Ok I have returned from a nice 12,000km trip undertook over 3 weeks.
I purchased a brand new BT-45 rear tyre for the trip.
Pumped it up to 40psi
I knew the tyre would be basically toast after the trip..and it is but in a very strange way.
Half my tyre still has a decent amount of tread...
(http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k248/galahs/gs500f/12000ks_tread.jpg)
the other half is nearly bald.......
(http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k248/galahs/gs500f/12000ks_bald.jpg)
I never had any brake lockups, so what the hell would cause this to happen?
The conditions for optimal tyre life were all wrong....
- Endless straight roads
- Hot roads 60+ degrees C
- Air temp in the shade in the mid 40s
- 20kg of luggage
- 80kg of rider + riding gear
- Strong head winds
- Course chip bitchamen roads
Oh the tyre squared off in such a way that cornering feels like your riding on a knifes edge. But that was to be expected.
My front OEM BT-45 still has tread left and looks in Ok shape, and now has over 25,000km's on it. I will however be replacing both tyres together this time.
Very interesting.......never seen anything like that and I cant think of any reason for uneven wear at that extreme other than a manufacturing fault. I would keep the tyre after its replaced and send a few pics and a letter off to Bridgestone saying you are very disapointed blah blah, and asking them how and why it could have happened......you have nothing to loose.
Looks like a tire that just went on a 7500 mile trip on mostly straight roads without leaning too much in corners. Very common to wear off that way on long trips. Saw more tires like that on my old Hondas than I have on my GSs. It's going to feel like a new bike again after you put a new set of tires on.
Quote from: sledge on January 17, 2008, 07:01:16 AM
Very interesting.......never seen anything like that and I cant think of any reason for uneven wear at that extreme other than a manufacturing fault. I would keep the tyre after its replaced and send a few pics and a letter off to Bridgestone saying you are very disapointed blah blah, and asking them how and why it could have happened......you have nothing to loose.
+1 on that idea thats wrong :bs:
Tires weren't balanced properly...nuff said.
Still looks rather normal to me. :)
I've measured quite a few tires all the way around for tread depth and it's common to find a 1 mm difference from the deepest to the shallowest side of the tire. The tread wear indicators are usually about 1 mm above tread bottom. Almost always hit the markers on one side before the other.
If that's a OEM size G spec BT45 it only has a 8/32" tread depth while the other BT45 have a 9/32" depth. About 6 mm instead of 7 mm which is about 5 mm of usable rubber. I got 9500 miles from my first pre G spec replacement BT45 rear tire. 9500 x 5/6 = 7800 miles which is close to what you got.
Think that wear uneveness is due to mfg tolerances of tire rather than imbalance. Just a little greater than average.
http://www.motorcycle-karttires.com/glamourindex.aspx?productID=3&LookupID=8
email bt and ask them, don't forget to send a pic
Quote from: gsJack on January 17, 2008, 01:03:24 PM
Still looks rather normal to me. :)
I've measured quite a few tires all the way around for tread depth and it's common to find a 1 mm difference from the deepest to the shallowest side of the tire. The tread wear indicators are usually about 1 mm above tread bottom. Almost always hit the markers on one side before the other.
If that's a OEM size G spec BT45 it only has a 8/32" tread depth while the other BT45 have a 9/32" depth. About 6 mm instead of 7 mm which is about 5 mm of usable rubber. I got 9500 miles from my first pre G spec replacement BT45 rear tire. 9500 x 5/6 = 7800 miles which is close to what you got.
Think that wear uneveness is due to mfg tolerances of tire rather than imbalance. Just a little greater than average.
http://www.motorcycle-karttires.com/glamourindex.aspx?productID=3&LookupID=8
If you look at his wear, it's HUGE. Probably more like 3mm difference.
My GS has a small difference, but maybe 1mm at most. What he is seeing is 1/2 wear at one spot, 150% wear in another. I don't think that's normal.
Thanks to the thread starter and the comments. I'll check the tire for cuts, nails, etc but never noticed this condition. From now on I'll keep an eye out for it when I'm cleaning the chain.
If / when you get a reply from bridgestone, let us know. It will be interesting to see if they have anything positive to add, explanation, etc.
O0
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/bt45weargalahs.jpg)
Look at the tread depth in the circle, original depth is about 1/4" = 6mm approx. Can't be more than 5 mm there now, probably less. Look at the tread wear indicator the arrow points to. It's about 1 mm tall and much closer to the surface than to the bottom of the groove. There's still a trace of groove on the more worn side of the tire in pic to the right.
I still think it looks like just a little more than 1 mm difference. Maybe galahs will measure it if he has a tread depth gage? :dunno_white:
Anyway, I've seen them like that before having used a lot of tires in 360k miles of riding. I'd just go get a new pair of Roadriders and be done with it. :thumb:
My first replacement rear BT45 went about 9500 miles and a second one I used later on was half worn in 2k miles and it was worn nice and round like your supposed to wear them on a GS: :laugh:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/bt45wear.jpg)
I've had similar wear on my rear bridgestone BT-39 ,but it was also patched after a puncture ,I attributed the strange wear to that :dunno_white:
Yeah on the less worn section, the tread is probably only half a millimeter above the TWI
The only thing I could think of that would have caused this kind of wear would be if the tire was defective from the beginning; it was low in tread where the flat spot occured. Basically, the tire was in a slight oval shape instead of a circle. The tire was probably wearing normally, but because the tread was lower along the shorter side of the oval, it appears to wear down quicker than the rest of the tread did. I'd write to the tire manufacturer and see what they think.
-Josh
They do get it wrong sometimes......
http://uk.reuters.com/article/UK_SMALLCAPSRPT/idUKL1579959020070615
If the wheel was not perfectly aligned straight isn't this exactly the type of tire Scrub you would see?
Regards
Graham
My wheel seems straight and my rear brake doesn't squeal but after so many km's in tough conditions I wouldn't put it past there being something out of alignment, and if there was I'm sure it would show up.
The tyre didn't have any wobble, vibration or off balance feel whilst riding.
I just ran across these old pictures (May 2004) that I took of a 130/80-17 BT45H rear tire at 7,000 miles. I don't remember any wobble or vibration either ... but that was a long time ago, and I am over 40. :laugh:
[Pic 1 (http://bbburma.net/MiscFotos/100_1420_BT45_130-80_CenterlineAt7000Miles_2.jpg)]
[Pic 2 (http://bbburma.net/MiscFotos/100_1419_BT45_130-80_CenterlineAt7000Miles.jpg)]
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/bt45wearkerry.jpg)
That's a more normal amount of tread depth varience from one side of the tire to the other, galahs tire above was more extreme. Tire was made that way as far as the tread depth varience goes, but the rider is responsible for the big flat spot and lack of chain lube.
Kerry, the pic I showed above was a 130/80-17 BT45H also. It was taken in March 02 so I was only 69 then: :laugh: