Front tire wears faster than rear on R1150RT

[BobOdenweller]

I just replaced my front tire on my R1150RT. It had about 6 - 7000 miles on it. The tread was worn low mostly on the sides with a little bit of cupping on one side. The rear tire still looks good. The tires are Avon Storms. I had a conversation today with some other owners and they told me that their rear tire usually wears out first and that I should be getting more miles out of my front tire. One person said he thought he recalled there was some sort of known problem that sometimes occured with the bearings or something that might cause this problem. He couldn't be more specific. I'm not sure if I have a problem or not. Any ideas?

[Mr. Frank]

What pressure are you running on the front? Running 38F 42R I get about the same life from front and rear.

[04R1150RS]

I too have always gotten more miles on the rear than front. Don't think I'd worry about it, but most people wear out the rear first.
Could it be that the other people accelerate harder than you do, thus causing more wear.

I got about 6,200 miles on the original front tire, and 6,100mile on the next front tire which was an AV45.

12,300 mile on the original rear tire I think the original tires were Michelins

[BobOdenweller]

I usually run 42 in the rear and 40 up front. I kinda doubt there is any problem as the bike handles wonderfully. I'm not much of a hard accelerator, and most of the roads by me are twisty mountain roads where as my friends live on the other side of town which is mostly flat city roads.

[jenunn]

I was not impressed with the life I got out of my Michelins which both wore out at 7800 miles. I tried Dunlops (dual sport) and the rear wore at 6800 miles and I still have the front tire on with 14K+ with good tread left. I drove the bike the same way with both sets. I believe there are great differences from one manufacturer to another as well as differences within one manufacturers production runs. IMHO.

[TheRoss]

On my RT I like Metzler Z6 RoadTec tires. I run 36 front and 42 rear, and generally get 10-12,000 miles on the front and 9-10,000 on the rear.

[pmkalby]

I've had two Avon Storm front tires on my 1150RT and they were both crap.

First one was replaced by Avon at 3000 miles, weird cupping, a weird vibration and a wiggle in the bars at speed. Spooky feeling.

The replacement did the same thing at around 4000 miles and I decided forget the Storms. The Storm front tires are crap in my book, and the Azaro rear wore better than the Storm rear for me. I've moved on to other, better tires.

[UncleHowie]

...I'm not much of a hard accelerator, and most of the roads by me are twisty mountain roads where as my friends live on the other side of town which is mostly flat city roads.

OK, this stretching it, but... could it be that you are easy on accelleration, and use the front brake a LOT?

Like I said, it's a stretch, but I could explain part of the wear trend.

[BobOdenweller]

Regarding the brakes, I do use the hand brake much more than the foot brake, but I thought either one works both the front and rear brake simultaniously.

[sdpc2]

will wear the front out faster... especially on bikes like ours that have linked brakes.

I also remember reading about an issue with the Avon Storms, or course that was after i mounted them on my bike. My front does that wiggly thing too, and seems to be wearing out pretty quickly. (I have about 5k miles on mine). I loved my Azaros though.

[bmwmoose]

Either riding styles are different or something. My best tire mileage was 5 k mile on Mich Pilot Roads. I have PR2 on front now and it does not seem to last as long as the PR1 rear, think I'll go back when front wears out, also looks like it is cupping some. maybe my fault, I don't check the tire pressure very often.

[queretaro]

If there is nothing amiss with the shocks, bearings, and alingnment, and the load on the bike is not biased to the front or rear, I would expect the tires to wear according to how much you use the front or the rear brake.
regards,
Mark

[jduke]

I'd first take the tire off the bike and put it back on BY THE BOOK. On my bike I have a spacer on the left side and it is easy to put everything together and the spacer to be cocked. Make sure all the bolts turn easy and are not striped, and properly torqued.
Then remove and reinstall the front shock, again making sure it is done by the book.
No matter how you ride, you shouldn't wear out a front before the rear.

[bikerfish1100]

Either riding styles are different or something. My best tire mileage was 5 k mile on Mich Pilot Roads. I have PR2 on front now and it does not seem to last as long as the PR1 rear, think I'll go back when front wears out, also looks like it is cupping some. maybe my fault, I don't check the tire pressure very often.


check your pressures. you should be able to see nearly double that for miles on a set of PRoads. i've gotten as much as 12K on a set of PRoads, with 8 K as more typical. I'm a fairly aggressive rider, tho i tend not to use my brakes at all (albeit when i do use them i REALLY use them strongly).

[kgadley01]

I also run Z-6's I just replaced the rear with 13K on it. It could have lasted longer, but I wanted a new tire before heading to Gillette. the front still looks good with 9K on it. I probley change it when I return. I run 36psi front and 40psi rear. 90% of my riding is one up. I'm also a heavy front braker. I use the rear break very little. this is on a 99RT...

[Andy VH]

My 94 R1100RS has run on Bridgestones most of its 130K miles. But I have also tried Michelin, Dunlop, recently Avon Storms, and now Conti Road Attacks. Now, before I go on, I have to say my bike has 130K on the still original front shock, and it has not failed. Sure the compression damping may have vacated some 100K ago, but my butt had become so accustomed to it I didn't notice.

But through probably 13 sets of tires, I have always had the rear tire wear out before the front. Not so with the most recent Avon Storms. The front tire showed significant more wear than the rear, and a LOT of cupping. I did stretch the mileage on this set and by the time I hit 10k the tires were very worn. The cupping I attribute to the lost damping control of the stock front shock. I am installing a Wilbers front shock this month, and I expect much less cupping from the front tire because of the new shock.

The Wilbers shock I just installed on the rear is great! Firm but not too much, with accurate and responsive damping control. So far I think is great!

[bikerfish1100]

sheesh, new shocks at 130K? already? Andy, you would not make a very good airhead owner- you have to learn to espouse "stock & original is all you need" to live in that camp!! :whistle :laugh

[Andy VH]

Well, I guess I do offer proof that the cheapest part on any BMW is the owner?

But I do also have a 76 R100RS, so the "airhead" in me may also be to blame. But my 76 has Koni shocks on the rear and Progressive springs in the forks. My 76 only has 65k on it.

[oogmuk]

Don't believe I'm any harder or easier than others on tires, but just replaced the front tire on my 2004 R1150RT at 12,300 miles. Probably could have run another 1,000 miles but planning a long trip. Original was a Michelin Pilot Road, and the rear tire (also a Pilot Road) still looks very good. New front is a Michelin Pilot Road 2. I normally ride solo, with 36 psi in front and 40 psi rear. The idea of only getting 5 or 6 K per tire just blows me away. Am I doing something wrong?

[bikerfish1100]

Don't believe I'm any harder or easier than others on tires, but just replaced the front tire on my 2004 R1150RT at 12,300 miles. Probably could have run another 1,000 miles but planning a long trip. Original was a Michelin Pilot Road, and the rear tire (also a Pilot Road) still looks very good. New front is a Michelin Pilot Road 2. I normally ride solo, with 36 psi in front and 40 psi rear. The idea of only getting 5 or 6 K per tire just blows me away. Am I doing something wrong?

for an RT, that's about right for miles on a PRoad.