uneven were on front tire on 04 r1150rt

[puka]

recently had fork seal replaced by local motorcycle mechanic. then within less than 1000k my front tire compleatly wore out on the left side. and rear tire shows excessive were also.Is is possible he did some wrong?any body have any thoughts.

[dirtrider]

recently had fork seal replaced by local motorcycle mechanic. then within less than 1000k my front tire compleatly wore out on the left side. and rear tire shows excessive wear also.Is is possible he did something wrong?any body have any thoughts.

 

Evening puka

 

Possible but probably not. A lot of motorcycles tend to wear the L/H side of the tires. The BMW 1150 is at the worst end of the wear spectrum as it not only has the common cornering & riding L/H side tire wear issues but also has an offset weight bias that tends to cause a slight bike lean while riding.

 

It's fairly difficult to do much to a single track vehicle (motorcycle) to cause side-of-tire wear as the round profile of a motorcycle tire doesn't allow off-center tire wear unless the bike is leaned over so that part of the tire is actually contacting the pavement.

 

If you want to find out what is causing your L/H tire wear then get a couple of friends to help you-

 

Get them to lean the bike to the left until the part of the tires that is wearing is flat on the ground -- Then look at the bike lean & figure out what you are, or were, doing to ride the bike at that lean angle. (more than likely left hand turns, left hand U turns, & leaning more & going faster on left hand curves due to better forward visibility into the curve & safer distance from the fog line & road edge.

[Scud]

I think a little more information could help us to help you.

 

Were the tires new at the same time as the other work? If yes, 1000k (600 miles) seems like an incredibly short time to wear out a new tire.

 

Which tires did you use? A sport tire could wear out quickly on a big touring bike. Make sure you didn't get sport tires by mistake.

 

If the tires were not new at the same time, how many miles were on them when you had the fork seals done? Is it possible that you are just noticing the wear now that you had other service done?

 

[puka]

thank you DR for your insightful advise.It was a little shocking how quickly this uneven were seemed to occur. Right now the bike has metzler touring tires. Can you suggest recommendations for the best tires for this bike?

[puka]

Hello Skud. Thanks for your response.I bought this bike from a friend a bought a year ago the bike has aprox 76000k on it now. He replaced both tires with metzler touring tires.At around 70000k He put probably 2000k on the tires before selling it to me.As of 75000k I

it seemed that they were wearing evenly with no significant flat spots. I figured I had maybe 1/2 the tires life left. Then all the sudden the front all wore out on the left side and the rear has a flat spot in the middle I think the rear is a ME88 and the front is its match.

[Haynes]

On my R1150RT the wear was on the right side (we ride on the left side of the road). I always accepted that some wear bias, provided that it wasn't excessive, was fairly normal.

 

Because we ride on the left, our right turns scribe a longer distance than left turns. The same is for you but on the other side. The type of wear that you are describing seems way too excessive for 1000k but the length of the path on turns is something to think about.

 

On a rider's course it was also pointed out to me that riders develop extra confidence in either right or left turns. When riding on the left side of the road we make right turns with more confidence as running a bit wide doesn't take us into oncoming traffic. If you ride on the right side of the road, you might favour left turns and execute them faster than right turns.

 

My ideas of your uneven tire wear are nothing scientific and are just ramblings to give you something to think about.

[Duncan1]

I wonder if this has anything to do with the crowning of the roads...

[dirtrider]

I wonder if this has anything to do with the crowning of the roads...

 

Morning Duncan1

 

It could (IF) the road crowning in his area is so severe that the part of the tire that is wearing is touching the road. (that would be some very extreme road crown though, probably more in the banking category than a normal road crown)

 

In most instances road crown doesn't add much of any tire wear to a motorcycle tire as road crown is not that pronounced on most public roads.

 

We are back to the lean the bike over until the tire wear area is on the ground. That is the lean angle of the bike when the tire is wearing. If the roads in his area have a crown so angular that they are touching the worn part of the tire then road crown could be part of the wear factor.

 

My guess is his tire wear bike lean angle is more in line with L/H turns, & L/H curves than a shallow normal road crown.

[dirtrider]

thank you DR for your insightful advise.It was a little shocking how quickly this uneven were seemed to occur. Right now the bike has metzler touring tires. Can you suggest recommendations for the best tires for this bike?

 

Morning Puka

 

No recommendations on a tire that will work for you as everybody rides with different degree of aggressiveness, at different speeds, on different road surfaces, & different curve & turn lean angles.

 

From the info you have provided here I can say to try a different tire next time as the tires you have on there now don't seem to be providing the wear characteristics that you are expecting to see.

 

When it comes to motorcycle tires-- what works FOR ME on the roads I ride, might not work for you on the roads you ride.

 

No matter the tire you choose you might also try changing your riding habits slightly to even out the tire wear side to side in the future. (or maybe most of your tire wear was from the first owner)

 

In any case-- on left hand turns (not road curves but actual intersection turns) try riding out father into the intersection before laying the bike over to make the L/H turn (basically slow down slightly but square the corner off more like R/H turns). On R/H road curves try riding like L/H curves by picking a different line into & out of the curve & hit your apex same as the L/H curves. Pay attention to see if you are riding the R/H road curves as fast & at the same lean angle as L/H road curves. Start matching every L/H turn into parking spaces & L/H U-turns with matching (or even more) R/H turns into parking spaces & start making more R/H U-turns.

 

If you are serious about tracking down WHAT is causing your L/H tire wear just grab a can of white quick drying paint & ride out to some deserted roads.

 

First, find a very flat straight road & stop the bike-- then put on side stand or center stand & paint a small patch across the tire tread from outer wear area to outer wear area. Then allow the paint to dry a bit.

 

Now ride the bike in a straight line for about a mile or so stopping the bike in a straight up position with the paint area NOT ON THE ROAD SURFACE. Now look to see where the white paint is worn.

 

Next find a LARGE parking lot & do the same as above only don't ride in a straight line but try things like L/H turns, then stop & look at painted area.

 

Then paint up again & try L/H curves or L/H U turns. (bet you find something that matches up to your current tire wear)

 

 

 

[Scud]

Sounds like these tires have at least 6,000 on them - but now I'm not sure if these are kilometers or miles. I see you added Taos, New Mexico (USA) to your profile, which suggests these would be miles. Unless you have a Euro-spec bike with an odometer that measures kilometers.

 

6,000 miles is not bad for a set of tires on a heavy bike - and since you don't know the exact mileage when the previous owner put them on, it may actually be more. Some tires tend to wear more quickly near the end of their useful life.

 

Hardly anyone wears out their tires uniformly, the wear pattern shows how you've been riding - as described in previous posts. The tread squares off at your most common lean angle.

 

Sounds like it's time for new tires - so this time, take note of the exact mileage, check your tire pressure regularly (low pressure can increase wear), and pay attention to your riding habits. Then see how the tires last.

[puka]

What if because the fork seals were replaced only on the right side. Could this create some imbalance in the suspension resulting in uneven tire ware?

[dirtrider]

What if because the fork seals were replaced only on the right side. Could this create some imbalance in the suspension resulting in uneven tire ware?

 

Evening Puka

 

Yes, but ONLY (if) something was REALLY BENT during the service & the tire/wheel is leaned way over between the forks.(the tire leaning would be very obvious)

 

Seeing as the front axle is firmly clamped to the forks on both sides it would take something like a bent axle or a bent fork to cause the tire to lean enough to cause off-center wear.

 

As I mentioned in a posting above-- a motorcycle is a single track vehicle so leaning the front wheel makes the bike steer in that direction.

 

Are your handlebars straight when riding straight down the road? If so then your tire wear is probably not mechanical related.

 

Added: put your bike on the center stand & front tire on the ground-- Now look at the part of the tire that is ON THE GROUND. If the part of the tire that is worn off center IS NOT TOUCHING THE GROUND then there is no way it is wearing while riding straight down the road. (if it isn't touching the pavement then how could it wear?)

[puka]

Good point DR. I am grateful for the advice. I did notice that the front tire dose not rotate freely. There seems to be a small amount of resistance. Is this normal?

[dirtrider]

I did notice that the front tire dose not rotate freely. There seems to be a small amount of resistance. Is this normal?

 

Morning Puka

 

Maybe normal, it depends on how much drag, what is dragging, & if it is dragging after sitting & cooling off or just after being ridden.

 

A bit of cold brake pad drag is nothing to worry about-- A lot of brake drag, or a lot of wheel turning resistance just after riding the bike might point to a problem.

 

Added: that wheel resistance isn't causing your off center tire wear though.

[puka]

Morning DR.

Good to know.Sounds like I just need fresh tires and to pay more attention to things like tire pressure ect. Thanks for all the help. You guys are a Godsend.

Via con Dios

[Fraidycat]

recently had fork seal replaced by local motorcycle mechanic. then within less than 1000k my front tire compleatly wore out on the left side. and rear tire shows excessive were also.Is is possible he did some wrong?any body have any thoughts.

 

This condition has been discussed forever----and everybody has an opinion, myself included. What I can contribute is that I 'fixed' my bike which was wearing out front tires every 4-5 K miles. I did it by substituting a wider spacer at the rear wheel mount. I've never heard anybody say this out loud but I believe that BMW mis-aligned the wheels to compensate for the right side weight bias. When I put the wheels on the same centerline my PTTR and left side tire wear went away.

For what it's worth-----I'm not recommending anything for anybody.

[roger 04 rt]

Here is a long thread on the topic of pull to the right behavior and off center wear. PTTR

 

My solution:

[Mike Sawatske]

I think the ME88 is a bias ply tyre rather than a radial ply tyre, and indicated for "touring" motorcycles, meaning heavyweight motorcycles. My experience with a Suzuki Gsx1100g many years ago was that radials worked better and for longer than the OEM specified bias tyres.

This being my intro to radial tyres a lot of the wear patterns you have reported (but on the other side down here) experienced previously pleasantly changed.

 

Try some radial ply tyres next change, I have a preference for Michelins these days but I think most major manufacturers are on a par, just your own experience will eventually guide you. Don't be phased by the extra weight of 'touring' over 'sport' motorcycles as there are some tyres available for the rear to handle higher weights!

Mike