Right Tire wearing faster than left.

[Sammie]

Hello everyone, Trust me before i posted this i have done the search but with the keywords i entered i mainly get where one side of the same tire is wearing quicker. Here is my issue, I have a 2019 RTL, Bought with no miles last week, Guess that means no dealer test ride but im ok with that. I perform all the maintenance on each of my vehicles (and let me say i have had quite a few) mainly because there is not to many people i trust to work on stuff I drive or my wife may drive and im cheap (Labor is high). Anyhow, to my point, i been riding a little after work to build up the miles on the bike for break in but i noticed that it pulls to the right. Well im not that worried about a slight pull but here lies what does bother me.
When i purchased the bike the tires still had the nipples on the tread but now after only 250 miles the right tire has rubbed near about all the nipples off and the left tire still has the nipples fairly clearly. I am trying to catch a situation before it gets to far gone and now is the time because with those nipples on the tires its a great time to see if one is wearing quicker than the other and sure enough it is. Now, i noticed that it has independent alignment adjustment and i know most are going to say i need to get it laser aligned but its easier said than done. Not to many Can Am dealers around her (matter fact i drove 6 hours just to get the Spyder). So you goo rues out there here is the question, do you think it would be OK to adjust the right alignment bar maybe 1/4 turn and test ride it to see if the pull is better? I have done a lot of drive way tire alignments so this would not be anything new BUT the spyder is new to me and since i have never worked on one i would like to make sure im going down correct path.
Let me know if you think 1/4 adjustment is extreme or not, i mean the adjust link is rather small so i figure 1/4 turn at a time shouldn't magnify that much change, but then again, im not an expert on Spyders just your friendly neighborhood shade tree mechanic.

 

[SportsterDoc]

Did you search toe in or toe out?
What is the difference from the inside of the rims front vs. rear?

 

[Lew L]

I know it's a silly question---- is the tire pressure the same?? If so-- go to a pro who know how to properly align the tires ( all three ) of an expensive vehicle like a :spyder2:.
I can take my hands of the bars on a truly flat road and no pulling------ after a proper alignment by Squared Away. Anne and Joe are great but on the other side of the country. There are some shops on the east coast that know how to do alignments properly.
You wouldn't accept this poor handling/ tire wear if this was an expensive auto.........

 

[SportsterDoc]

I know it's a silly question---- is the tire pressure the same??

Not at all, as it is a very significant question.

 

[Sammie]

Did you search toe in or toe out?
What is the difference from the inside of the rims front vs. rear?

I have not measured yet but I am planning on it right after I install sway bar which I am in process of doing now

 

[Sammie]

I know it's a silly question---- is the tire pressure the same?? If so-- go to a pro who know how to properly align the tires ( all three ) of an expensive vehicle like a :spyder2:.
I can take my hands of the bars on a truly flat road and no pulling------ after a proper alignment by Squared Away. Anne and Joe are great but on the other side of the country. There are some shops on the east coast that know how to do alignments properly.
You wouldn't accept this poor handling/ tire wear if this was an expensive auto.........

I am also planning on checking the air pressure after installing the sway bar.

 

[Peter Aawen]

Welcome to the Forum Sammie. :clap:

Just to explore your concerns a little - simply because the little casting nipples on one tire/tread have worn off quicker doesn't necessarily mean your wheel alignment is necessarily out or of concern, but it is good that you noticed & are checking! :thumbup: If it's the right tire that's worn off the nipples, it could just be a tire pressure thing (as mentioned already); or it could be that your RH brake is working harder/more than your left; or possibly it's due to you riding around more left hand corners at speed than you do RH corners; or, amongst a whole raft of other possibilities, maybe it's just cos the roads you ride on simply have a bit of camber built into their surface (to aid their draining in the wet) that loads that right side up more?!? :dontknow:

All that said, MOST new tires when they are first put into service tend to 'polish off' the very top of their tread AND wear off all those little nipples fairly quickly, usually within about 4-500 miles; and they also 'pack down' their tread a little in the first thousand miles or so too, which means it can seem as tho they've worn pretty fast in that first flush of use, but that's usually not quite the case!! And they will very likely do all that at different rates between individual tires - how fast depends on all sorts of things, including how much sunlight that particular tire has been exposed to!! If you are still really concerned; sure, you can pay for a wheel alignment just to make sure it's all fine - heck, in the case of many Spyders/Rykers direct from the manufacturer, you pretty much HAVE to do that anyway, cos the factory alignment &/or dealer alignment can be so poor (at least they have been in the past! ) and from what you've written, you probably should do that in this case ESPECIALLY because you say it's noticeably pulling one way while riding straight (I hope you're taking into account any tendency to veer slightly right due to the camber on the road tho?! :dontknow: ) and you'd also want to do that if it's pulling one way under brakes - altho if it's 'diving' one way under brakes as opposed to gently veering, then check your brakes for proper operation & freely sliding calipers FIRST!! :lecturef_smilie:

However, if you don't have any other reason or handling issues to suspect it's got an alignment problem, then you'll probably be doing yourself a favour if you just carefully check the tread depth at multiple points across the tread face!! Do that every couple of hundred miles of riding (any less won't show much noticeable change) record the results and look for even tread depth across the gutters in the tread face and between both front tires too - you can get a 'stick' type tread depth gauge that's reasonably accurate fairly cheaply; or you could buy a more expensive/better quality/more accurate gauge; or you could simply use the 'other end' of a vernier gauge, the bit that sticks out the back - they can be very accurate IF you know how to use one properly! And they aren't too hard to find or learn how to use either! hyea: Between that and gently running your hand along the tread around a portion of the circumference of the tire (in both directions) to feel for raised tread block edges, a sawtooth effect, or scalloping of the tread blocks, you can generally get a pretty good idea of how your tires are behaving &/or if you have any issues that need correction.... not that you'll ever really 'correct' an established wear pattern after about 1000 miles anyway - but you can minimise any excessively rapid wear & still get pretty reasonable tread life & performance out of the tire despite early signs of adverse wear patterns! :thumbup:

And if you've got any 'old school' wheel aligners nearby, anyone who knows how to do an alignment without an expensive computer aided system, they can probably do a 'thrust alignment' and a front wheel alignment for you fairly competently & cheaply too! But if you haven't had an alignment done by a reputable & competent aligner since you purchased your Spyder/Ryker and it looks like it's wearing tires oddly/feels like it's pulling one way, or even just feels a bit 'flighty' or 'darty' as you ride, then you shouldGET A PROPER ALIGNMENT DONE PDQ!! And by 'proper alignment', I mean one NOT done by a Dealer or using the 'non-laser' factory method! :shocked:

Good Luck! :cheers:

 

[Mikey]

These miles you put on so far, have they been on the same roads or streets??? In the same direction , and how much of a crown is there on those roads? I know it's a stretch, but thought I would toss it out there! A good alignment is in your future!!:2thumbs:

 

[ThreeWheels]

Don't fret the issue about the search function. You can easily get too many hits to be really useful.

Obvious questions, confirming what others covered already:
Is the air pressure consistent ? The fronts should be somewhere around 18 psig, and as close to the same pressure as humanly possible.
Is the front end aligned properly ? Get a laser alignment if you can.
https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?65815-South-Carolina-Laser-Alignment
Is the DPS set properly ? The handlebars need to be centered properly and the position sensor set. This requires hooking the Spyder to a computer at a dealer. If you get a laser alignment, they should be able to take care of that at the same time.
Are the roads consistent ? Are you able to travel back and forth on the same roads ? Or are you forced to make a loop and travel down the same roads in one direction ? If it was the crown in the road, I would have anticipated wearing the left tire more.

You say the nipples are worn off the right side. Is it consistent across the whole tire ? Or is it just the outside surface of the tire.

If none of these take care of your issue, consider the possibility that the right tire is just wrong. The Kenda tires are known to fail prematurely because the quality control of the manufacturer is just poor.


Just my opinion. I could be wrong.

 

[PW2013STL]

It could be the tire itself.
On my 2015F3 (purchased used with 23,000 miles on it) at 32,000 miles the left tire was worn out, but the right tire looked like it could go another 10,000 miles. Thinking the right had been replace at some point I contacted the past owner and asked. He told me it had not been. It was just the difference in quality of construction.

 

[Sammie]

Welcome to the Forum Sammie. :clap:

Just to explore your concerns a little - simply because the little casting nipples on one tire/tread have worn off quicker doesn't necessarily mean your wheel alignment is necessarily out or of concern, but it is good that you noticed & are checking! :thumbup: If it's the right tire that's worn off the nipples, it could just be a tire pressure thing (as mentioned already); or it could be that your RH brake is working harder/more than your left; or possibly it's due to you riding around more left hand corners at speed than you do RH corners; or, amongst a whole raft of other possibilities, maybe it's just cos the roads you ride on simply have a bit of camber built into their surface (to aid their draining in the wet) that loads that right side up more?!? :dontknow:

All that said, MOST new tires when they are first put into service tend to 'polish off' the very top of their tread AND wear off all those little nipples fairly quickly, usually within about 4-500 miles; and they also 'pack down' their tread a little in the first thousand miles or so too, which means it can seem as tho they've worn pretty fast in that first flush of use, but that's usually not quite the case!! And they will very likely do all that at different rates between individual tires - how fast depends on all sorts of things, including how much sunlight that particular tire has been exposed to!! If you are still really concerned; sure, you can pay for a wheel alignment just to make sure it's all fine - heck, in the case of many Spyders/Rykers direct from the manufacturer, you pretty much HAVE to do that anyway, cos the factory alignment &/or dealer alignment can be so poor (at least they have been in the past! ) and from what you've written, you probably should do that in this case ESPECIALLY because you say it's noticeably pulling one way while riding straight (I hope you're taking into account any tendency to veer slightly right due to the camber on the road tho?! :dontknow: ) and you'd also want to do that if it's pulling one way under brakes - altho if it's 'diving' one way under brakes as opposed to gently veering, then check your brakes for proper operation & freely sliding calipers FIRST!! :lecturef_smilie:

However, if you don't have any other reason or handling issues to suspect it's got an alignment problem, then you'll probably be doing yourself a favour if you just carefully check the tread depth at multiple points across the tread face!! Do that every couple of hundred miles of riding (any less won't show much noticeable change) record the results and look for even tread depth across the gutters in the tread face and between both front tires too - you can get a 'stick' type tread depth gauge that's reasonably accurate fairly cheaply; or you could buy a more expensive/better quality/more accurate gauge; or you could simply use the 'other end' of a vernier gauge, the bit that sticks out the back - they can be very accurate IF you know how to use one properly! And they aren't too hard to find or learn how to use either! hyea: Between that and gently running your hand along the tread around a portion of the circumference of the tire (in both directions) to feel for raised tread block edges, a sawtooth effect, or scalloping of the tread blocks, you can generally get a pretty good idea of how your tires are behaving &/or if you have any issues that need correction.... not that you'll ever really 'correct' an established wear pattern after about 1000 miles anyway - but you can minimise any excessively rapid wear & still get pretty reasonable tread life & performance out of the tire despite early signs of adverse wear patterns! :thumbup:

And if you've got any 'old school' wheel aligners nearby, anyone who knows how to do an alignment without an expensive computer aided system, they can probably do a 'thrust alignment' and a front wheel alignment for you fairly competently & cheaply too! But if you haven't had an alignment done by a reputable & competent aligner since you purchased your Spyder/Ryker and it looks like it's wearing tires oddly/feels like it's pulling one way, or even just feels a bit 'flighty' or 'darty' as you ride, then you shouldGET A PROPER ALIGNMENT DONE PDQ!! And by 'proper alignment', I mean one NOT done by a Dealer or using the 'non-laser' factory method! :shocked:

Good Luck! :cheers:

Hello Peter,
You bring up road grade and i thought of that also so what i do is i get in center of the road (Straddle the yellow line) and see how she rides. Even in center she still pulls to the right. Now, when i say pull i dont really mean that it will take a right hand turn by itself but it drifts to the right. When i apply the brakes she seems to be straight as i could expect so i ruled out the brakes. So far i have a few things to do that was suggested by all the great members like check air pressure, Measure front and rear distance between front tires which i plan on doing after the sway bar install is complete. Hoped to finish the install last night life got in the way.
As you say it maybe just the tires wearing in but im just trying to not have one tire needing replacement before i have to replace the other. I know that one should not be replaced without replacing both and you are probably correct in that 250 miles is probably not a good assessment.

 

[Sammie]

I have driven on different roads in both directions. Like taking the same road from one town to the next. Backroads, etc. Some roads have better grade than others because around here we pay road tax to repair the roads but they never get repaired so some may have valleys in them and others may be flat as a fiddle.

 

[Sammie]

Hey threewheels,
I will verify air pressure and make sure (according to owners manual and your advice) that the pressure in the front tires are between 18 -22 lbs with less than a 1/2lb difference. I do travel back and forth on same road and no matter my position in the road the spyder will drift right. which could be the roads around here or it could be that the right is a fraction off line than the left (in my mind anyhow, as anyone knows me knows, that is a dangerous place to be).

When i'm speaking of nipples dissolving quicker on the right i am referring to the entire tread of the tire. It not like the camber/caster is off because the outside and inside the tire has the same level of nipples left (hardly any). I know its hard to know what im talking about without pictures.

Now, you brought up DPS, I'm not that familiar with the DPS but (I know it should be centered from Youtube videos) im not that familiar with DPS. My thoughts were that it helped with the VSS (its possible i am way off base) but could DPS cause a bike to drift one way or the other? I could see it doing that if it had auto straightening. Please dont think i'm questioning your knowledge just trying to understand this new computer system. My thoughts on the DPS (please correct me if i'm wrong) was if it was off that the system would think im turning harder one direction than the other and could possible kick in the 'Nanny' (as i been reading its called). But i agree it should be set at zero when the front end gets laser aligned.

 

[Gwolf]

Hmmmmm...... sounds like you running too much on the oval track and the left side tire is not on the pavement.

 

[Highwayman2013]

Most spyders from the factory are in a toe out condition. The reason laser alignment works so well is it aligns all 3 wheels to roll in the same direction.

 

[SportsterDoc]

If your wear is not related to the type of riding, then perhaps this may be of some assistance:

https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?132776-Adjust-camber-on-RT-front-end

 

[ThreeWheels]

Hey threewheels,
I will verify air pressure and make sure (according to owners manual and your advice) that the pressure in the front tires are between 18 -22 lbs with less than a 1/2lb difference. I do travel back and forth on same road and no matter my position in the road the spyder will drift right. which could be the roads around here or it could be that the right is a fraction off line than the left (in my mind anyhow, as anyone knows me knows, that is a dangerous place to be).

When i'm speaking of nipples dissolving quicker on the right i am referring to the entire tread of the tire. It not like the camber/caster is off because the outside and inside the tire has the same level of nipples left (hardly any). I know its hard to know what im talking about without pictures.

Now, you brought up DPS, I'm not that familiar with the DPS but (I know it should be centered from Youtube videos) im not that familiar with DPS. My thoughts were that it helped with the VSS (its possible i am way off base) but could DPS cause a bike to drift one way or the other? I could see it doing that if it had auto straightening. Please dont think i'm questioning your knowledge just trying to understand this new computer system. My thoughts on the DPS (please correct me if i'm wrong) was if it was off that the system would think im turning harder one direction than the other and could possible kick in the 'Nanny' (as i been reading its called). But i agree it should be set at zero when the front end gets laser aligned.

I'm not suggesting the DPS is broken, but it works in conjunction with the steering sensor. If the steering sensor is misaligned, it will think you are turning when you aren't, and add a turning torque when it shouldn't. The important point is the steering sensor needs to be zero'd when you get the wheels laser aligned.

 

[yellow peril]

I live up in Westville,sc. about 60 miles from you . if you feel like taking a ride I will show you how i did my own alignment. its not that hard. The right hand tire will wear slightly more due to the fact left hand turns have a bigger radius in the turn. If the bike pulls to the right and twitchy when going down the road it will need alignment.

 

[Sammie]

Hello Yellow Peril, That maybe something to think about. I always like to see how other people do DIY things (My Granddad taught me that).

 

[Sammie]

Ok guys and gals quick update. First let me say i caught the devil trying to find this post again as every avenue i took it said connection refused. I figured i got cut from the group, lol, but like any virus, im hard to get rid of if i'm not ready to leave yet.

But update on the Spyder. I finally finished installing the sway bar and before i took the spyder out i followed some suggestions and checked the air in the tires. The front right had 24lbs, Left had 22lbs, back had 30lbs. SO, i took the in between specs from Owners manual and set both fronts to 20lbs and left back at 30lbs. Now, i took for short ride (very short) on different roads and did notice that the drift to the right was no where like it was. I could actually just rest my finger on the left grip and actually steer straight. So, with the sway bar saying it mainly helps just going around corners it is hard to believe that 2 lbs of air pressure between the front tires would make that much of a difference. Of course the sway bar could have helped some because i tend to always lean my head to the right (i have a heavy head) and that could have caused the spyder to shift that way. But i hopefully will be able to go back one those same roads as before when it was drifting bad and see if it made improvements.

So until further notice i want to thank all of you for the assistance!