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  1. #1
    Active Member Wrongway's Avatar
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    Default Right front tire wearing on inside

    I just noticed today that my right front tire is wearing badly on the inside. I check my air pressure on a regular basis and never noticed before.
    Maybe because of the way I was parked outside and in the sun it just happened to catch my eye, who knows.
    The tires have 6,000 miles on them. The left side tire looks almost like new as does the ourside of the right tire.
    I had the dealer install the baja ron sway bar 1200 miles ago. Could this be the cause at all???

    Obviously it looks like an alignment issue but I was wondering about the sway bar replacement so though I'd ask.

    thanks
    Greg
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  2. #2
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    I don't know if the Spyder has a camber adjustment but if the tire is leaning to the inside that will definitely wear the inside of the tire. It could also be that the toe-in is not adjusted correctly. You need to have the front end geometry checked and adjusted. In the meantime you can swap tires (unless they are directional) and save the worn tire a few more miles.

  3. #3
    Active Member Wrongway's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RinconRyder View Post
    I don't know if the Spyder has a camber adjustment but if the tire is leaning to the inside that will definitely wear the inside of the tire. It could also be that the toe-in is not adjusted correctly. You need to have the front end geometry checked and adjusted. In the meantime you can swap tires (unless they are directional) and save the worn tire a few more miles.
    Yes, they're directional. If I decide to have the dealer rotate them side to side, they're have to remove the tires from the rims and then re-balance them.
    I'm not sure how much value there is in swapping them side to side after having an allignment done.
    Would love to hear comments on the value of doing this as well.
    Greg
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  4. #4
    Very Active Member BLUEKNIGHT911's Avatar
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    Default SPYDERS AND CAMBER

    Quote Originally Posted by RinconRyder View Post
    I don't know if the Spyder has a camber adjustment but if the tire is leaning to the inside that will definitely wear the inside of the tire. It could also be that the toe-in is not adjusted correctly. You need to have the front end geometry checked and adjusted. In the meantime you can swap tires (unless they are directional) and save the worn tire a few more miles.
    It doesn't - they are a fixed set-up .... the OP has alignment issues .... a Proper Laser alignment will fix His tire wear ... But not on the ones He's using now ... they are damaged and can't be reversed ,....Mike

  5. #5
    Very Active Member ARtraveler's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BLUEKNIGHT911 View Post
    It doesn't - they are a fixed set-up .... the OP has alignment issues .... a Proper Laser alignment will fix His tire wear ... But not on the ones He's using now ... they are damaged and can't be reversed ,....Mike

    x 2. Said well.

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  6. #6
    Active Member fjray's Avatar
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    Make sure the alignment is done with the tires that are going to stay on the machine. changes in tire size can and will have an effect on the alignment. Even tires with the same indicated size will vary in height and width.

  7. #7
    Active Member Wrongway's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BLUEKNIGHT911 View Post
    It doesn't - they are a fixed set-up .... the OP has alignment issues .... a Proper Laser alignment will fix His tire wear ... But not on the ones He's using now ... they are damaged and can't be reversed ,....Mike
    Hi Mike:
    So do you think I should replace the bad tire after the allignment or can I just leave it on until I'm ready to replace both??? It still has about 4mm of tread on the bad part of the tire.
    Also, would the install of the sway bar have changed anything with regards to the allignment???

    thanks
    Greg
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  8. #8
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    Wrongway, don’t bother rotating the tires, they’re beyond that point. It does not matter if you change tires before or after your alignment and you can add a Sway Bar at anytime, it has no affect on the alignment.

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  9. #9
    Very Active Member Chupaca's Avatar
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    Default Choices.....

    Had uneven wear on the front tires so got the alignment from Squared Away and rode another 20,000 miles and they evened up shortly before I replaced them. Depends....if your going to change it I would change them both before the alignment....
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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by SpyderAnn01 View Post
    Wrongway, don’t bother rotating the tires, they’re beyond that point. It does not matter if you change tires before or after your alignment and you can add a Sway Bar at anytime, it has no affect on the alignment.
    Ann, last Spring I did a ride with SRA-So.Utah and noticed Roger had similar wear pattern, more on one tire than the other. He said he wanted to get that taken care of before they went to Quebec. Do you happen to remember that?
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  11. #11
    Very Active Member BLUEKNIGHT911's Avatar
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    Default OP PROBLEM

    Quote Originally Posted by UtahPete View Post
    Could you post pictures of your two front tires so we can see just what you are talking about? If it is a severe camber problem, then laser alignment alone won't fix that I don't think.
    The only way I can think of that Camber would cause the issue would be if He had an accident or Extreme POTHOLE .... The CAMBER is NON _ADJUSTABLE ...period .... And Ann chimed in and answered the rest ( and She's an EXPERT in alignment )..............Mike

  12. #12
    Active Member Wrongway's Avatar
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    Default trying to post a picture

    Quote Originally Posted by UtahPete View Post
    Could you post pictures of your two front tires so we can see just what you are talking about? If it is a severe camber problem, then laser alignment alone won't fix that I don't think.
    So I took pictures of both front tires but can't figure out how to post them here.
    Greg
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  13. #13
    Active Member Wrongway's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BLUEKNIGHT911 View Post
    The only way I can think of that Camber would cause the issue would be if He had an accident or Extreme POTHOLE .... The CAMBER is NON _ADJUSTABLE ...period .... And Ann chimed in and answered the rest ( and She's an EXPERT in alignment )..............Mike
    Now that you mention potholes.........about 400 miles ago I went over a set of railway tracks and the Spyder came down hard, bottoming out. I did hear a bang but I pulled over to look underneath and couldn't see anything. I'm pretty sure a tire wouldn't scuff that bad in 400 miles but who knows.

    Still trying to figure out how to post pics of the bad tire
    Greg
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  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by BLUEKNIGHT911 View Post
    The only way I can think of that Camber would cause the issue would be if He had an accident or Extreme POTHOLE .... The CAMBER is NON _ADJUSTABLE ...period .... And Ann chimed in and answered the rest ( and She's an EXPERT in alignment )..............Mike
    Yeah, Mike, I realize that. Joe told me there's no adjustment per se for camber like there is for toe in / toe out, but that it can be done (with great difficulty).

    My service manual (CD-ROM) doesn't say anything about alignment, but there must be some technical info on this subject somewhere, since it's so critical to the way the bike handles.
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  15. #15
    Active Member Wrongway's Avatar
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    Default FINALLY

    BAD TIRE
    IMG_0730.jpg

    GOOD TIRE
    IMG_0731.jpg
    Greg
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  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wrongway View Post
    BAD TIRE
    IMG_0730.jpg

    GOOD TIRE
    IMG_0731.jpg
    That actually doesn't look too bad compared to what I was thinking (and what Roger's looked like).

    Tire guys - what do you think? I don't see the typical feathering I normally associate with a toe-in / toe-out issue but then again I don't have much experience diagnosing tire wear problems with a Spyder vs a car.
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  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by SpyderAnn01 View Post
    Wrongway, don’t bother rotating the tires, they’re beyond that point. It does not matter if you change tires before or after your alignment and you can add a Sway Bar at anytime, it has no affect on the alignment.
    Thanks Ann could not have said it better

  18. #18
    Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie Peter Aawen's Avatar
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    As the Spyder comes from the factory, the only real adjustments you can make are toe in/out & if you got the adjustable pre-load spring/shocks, you might be able to fiddle with that a bit & change the static ride height a little too. And like Ann said (& she should - & does, know!) fitting a different sway bar won't have ANY impact on your alignment in any way - well, not unless you fitted it with a pile-driver & a thermal-lance welder!!

    Actually, here's a thought Wrongway, does your Spyder have that screw adjust for the spring pre-load on your front shocks?? If it does, is there ANY chance that they are not adjusted equally side to side?? If the left hand shock has more spring pre-load than the right, your Spyder will be leaning a little to the right & loading up the inside of that RH wheel more.... Quick & dirty check, park your Spyder on a patch of level concrete, then using a large square sat vertically on the ground alongside each wheel so that it's short leg sticks straight out from the hub & the long leg is pushed up hard against the tire where it hits the ground & the rest stands up vertically alongside the wheel, check to see if the gap between the vertival leg & the wheel is identical on both sides. It could show that your wheels are angled IN at the top, or OUT at the top, but they should be close to identical or you'll get wear like that you've described! I'd expect to see the RH side has a greater lean in at the top than the LH side... And to fix it, you'll need to adjust the OPPOSITE side shock preload, ie, if the RH inner tire is worn on the inside edge & the top of that tire is angled in more, then you'd expect to need to slacken off the pre-load tension on the LH shock a little; but like I said, this is a quick & dirty check & an even dirtier fix! And it won't necessarily fix the worn tread problem at all, certainly not in less than about 5000 miles!

    You really need to check the wheel alignment properly, get the spring/shock pre-load matched, and check the front end & suspension carefully for worn parts or damage, bent arms, etc - oh, & get a new set of tires!! Yes, you can continue to run that tire until the tread is worn down a bit more, but now that it's worn unevenly it's probably going to take at least twice as long to even the wear up As it took to show up this bad wear, & that's only IF you get everything corrected now - and all the while you are trying to wear that tire flat may be compromising your safety & handling on the road! The tire is worn unevenly, it won't necessarily respond evenly or the way you expect it to if you hit a patch of water or a surface with uneven grip... are you prepared to risk your life & safety as well as that of the road users around you - and now you KNOW that tire is compromised, continuing to run it could well be considered cuplable if things turn for the worst!
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  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by SpyderAnn01 View Post
    Wrongway, don’t bother rotating the tires, they’re beyond that point. It does not matter if you change tires before or after your alignment and you can add a Sway Bar at anytime, it has no affect on the alignment.
    Ann, do you still think that, based on the pics he just posted?
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  20. #20
    Very Active Member jcthorne's Avatar
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    If those are the OEM tires on his 2011, they are due for replacement simply on time regardless of tread left.

    Do yourself a favor and put a new set of Bridgestones on the front and get it aligned. The resulting ride and handling will be much improved. Quit fretting over aged out tires. They are done.

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  21. #21
    Active Member Wrongway's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jcthorne View Post
    If those are the OEM tires on his 2011, they are due for replacement simply on time regardless of tread left.

    Do yourself a favor and put a new set of Bridgestones on the front and get it aligned. The resulting ride and handling will be much improved. Quit fretting over aged out tires. They are done.
    LOL, I think I frett over everything. The tires aren't the original. They were replaced about 9,000 miles ago by the original owner and are the world famous Kenda's.
    When I do actually replace the front though, it will be with the original size bridgestones.
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  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by UtahPete View Post
    Ann, do you still think that, based on the pics he just posted?
    Pete, tires are a pretty inexpensive item so why would someone want to go to the expense of rotating them to find out that they are still junk? In Las Vegas we pay $30 to have a tire mounted, that doesn’t include our labor to remove and reinstall the tires, so you’d spend a minimum of $60 to do it yourself. Just put good tires on the bike and be done with the junk Kendas.

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  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by UtahPete View Post
    That actually doesn't look too bad compared to what I was thinking (and what Roger's looked like).

    Tire guys - what do you think? I don't see the typical feathering I normally associate with a toe-in / toe-out issue but then again I don't have much experience diagnosing tire wear problems with a Spyder vs a car.
    Pete, I think you’re talking about cupping when you say feathering. The Kenda will cup when they are worn out. Wrongway has actual wear on the inside of one tire which is caused by a toed out condition.

    Roger had many thousands of miles on his Kendas and they were cupped and were replaced with car tires.

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  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by SpyderAnn01 View Post
    Pete, I think you’re talking about cupping when you say feathering. The Kenda will cup when they are worn out. Wrongway has actual wear on the inside of one tire which is caused by a toed out condition. Roger had many thousands of miles on his Kendas and they were cupped and were replaced with car tires.
    Thanks Ann. I think of cupping as a result of wheel not balanced. Feathering is what I call that effect resulting from alignment issues. We're probably talking about the same thing. I've always wondered what was causing that unusual wear pattern on Roger's tires, so it will be interesting to see how the new ones look after he's ridden them over 5k miles by now.
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  25. #25
    Very Active Member AeroPilot's Avatar
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    Default Looks like the inside wear on the right tire on our 11 RT

    When we bought our first Spyder in 2012, it was assembled from the crate and with several thousand miles use, had a severe inside of the tire wear develope. We got the Spyder aligned by Lamonster garage in Springfield the next Spyderfest trip, and we did remount the tires on the wheels and got some more useful wear out of them although I did not record the mileage at the time. If your tires are otherwise rolling smooth with no vibrations or other wise uneven wear, Your Choice on how to proceed. Car tires will give you better wear and most likely better/smoother roll, as has been our experience with some Michelin defenders mounted on the 14 " wheels on the 11 RT model. The Michelins were still on the bike when we traded it with 76,000 miles on the odometer. The front tires you can usually count on getting about 20,000 miles if you watch them and at about $100 a tire depending on your choice, It's your call, and hope there are not any other frame or A-arm issues contributing to your wear. How many total miles on the bike?
    Last edited by AeroPilot; 10-09-2017 at 09:32 AM. Reason: sp
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