Tire pressure vs tire wear patterns

[pavjayt]

2013 RT

I am tracking my front tire thread wear pattern since I owned this bike at 1500miles on it. Now at nearly 70K miles, I have gone through quite a few of front tires with my fair share of flats

 

To start off, my bike came lowered with lowered front seat and both suspensions (still have the original ESA suspensions in pristine condition)

 

2x Metzelers (including one that came with the bike)

2x Conti-Motions (the worst tires for me)

2x Batllax T30 (including EVO and EVO GT)

Just changed to a new T30-F last night

Since I owned this bike, I have been running

32/36 with solo with no side/top cases

or

36/40with two up with full load

 

99% of the miles since 20K is riding solo with only the tank bag and since then I went through all non Metzelers (some of them are discarded due to bad flats).

When I was going with 32-34 on the front, I see very bad cupping on the front tire. So, for the last tire change, I went with 36 (making sure it is between 35-37) and I still see some cupping. One common wear I noticed on all is the left side of the tire wears faster than the right side.

My handle is super stable and tracks straight if I leave my hands off of it.

 

Not sure why this is happening or is it a common wear pattern that everyone has or is it something to do with the way my seating position is when seated.

 

Any thoughts/suggestions?

 

 

[TSConver]

What year and model of motorcycle?

 

Tire pressure seems a bit low.  Most run around 40 / 38 or so.

[lkraus]

It's pretty common to see more wear on the side towards the center of the road, partly due to the camber, partly because turns in that direction are wider and made at a higher speed.

 

Cupping is sometimes blamed on tire pressures or worn shocks, but I think it is more dependent on the tire.  My Pilot Road 3 and 4 tires cupped, running 36/40 or 38/42. Two sets of Metzeler Roadtec O1 tires have not, using 36/40 for all loads, and shocks more worn than when the Michelins were used.  The cupping might have made the tires a tad noisier in turns, but did not affect performance in any way I could detect. 

 

By cupping,  I mean the side tread has a scalloped appearance, with the depth rising and falling as you move around the wheel.  I'm not really detecting that in your pictures.  I do see wear that is normal for a multi-compound tread, with soft rubber on the sides for traction and a harder compound in the middle for longevity. That combo creates a profile with a plateau in the hard center when the softer sides wear faster, so the depth varies across the tire, but is uniform around the tire.

[Skywagon]

I can't read your factory label...picture is too blurry.  It kind of looks like on the right side it calls for 2.5 bars front and 2.9 rear....which is exactly what my RT owners manual calls for.  Thats 36psi front, and 42psi rear...which is exactly what I run.  It I were to drop my front to 32 it would be very squirrely; I did once just to see if it would make much difference in traction.  I really didn't like it there.  It was like pushing it around versus it gliding with 36.  My wear pattern on tires is pretty even across the tire with some flattening in the middle with miles, but seems to wear fairly evenly.  I've never worn the center out like in your picture faster than the edges.

[pavjayt]

3 hours ago, TSConver said:

What year and model of motorcycle?

 

Tire pressure seems a bit low.  Most run around 40 / 38 or so.

2013, I am just following what BMW has on the label and keeping it within that range

[pavjayt]

3 hours ago, lkraus said:

Two sets of Metzeler Roadtec O1 tires have not, using 36/40 for all loads, and shocks more worn than when the Michelins were used.  The cupping might have made the tires a tad noisier in turns, but did not affect performance in any way I could detect. 

Maybe something with Metzeler and why BMW uses them..... 

[Skywagon]

Pavjayt.. what bike?

[pavjayt]

Its a 2013 RT (Updated initial post and facotry label as well)

[6speedTi]

https://www.rattlebars.com/tirewear/

[9Mary7]

My experience is that 32psi is too low for the weight of the RT. I don't run it that low, not even at a track day(I start @34psi cold).

I run mine at 36f and 38r for twisty roads and kick the rear up to 42 when running cross country. Occasional slight cupping that cannot be felt, and not until near the end of the service life of the tire. I also only run Metzeler/Pirelli tires.

[Bill Murray]

I have generally experienced cupping on front tires when running 36 psi (I never run with less than 36 psi). I usually run my front pressure between 38 psi to 40 psi and definitely have seen less cupping with that pressure range. As noted by another poster, I usually see slightly more cupping on the left side due to road crown, etc. I usually run 42 (plus or minus one) psi on the rear. My tire brand of choice has been Michelin (Pilot Roads on my RT and currently on my GSA, Anakees when the GSA was brand new).

 

[Skywagon]

Same as 9Mary7 except tire brand

[pavjayt]

Looks like I will up my fronts to 38 then.

For rear 40 seems to be fine

Current - 36/38

New - 38/40

[Skywagon]

Try 36 on front first as that is what the manual calls for. If a long trip, bump to 38. If you go from 32 to 36-38 your gas mileage will likely improve. 

[pavjayt]

My last front tire is on 36 for its life. Hence thinking of trying 38 this time, but if the wear pattern is normal, then will keep it at 36, since going up I feel the handle being too loose and has no weight.