New front tire

Wee Willy · May 27, 2010

Constant Mesh said:
Odd that the right side appears to be worn more than the left side. Unusual for right-of-centerline riding.

I suspect that might be more camera effect than real. These are iPhone pictures and its lens has a bit of a fisheye effect. I may not have been exactly along centerline either. I COULD just walk over to the garage and look, but I have not had my first cup o' joe yet.

Hey...it might be Coriolis too...have to think about that one. I wonder how much time I spend riding north??

Cheers,

W2

Fred W · May 27, 2010

WW,

Normally you get the left side of the tire worn more than the right side. That is because you spend more time leaned over making left turns than rights. Maybe you picture is flipped l-r?

nwrider1 · May 27, 2010

"you spend more time leaned over making left turns than rights"

That's because roads, especially two lane, are crowned for water drainage. Since I live in the country with a lot of two lane chip sealed roads, my front tires will be bald on the left side and still have tread in the center and right. When you wear out the left side, give your tire to someone in NZ!

Fred W · May 27, 2010

Even if they were not crowned, because we are on the right of a roadway's center line we necessarily ride a longer arc to get around the same left hand corner than someone going the opposite way around the corner does. But I agree that the crowning amplifies the effect.

SVTNate · May 28, 2010

I'm glad I found this thread. I was at the dealer yesterday, scheduling my 4k mile service. I'm at about 3,400 miles right now, and the OEM front on my 2009 will be toast by 4k miles. I was already planning to run a PR2 up front, but this thread has sealed the deal.

My OEM rear is still good to go. Should I leave it for now, or just go ahead and have the dealer replace it with a matching PR2? The reason I was thinking about replacing my OEM rear despite still having traction is that they need to take the rear wheel off to inspect and properly lube the final drive splines anyway, and that's something I wanted to be done since the FAQ states that the splines are under-lubed from the factory.

Wee Willy · May 29, 2010

SVTNate said:
I'm glad I found this thread. I was at the dealer yesterday, scheduling my 4k mile service. I'm at about 3,400 miles right now, and the OEM front on my 2009 will be toast by 4k miles. I was already planning to run a PR2 up front, but this thread has sealed the deal.
My OEM rear is still good to go. Should I leave it for now, or just go ahead and have the dealer replace it with a matching PR2? The reason I was thinking about replacing my OEM rear despite still having traction is that they need to take the rear wheel off to inspect and properly lube the final drive splines anyway, and that's something I wanted to be done since the FAQ states that the splines are under-lubed from the factory.

I'd drive your OEM to the end. It works just fine with the PR2 up front. Just beware that when you are down to little tread along the center of the rear. you will be down to metal VERY VERY shortly thereafter. It was a surprise to me (happened in ~20 miles) and has bitten others here as well. Be advised.

Cheers,

W2