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[snake]

No prob Pogo, lol. Wasn't on the bike while I posted to figure which way I was going, lol. No Crow, you are perfectly fine to believe whichever...I'm not saying everyone else is wrong... I'm saying from my observation and having done a lot of no hands riding, and knowing how much pressure is required to keep the bike straight or shifting my Cranberries to she left to make it go straight, this is what I believe. I HAVE put weight only in the left Saddlebag, and it DOES balance it and make it go straight.
Yeah, if you stand the bike straight, well... of course it is straight up. But if you ride it, it will not be standing straight up until you give it a force to counteract the weight. The gyroscopic effect from the wheels going round helps keep it more upright also, but all you really have to do is ride behind a bunch of bikes and look at them. Some will not have enough force being exerted to make the bike stand up straight and will be leaning to the left...some will be straight up because they are being forced upright, none will be leaning to the right. Lighter exhausts reduce the need to "force"  the bike upright as much due to the decreased weight. I have stock, heavier than hell exhausts. I notice the effect way more than I do on other bikes I've ridden with lighter exhausts.
  If you noticed, I said I did not believe or ascribe to the other theories as being the sole cause. You are perfectly welcome to believe them. Bothers me not wether you believe as I do or not. I am just giving my opinion. You don't have to believe... I do. Thats good enough for me. my 2
I'm not trying to turn you into a liberal, lol. Just giving my viewpoint.

[snake]

Just curious how your theory relates to the same issue on bikes that have balanced exhaust systems like the Valkyrie.

Just went back and saw this post Morgan. Well, my theory would not come into play with a balanced exhaust system. That would pretty much tell the tale though, lol. Do Valk's have the same left side wear problem? I never had one. I have a old CX650 Honda  with a pretty much balanced system, but I don't put enough miles on it to tell if there is a left side wear pattern.
Anyone on here have one?

[Thumper]

So, if the crown theory has any merit,,,,,,ask the guys from the U.K. if their tire is wearing on the right side since they ride on the wrong side of the road.

Thumper

[Morgan Buchanan]

http://www.rattlebars.com/valkfaq/tirewear/  <--read me. 

yes, it's a valk problem.  And a lot of other bikes...harleys, other cruisers, sport bikes... it happens on a lot of bikes.

Countries that drive on the left have right side wear.  That doesn't validate the crown theory, it validates the turn theory.  Read the article in the link above.  It's not long and really very good.

[MRVTX]

See sig pic...problem solved! 

Here's my .02...

When I had the stock Dunlops, I got the left-side wear pretty bad on the front.  Of course, this was my first street bike, and I didn't check tire pressure as often as I should have.  Since switching to the Avons, I do check the pressure almost weekly...and the tire wears more evenly.  It still wears a little more on the left, but it's not as noticable like the Dunlop was.

Many factors play into this left-side wear problem, which have been brought up by others.  My wife's Ultra Classic does the same thing on her Dunlops.  We are fixin'ta ( ) put Metzelers on her bike and we'll monitor the front wear with these new tires.

[HeadGuess]

I had the left side wear on the front also on the stock dunnies. I have switched to Metzler on the front and Car tire on the back. I believe there are a lot of factors involved in the left side tire wear. I believe one is left side drive. I am not as experienced as some of you guys so I could be wrong.

[crow57]

No prob snake, I have no doubt that you and Isaac Newton are correct about whether 50 lbs hanging off the ride side with a moment arm of about 10 inches would have any effect...  Just a matter of degree - I don't see any bikes that lean at a 20 degree angle going straight.

I've got baffleless Cobra slip-ons that weigh practically nothing, and when I take my hands off the bars it generally tracks straight without me having to lean...  So if mine is pretty much balanced then stock must be off a bit like you describe.  But not enough to put the wear over on the shoulder of the tire.

You'd think the designers would place the engine mounts at a point that would balance the bike with stock equipment, wouldn't ya?

[snake]

Ok, scratch that thought then. I shoulda checked a control group (balanced bikes) for the same wear before stretching the leaning to balance problem to include the left side tire wear.
I did not have sex with that tire...
 LOL. Gotta eat crow on that one. ( This in no way indicates any gay inclinations... wether towards Crow 57 or any other member of this group! )

[snake]

No prob snake, I have no doubt that you and Isaac Newton are correct about whether 50 lbs hanging off the ride side with a moment arm of about 10 inches would have any effect...  Just a matter of degree - I don't see any bikes that lean at a 20 degree angle going straight.
You'd think the designers would place the engine mounts at a point that would balance the bike with stock equipment, wouldn't ya?

You'd think that would be a part of it, yeah Crow. I always wished Honda would offer a "left side kit" for their v twins to balance the pipes out. Ain't gonna happen, it looks like. I am surprised one of the aftermarket companies doesn't though. I would really like to be able to lower my saddlebags a little, and the single pipes below to be far enough from my saddlebags that the heat doesn't  melt my ice so quick in them.

[snake]

I had the left side wear on the front also on the stock dunnies. I have switched to Metzler on the front and Car tire on the back. I believe there are a lot of factors involved in the left side tire wear. I believe one is left side drive. I am not as experienced as some of you guys so I could be wrong.

I noticed in the rattlebars side wear issue where they said they measured the Avon tires and saw where Avon builds up the wear area we are talking about. I guess that is just one of the reasons I'm getting 20 K out of my front avon venom R's.

[heirloom]

A tad late, but, Snake, I had to tell you that I had the same thing with some OEM Dunnies.  I was told all the things you mentioned and I didn't buy into any of them.  I just couldn't understand why the front would wear heavy on the left with no indications on the rear tire!

I replaced the OEM's with the Dunlop Elite III's and have had no problems and am getting superb wear/mileage.

[Dusty]

Left tire wear is caused by the left fork being just a tad longer. 

Don't buy that? How about the left fork is not seated properly.

Don't buy that either??? Geez... How about you tightened the right pinch bolts before the left when you mounted the wheel and this tweeked the axle up just a little on the right side. 

No?  Must just be bad air then.   

[Morgan Buchanan]

AH HA!  It's pink air in the tires.

In all seriousness, I'm getting a lot less wear in general on my front tire now that I'm a darksider....eeeeenteresting.

[Big Ace]

Morgan, that's just because your bike spends a lot more time on the jack stand these days, adding chrome doodads here and there. 

[Morgan Buchanan]

Chrome makes it go faster.