Cause of this uneven wear?

[jeepinoutwest]

This is my third set of oem tires. First two sets wore evenly. This time my rear tire only wore out much more on the left side than the right and faster as well. No change in my riding conditions. Any suggestions as to why and how to correct it? Thanks in advance. Rick

 

[GreatWhiteHunter]

When is the last time you checked your spokes?

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[jeepinoutwest]

I've checked them several times since ownership. They are not loose but I suppose the rim could be warped and I'd have no idea.

 

[TSRBrad]

I'd seen that a couple of times on my FJR but only on the front tire (Michelin PR3/4). Usually the rear tire would get standard flat strip down the middle. I'm sure I'm wrong but I surmised that it was because they were dual-compound tires and the softer side areas simply wore faster. I've never seen that on a rear tire, though.

 

[bnschroder]

Did you ever take the pumpkin off and tighten the bolts without the axle in?
This looks like a car tire that's out of alignment.

 

[WJBertrand]

I’m actually more surprised your first two sets wore evenly. Typically the left side will wear faster than the right because we ride on the right side of the road here in the US and the road cambers away to the right for drainage. It’s like you’re always slightly leaning left with respect to the road/tire interface.

Were these tires the OEM Battlewings, and if so, were they the Super Ténéré specific “E” code versions in each case?


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[jeepinoutwest]

At my first tire change at about 17,000 miles I took off the rear pumpkin and greased the axle as was suggested somewhere in this forum. I did not reassemble it without the axle, I put it back in reverse order. In addition, the second set of tires (after the axle lube) lasted me until 36,500 miles with far less wear than this current set and also with a perfectly even, left to right, tire wear pattern. So I know this is something that has developed in the past 16,500 miles. Is it possible to have a bad tire?

 

[moto.monk]

I had something very similar on my trail attack 2 front tire which might be caused my improper rebound setting/old fork oil. Which on my bike made big difference in changing the fork oil. I used 7w instead of 5w also. I did start checking my spokes after I lost my first one at 22k miles but my tire problem came after. Also the bike is a 2016 with 34k miles and the fork oil was never done. Per the manual it should be done every two years. I just placed my front tire today because it unevenly wore out even though it had lots of thread. If you run your fingers and find one side of the tread higher the other its a compression setting problem also if see circles every couple of inches it can be the same thing. But from your photos it looks like street wear from of side of the road being lower then the another. It is done so that when it rains it goes straight to the sides of road to drainage holes. Fix for that is nothing or fine a different route

 

[jeepinoutwest]

These are the OEM Battlewings, series E, but that would have explained it if they were E series. I even just double checked to make sure there wasn't a mix up.

 

[jeepinoutwest]

Well my front tire isn't even worn out yet after 16,500 miles, so its doing ok. The rear shock is a sealed unit but I do wonder if it could be going with 53,000 on it and that could be the cause of my issue.

 

[jeepinoutwest]

Ok, something just dawned on me. Didn't even think this might matter. But, 1300-1400 miles ago I replaced the rear brake pads and in my haste, I forgot to re-torque the rear caliper tension bar. Tonight while taking off the rear tire, I noticed the tension bar was loose but still connected. Is it possible this oversight caused my very uneven wear? Also prior to the shoddy brake job I do not remember any uneven wear. Did I do any damage to the bearings?

 

[bnschroder]

Occam’s Razor surely suggests this might be the explanation.
Why did you unbolt the torque bar to change brake pads? I just did mine and just unscrewed the two caliper bolts.
It seems not unlikely that with the loose bar every rear braking could result in a slight shifting of the rear wheel that causes uneven wear.


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[EricV]

Sure, the shock is a little worn, but it wouldn't present like that. (you would start to see cupping in the back from the swing arm bouncing and feel it as the back wagging a little in the corners under load) It's just a wonky tire. It happens. You got plenty of life out of it. You may be more comfortable on the throttle on one direction of turns more than the other? Got a standard commute path you take? Could be a lot of things. Don't let it bother you. I've had this happen and it was just the tire. I've had several of the same brand/version of a tire that balanced with zero or very little weight, then got one of the same thing that took significant amount of weight to balance. Rode fine, but didn't wear as well over the life of the tire.

 

[Longdog Cymru]

This is my third set of oem tires. First two sets wore evenly. This time my rear tire only wore out much more on the left side than the right and faster as well. No change in my riding conditions. Any suggestions as to why and how to correct it? Thanks in advance. Rick View attachment 58807View attachment 58809

Wow! That tyre is scrap! How many miles on it?

 

[Boris]

The tyre was on the right way round? They are directional.

Not sure if it’d cause that if the wrong way round, but perhaps one to eliminate.

 

[squarebore]

I can't believe you were still riding on that tyre!! I never go past the wear bars. Amazing.

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[jeepinoutwest]

Good morning. I mistakenly loosened the tension bar for pads, my mistake, only necessary when removing the tire.

The rear shock looks fine, and it still rides fine, and at $1327 (not installed) I hope its not that.

This rear has 16,500 miles on but the previous one went 19,000.

Directionality was correct as was the E rating.

I shouldn't have done the last 300 mile trip, the rate of wear really accelerated at the end, but luckily none of the steel belts wore through.

Thanks for eveyone's help. This sure looked like a problem to me, I guess I'll find out if the new tire wears really fast and unevenly.

 

[cyclemike4]

I have had at times different bikes and different tires that wore a tire in a very strange manner. In my case it was just something that the tire did. May have been a defect with the tire or the riding circumstances that made them wear strange. I did check the bikes over and put another set of tires on and all was well. As a matter of fact i had a couple tires that wore almost just like yours. Check the bike over put on new tires and enjoy it!

 

[Clawdog60]

I can’t see how the torque bar would change anything it’s nothing like a bmw swing arm. What about a swing arm pivot bushing being worn out causing a off center condition? Sure wish I could get 16k out of a tire. My style is too aggressive to get any mileage like that.

 

[EricV]

Considering how many miles you're getting from those tires and your comfort level for taking it down past the tread grooves, and your lean angles, I'd say you're doing pretty good. I'm better than average on tread life compared to many on this forum, but on the OEM Bridgestones I don't usually see over 10k miles from a rear. The set on now is close to end of life by my standards and I may leave it on for a while longer for local riding, but won't go on a trip with it. You make my tire look great still. And I'm into the wear bars.