Excessive tire wear

[michael2480]

Just put new tires on the back of my 2005 CSC trike and the ones I took off were 70,000 mile tour plus and I got less than 17,000 miles out of them. The right tire was down the the wear bars with the left tire still having a lot of tread left. Does anyone know what would cause this? What adjustments can I make to correct this issue? The trike pulls to the right a little but not excessive, supposedly normal. Any ideas or past experience would be greatly appreciated. Trike has about 54,000 on it.

Mike

 

[Catfish]

[FONT=Roboto, HelveticaNeue-Light, Helvetica Neue Light, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif]Three common causes of early tire wear out and irregular tire wear are improper inflation pressure, balancing, or alignment conditions. Where the wear is on the tire would be useful in determining cause. Other than that I can't be of any help. I run my rear on a Gold Wing GL 1800 trike at half pressure. I frequently check tire pressure and with 23k on my set there is nearly any wear. We all ride in different conditions, different roads, as well as drive differently, which could also make a sizable difference. [/FONT]

 

[1dn5up]

Being it pulls to the right , sounds like you need a IRS alignment.

 

[michael2480]

Three common causes of early tire wear out and irregular tire wear are improper inflation pressure, balancing, or alignment conditions. Where the wear is on the tire would be useful in determining cause. Other than that I can't be of any help. I run my rear on a Gold Wing GL 1800 trike at half pressure. I frequently check tire pressure and with 23k on my set there is nearly any wear. We all ride in different conditions, different roads, as well as drive differently, which could also make a sizable difference.

Center was worn more than the outside. I ran 28 lbs. in the tire and run black top back roads mostly unless trying to get from point A to point B in good time and then I run on slab. I'm not an aggressive rider so it's not like I'm burning the rubber off. Balanced and also had beads in them. I watch my tire pressure and adjust as necessary. I'm thinking alignment but am not sure how to make adjustments.

 

[Catfish]

I run 22 psi in rear. Center wear is an indication of over inflation.

I run a ton of blacktops in my area as well as highway and curvy roads.

 

[mhgoldwing]

With one rear tire wearing so different than the other I strongly suspect an alignment problem which is scrubbing that tire severely. I would call CSC and ask them for help in determining the problem.

 

[Catfish]

Being it pulls to the right , sounds like you need a IRS alignment.

With one rear tire wearing so different than the other I strongly suspect an alignment problem which is scrubbing that tire severely. I would call CSC and ask them for help in determining the problem.

Mike, sounds like good advice and probably not uncommon with an IRS. Good luck with correcting the problem.

 

[michael2480]

With one rear tire wearing so different than the other I strongly suspect an alignment problem which is scrubbing that tire severely. I would call CSC and ask them for help in determining the problem.

That's what I'm thinking also. I'll be taking it to Horizon Trikes in Clarksville AR next Monday to have them put CSC's new drive shaft in so I'll ask them about it. I'll also call CSC to see what they suggest.

 

[michael2480]

Update

Dropped the trike off last Saturday for them to start on Monday morning and picked it up Tuesday to ride home, pretty quick service I thought. I didn't get a chance to talk to the mechanic as he was at lunch but Bob (owner) said that it was out of alignment a little and he fixed that. Haven't really looked at the update close but there is an actual u-joint on the back and front now with a new skid plate that is slotted to allow you to move the rear end back if you should ever have to take the drive shaft out for service. Seems to be a lot smoother ride, doesn't pull to the right like it did before and fuel mileage on the trip back increased several MPG. When I talked to CSC they said they started putting these on their trikes in 2012 and have had only 1 come back for repair so I feel I shouldn't be left along side the road with a broken u-joint like before.

 

[mhgoldwing]

Glad you got it fixed. Life is good!