Cupping front tire

[White Dog_imp]

At just over 6K miles, my front tire is cupping--badly-- on the left side. Wonder if this is a misaligned wheel (I had it off twice) or just a bad Dunflop tire?

If misaligned, how can I assure myself the new tire will be properly aligned?

[LongRanger_imp]

In my experience, it's normal. Many roads are crowned to allow drainage to either shoulder. So, while you're riding straight, in reality you're riding on the left side of the tire (imperceptibly) due to the road grading. 6k miles is pretty good longevity from a front radial. I imagine your R1100RT goes through front tires too (all of my Telelever bikes seem to eat front tires for breakfast).

Cupping can also be caused by improper tire inflation and/or heavy use of the front brakes, especially on heavy bikes.

[The A-man]

My Dunlop was badly cupped at 4000 miles. Switched to Michelins, and problem is gone.

[ride4now_imp]

I noticed the same problem on mine at 4000 miles. I now have
5000 miles and don't think it's getting worse. There still seems to be
usable tread left so I'm going to live with it a bit longer. There's no
handling issues that I've experienced...

[chync_imp]

Had the same problem until I upgraded my suspension and switched to Pirelli's.

[RDE3036_imp]

My Dunlop front tire showed the same wear at 5000 miles. By 8500 miles the front tire was bald but the rear tire still had another 1500 or so miles left on it. I replaced both with Bridgestones. The bike feels a lot more solid in the curves now.

[pekingduck]

Tire cupping is usually from under-inflation, and wear on the left side is for 2 reasons. The crown in the road as LongRanger describes is one reason, but the bigger reason is that left hand turns are generally taken at higher speeds than right hand turns.
Picture this: you are riding at speed in the middle of nowhere and you are coming up to a T intersection with no stop sign and no traffic. The left hand turn is taken faster, whereas the right is much tighter, requiring more braking before the turn.

The opposite should happen in countries where you ride on the left side of the road.

Cormanus, any other Aussies or Kiwis or Brits observe that?

[White Dog_imp]

Had the same problem until I upgraded my suspension and switched to Pirelli's.

What suspension upgrade did you do?

[chync_imp]

On the front I added Ohlins inserts. That stopped the cupping but my sag can't be set correctly until I add stiffer springs for my weight. That's next. I replaced the rear shocks with Ohlins.


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[Cormanus]

pekingduck, the fact that I haven't noticed such a phenomenon does not mean it doesn't occur. Certainly our roads often have a slight camber and that ought to cause the reverse wear.