Front Tire ?? k1200rs

[stevepage1@windstream.net]

Anyone have any idea why my front tire on my k1200rs is worn out on the left side and the right side is in good shape?

Thanks

Steve Page #167459

 

[Ken F]

Steve,
As the old saying goes...There are as many opinions on this as there are Anal Ports...
and everybody has one.

Some I've heard are:
Road crown, the radius of a left hand turn is longer than a right hand turn, uneven weighting of the bike, ect.

Fact is, that many do it and Rbikes seem more prone to it than K bikes.

You can search here on the forums, and google and come up with many, many opinions.

I for one...don't know. When you let go of your handle bars going down a straight stretch of road does it pull slightly to the right? If so this is probably why. In order to maintain a straight line you are constantly having to correct slightly which in turn wears the left side.

I've heard some say that by loading your left saddlebag with all of the heavy items,
it will help counteract this. I'm sure you will get a variety of opinions, just stand-by!

Ken

 

[58058D]

Yes, there are lots of opinions. Many of us have had similar experiences, and you can search for this subject and find enough to keep you busy all day. A photo of your tire would provide more context, as you will see in many prior threads on this. What you say is 'good shape' could be just relative to the well worn side, or would it be significant original tread left? How is the center, is there significant cupping (many if not all fronts on a K12RS will cup to some extent, some more than others). Mine tend to wear more on the left, but not significantly. I have had a tire or two that did have significant differences, and that was riding the same roads back and forth for nearly 100,000 miles over 7 years. The vast majority of my riding is on two lane highways with a normal 2% crown, surface is relatively abrasive (other than the 'green line' down the center of the lane....)

 

[163750]

Left or right handed? I have noticed through years of observation ( that would be changing a couple of hundred tires at the dealershhip level) and actual participation in road racing, that right handed people are far more comfortable turning in deeper and more agressively to the left than the right. Other things factor in besides the crown of a road, most car tires receive increased wear on the outside of the right front tire because we are in the habit of turning more agressively to the left into parking lots, intersections and the like, in order to cut across the flow of the oncoming traffic when the opportunities to make the desired manuver is limited. That would put the increased load on the left side of a motorcyle tire. Lots and lots of things can be attributed to the difference in wear. Just look at the "chicken strip" on the rear tire of your bike and see if perhaps you favor leaning a little harder in one direction than the other. Yes, just another portal theory, and yes I have one, I know. Keep em' coming, they are always entertaining.

 

[deilenberger]

Steve,

Please read: http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?t=46057 - I've added this info (as best I could find) to your thread title.

 

[stevepage1@windstream.net]

Front Tire 2000 K1200rs

Thanks for the information about the year and modle of the bike. I will do better in the future.

Thanks to all of you for the information about the tire. After removeing it from the bike and inspecting it, I think the part about being right handed and more agressive in a left hand turn holds true. I looked at the "chicken strip" on the rear tire and found that there was none on the left side and a little one on the right.

The left side of the frount tire has been eaten up on a rough road that I ride to work every day. The wear bare on the left side is gone. Still have some tread on the right and maybe a few small cups.

Anyway, I have a new tire on the way. The tire is a Dunlop Roadsmart 120x70ZRx17

Thanks again for all your help. This is a great Forum.

Steve Page #167459
P.S. Please excuse my poor spelling.