When I replaced my front Michelin PR2 this spring the tire was down to the wear bars but the rear still had some life. Ended up replacing the rear 3 months later due to a flat.
It seems to be the same senario again, this time with the Pirelli Scorpions. Just noticed today my front tire is approaching the wear bars on a few spots on the left while the rear looks almost new. Guess I make more left hand turns. The front wearing faster than the rear seems unusual but I think common to this bike. Anyone else notice this?
Little disappointed in the quick wear of the Scorpions (7000km/4400mi), think I will replace them with Micheline PR3s unless someone can suggest another long wearing tire.
As Motociclista says...I HAD never had a front tire wear out faster than the rear tire before on any bike I have ever owned...this with 30 years riding experience and close to 350,000 miles under my belt. A lot of the time, I have even been able to get two rears for every front on other bikes.
When my stock front tire wore out before the rear (front was shot, rear had 2,000-2,500 miles left) on my brand new V, I assumed it was just crappy tires. When my second set ('Stone BTO-23's) did the same thing, I was convinced there was a problem with the suspension or set-up--despite the bike handling flawlessly. Since then I have tweaked every suspension/chassis adjustment I can think of (sometimes screwing up the handling in the process) to no avail--my front tire is always worn out first on the V. I get "cupping" on the sides of the front before the rear shows wear, eventually the tread on the sides just gets bald while there is still tread in the center. I am closing in on 40K miles on the V and have gone through 6 or 7 sets of tires and the same thing happens every time, regardless of tire brand (some--the BTO-23 and Conti Motion) seem "better," but it is always the front that goes first on this bike for me. :huh:
Little disappointed in the quick wear of the Scorpions (7000km/4400mi), think I will replace them with Micheline PR3s unless someone can suggest another long wearing tire.
I also usually change 2 rear tires for one front tire. And the last 10+ sets I bought were Michelin PR2 (just love em!). The only exception is on my MT-01. Both rear and front have worn down at the same pace. On the Versys with my K73 Heidenau tires, the rear is like 50% worn and the front is like new.
I have found with my Versys that I wore out the front tire at the same rate (or a little faster) than the rear tire if I was riding up in the mountains here more with a lot of twisties. The more straight highway riding that I do the longer the rear lasts with respect to the front.
Fully geared I weigh about 180lb. I also check my tires about once every 2weeks and never let them get more than 1psi off of the stock recommended 32psi/36psi. I believe it is most likely my riding that has the biggest effect on this. I ride very little on divided highway and most of my riding is city and twisty rural roads were there is a lot of turning and lane switching. I virtually never exceed the speed limit by more than 10%.
I recently learned that the front wheel is directional, there is an arrow on the wheel near the hub. Maybe your wheel is mounted backwards. I don't know if that is of any importance to tire wear, but thought I would mention it.
edit: I just looked at my front wheel and the arrow is located on the left side hub near the axle inside the brake disc rotor. It is embossed into the casting of the wheel hub. My front wheel does not have a directional arrow on the right side hub.
May I recommend bumping up that front tire a bit? I run 36/38 locally and 38/40 for touring (all solo, but loaded for camping) on my Bridgestone BT023s. The PR3s are supposed to be a slightly better tire than the BT023s, but the 'stones are cheaper. Quite a few like the Shinko Ravens too, although I haven't tried them.
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