Tyre wear

[david095]

ok, so I've never had a bike before that has managed 800 miles never mind 8000, and so I've never had a set of tyres from new that have racked up that amount of miles.

My Fazer 8 has the original BT21s fitted, and whilst the rear tyre seems to be wearing pretty much evenly and as I'd expect, the front tyre is kind off 'egg' shaped with the right side massively worn compared to the left side. If I lived in Birmingham (I don't) I'd say it was down to using roundabouts all day (I don't) Infact strangely enough I prefer left hand bends to right (is this the issue?)

That aside - what's the best option for replacements? Has the rear still got enough life left to replace just the front and if soshould I stick to the originals, or mix, or replace the entire set. The rear (tyre) still feels reasonable on corners, and whilst I do occasionally use the motorway, the majority of my rides are on As and Bs.

Cheers guys

[joebloggs]

I'd put it down to the camber of the roads. Looked strange to me the first time I saw it.

[Dead Eye]

Similar thing happened on my Gen1 (BT023s)

As for replacing them, if the rear is fine then there is no need to replace it imo as long as you have confidence in the tyre. The BT021's were succeeded by the BT023's which are a better tyre and subsequently the T30's which are marginally better again from what I've heard - I run T30's at the moment and can't really tell the difference between them and the BT023's

If you want to mix tyres then go ahead, there's several forum members who do that already with no real issues. At the end of the day it's all down to your personal feel and preference I'd say your rear looks like it's getting to the end of its life (at 8k that's not unusual) so maybe replacing the set wouldn't be a bad idea

[fazersharp]

The problem with the front is that you have put in too much air on one side.

[joebloggs]

The problem with the front is that you have put in too much air on one side.

[fazersharp]

And you could do with a little more air in the middle of the rear



And yes -- change them both

[sadlonelygit]

had 21's on my bmw...........front lasted 2000 winter miles and was badly cupped and worn to the limit, rear was 1/3 worn. not mr bridgestones finest hour there!

[Fazerider]

I agree with Dead Eye, there's not much life left in the rear and as most punctures occur in the last 10% of tyre life I'd change 'em as a pair.
As for your asymmetric wear pattern, either your travelling has a lot more right hand bends than lefts... or you're braking far harder and deeper into right handers. Are you scrubbing off more speed than you really need to?

[noggythenog]

I say change them both as 8k is plenty of moneys worth & considering thay have probably been on the bike for years through constant temperature changes etc they would be passed their best even if they had done 8miles.


Plus those first pictures make me feel pretty queezy......something aesthetically worrying about them......i just couldnt deal with that.


Fz8 is no doubt to some degree a fine handling performance machine but with tyres like that it may as well be a rickshaw........fit new ones and be amazed at the new found enjoyment.

[chaz]

The wear might be because the forks need re-aligning, I was getting uneven wear on my other bike this was pointed out at the MOT after looking on line I found this and did it. the wear is much more even now and the bike feels much better in the corners, before it turned to the left easier than the right? It only takes less than an hour to do and the number of pot holes in the roads now maybe it should be part of the service?
https://youtu.be/vSunBRB6-r8

[stevierst]

That's Bt021's for ya. Had the misfortune of owning several bikes with  these tyres on, and they all seem to wear the same.

Other s/t tyres don't do anywhere near as badly. And Why do you think they superceded them so quickly? Especially when the bt020 was around for about a decade!
There's much better out there, and don't be afraid to mix 'n' match either. It's a complete fallacy what they say. Unless your a track going cornering God!

[Frosties]

That's Bt021's for ya. Had the misfortune of owning several bikes with  these tyres on, and they all seem to wear the same.

Other s/t tyres don't do anywhere near as badly. And Why do you think they superceded them so quickly? Especially when the bt020 was around for about a decade!
There's much better out there, and don't be afraid to mix 'n' match either. It's a complete fallacy what they say. Unless your a track going cornering God!

+1 on BT's