Modern Vespa

By the time I switched it out last week, my Heidenau K61 was way more worn down on the left side than on the right. Anyone know what causes this? My guess was the camber of the roads, which would mean the scooter tilts ever-so-slightly to the left when going straight (in the U.S.).

On a related note, I've been trying to combat this by hanging off the bike on left turns and counter-steering it into a tilt on rights. It probably won't do anything to keep the left side of the tire from wearing down, but it sure is fun.

I'll try to avoid any NASCAR related jokes ...

You didn't post a picture, so it is hard to visualize how much greater wear is on the left side to the tire than the right. Perhaps you are being more aggressive when turning to the left than the right. I doubt that the camber in the road would be sufficient to cause that, but I could be wrong.

I know that I turn more aggressively to one side (happens to be left) than the other.

... or maybe you turn left more than right. (couldn't help myself. )

Well I don't have the tire anymore, so I can't post a pic, but it was pretty noticeable. Essentially, the right half of it had the squared-off look, while the left side kept its normal, rounded proportions. You might be right about the turning, but I usually like to lean as much as possible, regardless of which direction I'm going.

Another possibility is that left turns are almost always longer than right turns (again, here in the States), since you have to travel across another lane of traffic before coming out of the lean. Seems kind of hokey, but I guess it could amount to some serious wear over time.

That sounds like you are more aggressive with your leaning into left rather than right turns. I'm the same way. Unfortunately, I just changed my tires, so can't check to see if it looks the same as what you describe.

Try to find an clockwise route to work, then you should get twice the wear out of your tyre!

I know little about anything, but I will give a +1 to faster left turns. If you are going right from the nearest lane to the nearest lane it is a fairly tight turn, but if you are turning left your turn can be a lot wider if there are several lanes of traffic.

I am much gentler on the right turns, especially if there is much crosswalk paint.

Any Brits, Aussies, or Indians notice the opposite?

Personally, no difference between either side on any tyre, ever.

it's normal, read this:

Common Motorcycle Tire Wear Patterns
http://www.rattlebars.com/valkfaq/tirewear/index.html


and yes, it's opposite in countries riding on the left.

Yep, wears more on the right here. Over the years I've noticed it on some bikes and not others.

I just changed out my tires and discovered the right side tread was more worn than the left. Not by a lot ... but enough to notice. We drive on the left and have several round abouts which I use all the time. Traffic flows to the right on round abouts and as ours are small in diameter, you have to lean in order to keep pace with traffic.

Hot road surfaces wear tires down more quickly and if you do a lot of leaning to one side, it stands to reason that one side will wear down faster than the other. Since you are in Georgia, I am guessing you have some pretty hot roads too! I have no way of knowing ... but I would think more wear on one side than the other is quite normal, depending upon your route, riding habits and road temps.