parts of the manual. Note the suggestion to bounce the forks before tightening the axle.

Thanks for the info @BBB - I was the 'mechanic' that had removed and reinstalled the wheel and forks when the suspension was done a few years ago now and I did follow the manual as you indicated.  I did see the reference to the compression of the forks before tightening the axle up too and hopefully did that successfully?!  I'll double check but reasonably confident that I've got the forks even in the triple clamps as well.

Also, I have added a pair of Lightech Chain adjusters and think I've got them adjusted correctly.  That was fairly recently mind you.  I'm fairly careful and a bit anal with these things and recheck everything after completing any jobs.   Doesn't mean I'm infallible of course and will recheck all of your suggestions.

I should mention that the rear tyre has worn evenly.

Thanks for the detailed feedback.

[dazzler24]

30 minutes ago, HGP61 said:

Had a similar experience a few years ago when I was running My Diversion 900. On a weekend run to Applecross I could feel a very very slight vibtation through the bars. On examination you could see the slightly different shape on the right hand side of the tyre and what felt like "flat spots" between the tyre grooves. The handling felt incredible the next week when nem tyres were fitted.

@HGP61 - did you ever get to the bottom of why?  How did the new tyres go over time?

[suncoaster]

What are you getting ?

Mine got Michelin Road 5s last month before the trip to Phillip island.

Solid performance, wet, dry and dirt; 5200 km so far and plenty of meat left on them.

 

[Dodgy Knees]

Is it possible that you favour r/h corners. Roundabouts may increase wear on that side, especially  big grippy ones. 

[dazzler24]

24 minutes ago, suncoaster said:

What are you getting ?

Mine got Michelin Road 5s last month before the trip to Phillip island.

Solid performance, wet, dry and dirt; 5200 km so far and plenty of meat left on them.

I'm looking at Dunlop Roadsmart 3s ATM but only because they are a little cheaper than the others I was looking at, one of which being the Road 5s.  The Road 5s do get plenty of good reviews I have to concede.  Also good to get some feedback from someone riding in Aussie conditions.

Thanks.

[dazzler24]

25 minutes ago, Dodgy Knees said:

Is it possible that you favour r/h corners. Roundabouts may increase wear on that side, especially  big grippy ones. 

Yes that did cross my mind and I have to say that I'm a lefty more than a righty when it comes to favouring cornering.  I do traverse a few roundabouts so that may contribute?!

[HGP61]

2 hours ago, dazzler24 said:

@HGP61 - did you ever get to the bottom of why?  How did the new tyres go over time?

The new tyres never displayed this again, The Diversion being shaft drive was never out of alignment. I put the problem of uneven wear with the tyres down to more exuberant right hand cornering but as I said never seen it since.

[2and3cylinders]

W/O wanting to hyjack this into a "which new fresh buns?" thread, despite how appropriate it would be, I too very recently was scrutinizing ST tire reviews due to my 15 being near due for it's 4th or 5th set of new round black things.  After much hand wringing due to a preference for Dunlop's RS3 and the aforementioned Michelin Road 5 but not their high price tags (despite the latters much discussed relatively low cost per mile and wet grip advantages), and just missing out on the end date of the Avon Spirit ST rebate, I grabbed a pair of Bridgestone's T31 for only $173 USD after their $60 debit card rebate that runs here thru the end of April.  I need 2 pair, or I thought at least 2 rear when including my VTR1000F, and thus strongly considered just getting 2 rears as the Bridgestone rebate allows the $60 for any mix of 2 tires.  However, after inspecting once again the RS3 front on my FJ (it's rear is the original older version of the RS2 that was installed a few thousand miles later), I recalled that whereas sipe depth alone could permit maybe another 3.5k miles (I'll have to verify mileage F & R but as I just indicated, I did not install them at the same time using my No Mar), the usual cupping (scalloping) warrants replacement of the front along with the rear within 2k miles as the rear has normal center flat spottng.  Oh the joy of living in NE Illinois.

 The question I direct to the peanut gallery is whether the very low price of the T31 is a false economy?  Adding to my buyer's remorse  apprehension is I've not run Bridgestones for going on maybe 20 years? 

[mike]

The last two sets of tires I have run were Bridgestone T-31's and S-22's. They both approached the maximum mileage delivered by any tire on the Tracer and my last bike a Versys 1000.

I have never had a set of tires last more than 4500 miles. The best was 4500 on a set of Dunlop Roadsmart 2's and the Bridgestones both reached the around 4300 miles. I was surprised that The S-22 lasted as long as the T-31 and just ordered another set from Rocky Mountain for future use to take advantage of the rebate.

[betoney]

2 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

The question I direct to the peanut gallery is whether the very low price of the T31 is a false economy?  Adding to my buyer's remorse  apprehension is I've not run Bridgestones for going on maybe 20 years? 

You aren't kidding about the price of the Michelin Road 5, I just got an email from Revzilla informing that the Road 5 was on sale... for $385 a set, almost $45 more than the newer Pirelli Angel GT II. 

I am currently using the Bridgestone T31 and they are great tire.  I'm not Ricky racer but I usually ride fairly aggressively and can get 6,000 miles out of a set, I have been caught in some very hard rain storms with zero worries and on dry pavement they perform impressively in the twisties or VERY high speed sweepers.  With their current rebate price of $170 a set, I'm ordering another set.

[betoney]

26 minutes ago, mike said:

The last two sets of tires I have run were Bridgestone T-31's and S-22's. They both approached the maximum mileage delivered by any tire on the Tracer and my last bike a Versys 1000.

I was surprised that The S-22 lasted as long as the T-31 and just ordered another set from Rocky Mountain for future use to take advantage of the rebate.

I have previously used the S21 and T31 and I also was surprised that they wear out at the same rate, though I got 6k out of mine.  I have a set of newer S22 waiting in the garage and am ordering another set of T31.