Uneven tire wear
- Thread starter newowner
- Start date
I don't know how many miles or how old is it - I bought the bike recently and I'm doing maintenance on it since its been sitting for many years. i guess that tire is pretty old too. I already checked and there is no rubbing anywhere. anyway i will install the new tire and keep an eye on it.
Andrew Shadow
Site Supporter
That wear is typical of when the tire is allowed to wear beyond the wear bars. The rubber is really soft at that level and wears unevenly. Having more wear on the left-hand side is also normal because you are in a country that drives on the right-hand side of the road and the left-hand side of the tire exhibits more wear due to the effects of road crown.
Allowing the tires to wear past the wear bars always injects uncertain tire wear in to the equation so definitely time for new tires.
Allowing the tires to wear past the wear bars always injects uncertain tire wear in to the equation so definitely time for new tires.
Big_Jim59
Site Supporter
That is a weird wear pattern but there are a multitude of things that can cause this. Under inflation and out of balance come to mind as well as a mechanical issue such as bearing wear or swing arm issues. It's definitely past its sell-by date
Michelins have softer sidewalls than other sport touring tires. The wear isn't all that unusual if you've been doing twisties and left hand turns mostly. I'd bet your right side isn't a whole lot better. Anyway that tire is worn out and wear can get a little weird at the latter stages of life.
With Michelins on the heavier sport tourers, you'd be wise to run the pressure at 44-46 on the rear. Michelins have a bit softer compounds as well, good grip in most conditions.
With Michelins on the heavier sport tourers, you'd be wise to run the pressure at 44-46 on the rear. Michelins have a bit softer compounds as well, good grip in most conditions.
Re-Suspension : I changed a leaking fork seal and the fork oil with maxima oil (attached) and I noticed that the front is stiffer and I set the rear rebound to soft.. so maybe this suspension setup combined with the tire being old and almost worn out ended up chewing the left side
Re: pressure in the rear tire - when I got the bike at the start of the season the tire pressure was 30psi (cold).. is it under inflated ?
Re: pressure in the rear tire - when I got the bike at the start of the season the tire pressure was 30psi (cold).. is it under inflated ?
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Swing arm bearing almost never, steering head bearing and a leaking fork seal won't cause that. The only thing I would suggest is to pay carefull attention to the rear wheel bearings. That seems to be a weak spot. IMO. If the tires were changed when they were at or near the wear bar we wouldn,t be having this conversation.
There is a date stamp on the tire - usually 4 digits* in an oval molded into the sidewall. The first two are the week when the tire was made and the last two the year.
How to Read Michelin Tire Date Codes - Detailed Guide
This detailed guide will help you learn how to read Michelin tire date codes no matter what type of tire you have. Learn through examples!
whattires.com
*3 digits prior to 2000
If you were running that tire at 30 psi, then that goes a long way to explain the funny wear...... get those Michelins up there! Honda recommends 42 psi both ends... you should be checking those at least weekly, or get yourself a TPMS system (with metal valve stems of course).
Are those chicken stripes all the way to the outside on the left side? Excessive track days?
No the stripes aren't out as far as I thought. Does look like what I would do for extreme lean angles though, lower pressure puts more rubber on the road.
10w maybe too stiff, 5w is stock, I used 7 and really liked it.