• Can't post after logging to the forum for the first time... Try Again - If you can't post in the forum, sign out of both the membership site and the forum and log in again. Make sure your COG membership is active and your browser allow cookies. If you still can't post, contact the COG IT guy at IT@Concours.org.
  • IF YOU GET 404 ERROR: This may be due to using a link in a post from prior to the web migration. Content was brought over from the old forum as is, but the links may be in error. If the link contains "cog-online.org" it is an old link and will not work.

Strange front tire wear

horsenuts123

Member
Member
This is a picture of my front tire, a PR4GT with just under 10k miles on it. I live in Nebraska, so this tire doesn't see many turns, at all. The stock pos Battleaxe showed the same wear, so I guess it's me, or the roads around here maybe? I saw a picture of almost the same wear in the "What Tires for 21" thread, so I'm thinking this may be common.
This picture is taken from the front of the tire, so left is right as you would sit on the bike. Notice the wear indicators, one is worn down to it, the other has a long way to go. This "wave" wear patter is bad enough that if I take my hands off the bars it will start to head shake, slowly at first then getting worse and worse (I don't let it get bad!). I run around 40psi cold, and ride in any weather above freezing. Thoughts?
 

Attachments

  • Connie front tire 7-2021.jpg
    Connie front tire 7-2021.jpg
    108.2 KB · Views: 196
Are your roads crowned heavily? Do you roll on the throttle or corner harder harder to the left? I think I do. Do you ride in reverse a lot?(jk)…

I’ve seen people ask about this before and I’ve never heard a great answer. I only get 7-8k miles on my PR4GTs anyway.
 
Hey Horsenuts;

I had similar wear on my 86 C10 on two front tires in a row.

It was definitely caused by the steering stem bearings being loose.

You should check for play in yours.
 
Agreed with others 10K is a LONG way for this tire on this machine. For the waviness do you brake into a corner or during a corner?

Regards to right side more wear, little unusual in that the camber of the road is usually drain off left to right. What about wind - is the wind predominantly from your right to left? Or any consistent long trips with wind right to left? This machine is not tiny and catches a god amount of wind which then eats these tires.
 
Nuts:
The "stock pos Battleaxes" that came on my 2019 began to show a similar pattern after about 8k. While on a trip (of course), the front even developed a groove where the center flat-spot meets the squared-off right side, in your view. COG opinion was road-crowning as the culprit. From the wear indicators, it looks as if your tire is wearing more on the other side, correct?

Mine looked almost as if something inside the fender was cutting into the tire. My highly-experienced independent m/c mechanic took one look and agreed with COG. "If it was rubbing, you'd hear it. I'll bet you like to turn left more than right." He's correct.

I live in SC but am not much of a corner-carver. I prefer to remain upright until I get better at cornering (just finished my first MSF course and look forward to learning more).

I went with Dunlop Roadsmart IIIs and have been very happy so far. I dunno about you, but I'm gonna try to start replacing tires more often. I want to learn to do it myself so I can put on fresh rubber for longer trips and wear out the older ones near home.
 
Last edited:
I live in Nebraska, so this tire doesn't see many turns, at all.
...Well, I don't have a similar riding area, but I've found that more pressure minimizes various front wear problems (cupping; center 'stripe wear') for me and for other riders that I've encountered. YMMV
I run [front] around 40psi cold, and ride in any weather above freezing. Thoughts?
C-14 is a heavy gal; 680-ish pounds - then add rider, gear and 35 pounds of fuel. Kawa recommends 42 front and rear for C14. Suggest: experiment with higher pressures.

I get good riding results with front 2 - 3 psi above sidewall labelled max pressure. So, my tires do have labels "42 psi max," despite that I run my front at 44 - 45 psi cold, and the rears 42 - 43. Have for at least 5 or 7 yrs. These pressures still allow me grip for asphalt road curves at speed, but don't know about concrete pavement curves (none on my roads).
 
Last edited:
Most of my tires end up looking similar to yours at about 7000 miles. My best guess is these tires are made with a harder rubber in the center for mileage and softer rubber on the sides for cornering. The softer rubber wears much easier leaving you with a goofy wear pattern. Bottom line is you probably need to change tires a little sooner then you are. I am pretty happy if I can get 7000 miles on a set. I have used Angel GT's, PR 4's, and Roadsmart II's and the all have a similar wear pattern.
 
Thanks for all the responses! I have a new PR5GT in the garage and will be putting it on sometime this week. I'll try running the pressure a little higher, maybe 43 /43 cold and pay closer attention to the wear pattern as I start accumulating miles on the new tire. I did put the bike on the center stand, support the front with a jack, and felt for bearing play. None was noticeable, so I think I'm fine there. As for road crown, most of our roads are blacktop and display the "grooves" the heavy trucks make, so it's possible I'm on the edge of one of those which may cause my heavier right side wear, but I'm guessing on that one!
 
I have heard this rumor about the crown in the roads causing this type of wear.
I don't buy it. You looked at the front stem bearing, good start. I have found
that the front ends of our bike are heavy, lots of time we can't lift the front
enough to feel slop or movement. Try this, lay a 2x4 down on flat payment and
slowly ride over it. Look for any movement, or feel for any movement in the handle bars
as you ride over the 2x4. I would also check the wheel alignment. Do this by
measuring from the center of the rear axle to the front axle with the bars set
as going straight.
 
More wear on the left side of the tire is very normal in the US. Go to a parking lot, or bike event with a bunch of bikes parked, or even your friends bike and look at the front tires that have some wear on them already, as opposed to a newer tire, and you will see all of them have more wear on the left than the right. I see it all the time when customers bring me tires to change. The best explanation I've heard for this is left hand turns are approximately 4x the radius of a right turn here, and most of us will take a left turn a little faster than a right hand turn. I've seen tires from riders who do track days, or race, with even wear on both sides but I've never seen a street tire with more wear on the right than the left. That's not to say other conditions like a bad wheel or steering bearing with excessive movement can't make the wear worse but you would also, most likely feel the effects of the bearing just trying to maintain a straight line on the road.
 
So we just got back to Houston from the Twisted Sisters northwest of San Antonio and the front tire, now at 6,750 miles, looks like this. I grabbed the front fender in the pic so you have a frame of reference for what the normal curve looks like. Peculiar wear pattern. But, considering the temps we were riding in (and the type of road surface we encountered) this isn’t really surprising. My rear tire, with only ~3,500 miles is already almost down to the wear bar on the left side. These are the Battlaxe T021s.

7A40A50C-B421-4DC8-9F86-A922AE4F5834.jpeg

2AFFF39D-A1B2-4AF8-858F-29C8C5F3A250.jpeg

BB91B02C-FAFD-481B-8C30-679BCF3B20F0.jpeg
 
I live in SC but am not much of a corner-carver. I prefer to remain upright until I get better at cornering (just finished my first MSF course and look forward to learning more).

I went with Dunlop Roadsmart IIIs and have been very happy so far. I dunno about you, but I'm gonna try to start replacing tires more often. I want to learn to do it myself so I can put on fresh rubber for longer trips and wear out the older ones near home.
Jeez Vern, I TAUGHT my fair share of MSF courses in year past and I find the Connie to be quite a hand full as a very experienced rider. You take care when riding and she will take care of you - if you respect her. If not, she may "buck you off" when you least expect it because a C-14 is a thoroughbred for sure, and even more so with limited experience.
 
You'll not ever catch me saying I got 10K out of any tire - ever again. That got VERY ugly, very fast. I just keep those results to myself going forward.
 
So I went to change my tire this weekend, when my son was around to give me a hand, but didn't have the tool to take the front axle nut off. Who seriously has a 22 mm hex socket in their box? Anyway, I tried to MacGyver my way around it with a 22mm headed bolt, but nothing I had would grip the bolt tight enough, and the 2 nuts I jammed on there wouldn't hold enough to break the axle nut loose. I even tried jb weld in the threads and still it wouldn't come loose. Anyway, the correct tool should be waiting for me when I get home from work today and I'll try again...
 
Horsenuts
I had the same problem on my first front tire change.
I found a sparkplug socket, reversed ,with a extension in there, on a ratchet fit that nut perfectly.
Nick
2014 C-14
 
I finally got the new tire mounted and balanced last night. I was working solo and didn't realize how much an extra set of hands to hold things was till I didn't have them! My dealer mounted my last front tire, and I don't know what he torqued the front axle nut to, but it was stupid tight. After I got it apart the threads looked good and everything did have a nice coating of grease on it. My main struggle was getting air into the new tire fast enough to start it up onto the bead, but I strung together some random fittings and some electrical tape and got it to go.
Until I ride on a new tire I always forget how great this bike handles. That last tire was beyond shot and I don't plan to ride this one that far down for sure.
 

Attachments

  • New front tire 8-21.jpg
    New front tire 8-21.jpg
    174.3 KB · Views: 150
Most of my tires end up looking similar to yours at about 7000 miles. My best guess is these tires are made with a harder rubber in the center for mileage and softer rubber on the sides for cornering. The softer rubber wears much easier leaving you with a goofy wear pattern. Bottom line is you probably need to change tires a little sooner then you are. I am pretty happy if I can get 7000 miles on a set. I have used Angel GT's, PR 4's, and Roadsmart II's and the all have a similar wear pattern.
I agree and think its because of the dual compound nature of sport touring tires.
 
Horsenuts
I had the same problem on my first front tire change.
I found a sparkplug socket, reversed ,with a extension in there, on a ratchet fit that nut perfectly.
Nick
2014 C-14
yup, 22mm = 7/8 in. - at least close enough for most scenarios

7 / 8 = .875 in.

22mm x 25.2mm = .873 in.

Difference of 2 thousandths of an inch.
 
Horsenuts
I had the same problem on my first front tire change.
I found a sparkplug socket, reversed ,with a extension in there, on a ratchet fit that nut perfectly.
Nick
2014 C-14

I have done that as well - it works!
 
Top