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Tire side wear

smithr

smithr

Member
Member
Has anyone ever worn down one side of a back tire more then the other side?  I mean like way more.    I checked my tires about two weeks ago and decided they would make it through my next short trip.  I checked them in low light and maybe by feel of the depth more then sight. 

On better inspection in full sun the left side mid way between center and side wall is GONE.  The right still has about 1/2 full depth on it.  I have never worn a tire uneven before.  I have never worn the side more then the center before.  I am haling more of a load then in the past (don't tell her I called her a load)  Could 42lb not be enough?  I wonder if I have a bad tire.  I will try to get picture later.  It is a Dunlop, maybe a 205 but I will have to be sure about that too.
 
I almost always wear out the left side of my tires quiet a bit more than the right side! It has always seemed to be that way for me. Both front and rear. I must make a lot more lefts!  :D
 
It is a common Northern hemisphere phenomenon to wear out the left side.  There are lots of speculations such as ...
Crown in the road.  But this doesn't hold much water (no pun intended) since the crown is such a tiny degree most of the time and if you are on a divided road and riding in the left lane, it would wear the other side.
Then there is the more likely story that since in the US we drive/ride on the right side so all left hand turns cover more  real estate and are often performed at higher speeds than right hand corners since the radius is tighter.

Anyways, don't think you're the only guy wearing out the left side of his tires... I expect we all pretty much are doing so... at least in this country.  My .02 again.
 
smithr said:
Has anyone ever worn down one side of a back tire more then the other side?  I mean like way more.    I checked my tires about two weeks ago and decided they would make it through my next short trip.  I checked them in low light and maybe by feel of the depth more then sight. 

On better inspection in full sun the left side mid way between center and side wall is GONE.  The right still has about 1/2 full depth on it.  I have never worn a tire uneven before.  I have never worn the side more then the center before.  I am haling more of a load then in the past (don't tell her I called her a load)  Could 42lb not be enough?  I wonder if I have a bad tire.  I will try to get picture later.  It is a Dunlop, maybe a 205 but I will have to be sure about that too.
Click to expand...

Based on your account and assuming all other factors are not effecting the situation IE: frame is not bent. Wheel is aligned properly etc,  then I suspect the tire itself is at issue.  While it is not "unusual" that the leftside gets slightly more wear than the right side (personally I think it is aliens) but that much wear just left of center is unusual. Your pressure at 42 PSI is about how I run my rear tire as well and yeah no issues like you've described. BTW how many miles on the rear?
 
I was recently referred to this web page on tire wear:
http://www.rattlebars.com/tirewear/index.html

 
SSmith,  That link should be "bookmarked" or something to keep it always available.  Great info in an understandable delivery.  Thankyou
 
I can add it to the section of cogmos for links like this if that matters.  It seems not many people bother to know its there and use it.  Once you sign in on the home page it is like the second selection on the menu.

PS: DONE
 
Do you think that because the power from the engine is transmitted to the left side of the wheel/tire via belt, chain or shaft that this force somehow tries to torque the tire slighlty to the right. "And also since most bikes have one brake rotor on the right that somehow during braking the braking force also pulls the tire slightly to the right. and these would somehow  cause more wear on the left side of a rear tire. (similar to the forces in counter-steering).
 
croach1776 said:
Do you think that because the power from the engine is transmitted to the left side of the wheel/tire via belt, chain or shaft that this force somehow tries to torque the tire slighlty to the right. "And also since most bikes have one brake rotor on the right that somehow during braking the braking force also pulls the tire slightly to the right.

and these would somehow  cause more wear on the left side of a rear tire. (similar to the forces in counter-steering).
Click to expand...
 
smithr said:
Has anyone ever worn down one side of a back tire more then the other side? 
Click to expand...

Bob,

I haven't had uneven tire wear like you describe but uneven wear from what may have a belt seperation on an Avon AV46 rear tire.  This happened on the BRP which has lots of low speed curves (below 45 mph posted speed).  When this started to happen it felt like the tire was starting to deflate but only when the bike was vertcal.  The more I leaned into the turns the less it felt like a tire that was starting to go flat. 

You might see more of this phenomenon that you described on the new dual compound tires (Dunlop Road Smart, etc)  which has a harder rubber compound in the center of the tire and a softer compound on the sides of the tire. 
 
IMHO I have owned five street bikes and I have always had the front wear on the left side more. Never on the rear tire. I believe you have a bent frame or maybe wheel bearings? This is my first shaft bike but I have been to a few COG events and have not seen it on other C-10's. Doesn't mean it cant happen?  I just have never heard it to be normal.
 
I personally have always (since living back up north) have had the left side of both my front and rear tires wear on the left side off center faster. This is on all my bikes, be it chain, shaft, sport tour, tour, cruiser. I attribute it to the grade of the most of the roads (at least in the north) are graded towards the outside of the road to allow for drainage. Thus your riding slightly off center on the left side to compensate for the grade. That makes the tires wear off center to the left. And just so that it is not my own phenomenon. Every person that I ride with and talked about this subject in my area has the same wear patterns on their tires. They all wear slightly off center on the left side!
 
sawfiler said:
I think this explains it prety well.

SSmith_3184 said:
I was recently referred to this web page on tire wear:
http://www.rattlebars.com/tirewear/index.html
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Sorry but I don't buy all of it. Some of it yes, but not all of it. Although you do tend to go slightly faster on left turns. But my rear tires do not wear out out in the middle first. The cords(or a least worn out section of the tire) a lot of the time show on the left off center as well as the front. And on a lot of roads where I live, You can actually tell that you are slightly leaning to the left when riding. If you ride totally straight upright. Your bike starts to drift off the right side of the road.
So I must ride in a left circle most of the time. Because my right off center on both tires doesn't tend to wear much at all. And I know I am by far, mister mellow in right hand turns. And I'm probably under more throttle powering through right turns to help keep the bike down through the corner than I need to on a left turn. But yet It doesn't wear as much than the center on  most front tires.
If the road grade doesn't effect the bike. Why do I find myself leaning slightly towards the right side when in the passing lane on the highway? But slightly to the left in the right lane and on most roads around here? Why does the water run from the center off to the outside of our roads? Maybe flooding roads are not a problem where the author is located. But around my area, drainage is a major thing!
So I don't buy all their explanations. Yes I do agree that you will have slighly more wear because of left turns being slighly longer than right turns. And maybe even slighly faster speeds. But I find myself under heavier throttle in right turns. Under their theory, I should be wearing quite a bit on the right off center rear. But no, right off center has way more rubber than the left off center rear tire. This is when my rear left off center is already worn out. This is before the rear center that they told me I will have wear out first!
So I do question some of their findings. I'm not saying they're totally wrong by any means. But I also don't agree that they're totally right either!
 
Bob, I will have to agree that I too find myself riding a little off center of the bike on most of our roads.  So the answere probably is a combination of both.
 
I'm sure that the road camber does offer SOME of it, but if you actually measure the angle of the flat area that's worn into the tire, there are dang few roads with THAT kind of drainage angle built into them.  I mean like about none.
 
I could never find anything wrong.  I am going to assume it was a combination of the tighter turning radius on roads of right hand countries and the fact that I have never worn down the side of a tire before and maybe it has always been like that.  The only good thing about trailering the bike is I do more curves and less slab and actually did ware the side down before the middle.
 
With all the miles I have ridden and tires worn out, the article makes fairly good sense. As stated, correct pressures have a lot to do with both tire wear and performance. I guess we should be glad that the tire industry is forever trying to "improve" tires for us. I guess we could just park our bikes and not worry about wearing out the tires. NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am more than happy to be ABLE to wear them out.
 
DamDan said:
I am more than happy to be ABLE to wear them out.
Click to expand...

Yeah well Dan if you only got down to some honest work like me  8)  you would not have time to get so much riding in!

Envioise of Seattle

Actually I did take both Connies out today but only to gas-um-up and blow the cobwebs off them.
 
Now that I finally got up from rolling around on the floor laughing, : )  I might question why you would put gas in a bike that in storage. Won't the gas go bad???  : ) 

Steve F and I did a little 160 mile run today that included a run out to Ripplebrook Ranger Station. Woo Hoo!!!

Work? Am headed for Rhode Island this next week where I am sure to freeze "something" off while working on USCGC "Willow". Enjoy your relatively warm rain, will you?

Dan
 
Yes water and rust forming in the tank is about the only reason to keep your tank full all the time.  I add some Stable to the tank to keep the gas good if it is going to be over a month sit.
 
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