Cupping on the front tire is not balance issues. It is normal wear for motorcycle front tires. I doubt tires would last 15k+ with balance issues on my heavy bike.

 

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beg to diff there mr. goose. cupping is caused by loss of contact.
before panties bunch up, that does NOT mean the tire leaves the road, just that road pressure is not consistent.
never had a front tire to cup.
there can be several sources like the tire itself, poor suspension or inflation.

 

What causes tire cupping?

Tire cupping is an uneven wear pattern on the tire tread that can cause vibrations, noise, and premature tire wear. It is typically caused by the following factors:

Improper Alignment; When the wheels are not properly aligned, they may not roll straight ahead, causing uneven pressure on the tires and cupping.

Worn Suspension Components: Worn shocks, struts, or bushings can cause the vehicle to bounce excessively, leading to uneven tire wear.

Unbalanced Tires: When the weight of a tire is not evenly distributed, it can cause vibrations and cupping.

Poor Quality Tires: Tires made with inferior materials may not be able to withstand the forces of driving, resulting in cupping.

Improper Tire Inflation: Under-inflated or over-inflated tires can put uneven pressure on the tread, causing cupping.

Damaged Wheels: Bent or damaged wheels can also cause tire cupping.

Other Factors: Other factors that can contribute to tire cupping include driving on rough roads, hitting potholes, and using aggressive driving styles.

 

Dunlop American Elites
40 psi front 21"
44 psi rear 18"
2012 CVO RG
Best handling I have experienced on this bike to date.
No signs of uneven wear yet.

 

+1 mr. larry
i can confirm the aggressive riding style one
mine cups all the way around tire and across the entire patch. smoke some less that 4k. i get more mileage on the slick.

 

Ride 'em like there's no tomorrow

 

yep, mr. larry
harley sounds cool at idle
BUT
pretty wicked strung out

for the insane


most important know your targets

 

Grants, tire technology has come a long ways since the 1980s. I watch the MSF instructor training videos that showed, with high speed film, the front tire always moving slightly, left to right, as the road surface changes just do to irregularity. That is done to maintain the straight line. We do the same things in cars also, just to maintain the lane position and nothing is really that straight.

I usually got 2 rears to one front. which for most of my riding life was 10K (usually) on the rear, so 20K on the front. Fronts were usually replaced at that interval because of the cupping, but not down to the wear bars. This was consistent across many motorcycle manufacturers. Suzuki, Kawasaki, Moto Guzzi and Harley. Some spoked rims. Mostly mags. I always ran the high mileage tires. Except on my 79 SP1000 Moto Guzzi which ran sporting Pirelli's for play time!


So I guess the common factor is me across all that!

I know many people who never wear out tires. Because they only ride on sunny days in the morning and are back in the AC by noon. These are the folks with the garage queens with 500-1000 miles a year.

Never had a tire cup, Id say you never put 10K on a front tire.

 

Source? Those sound more towards a 4+ wheeled vehicle, not a motorcycle.

"
CUPPING:
Cupping, which is more accurately described as scalloping (see pictures, but we will use the more common term "cupping" here), is a natural wear pattern on motorcycle tires and it will always follow the tread pattern. It is not a sign that you have bad suspension parts. It merely shows that your tire is indeed gripping the road when you make turns (thank you for that Mr. Tire!). This cupping develops within the side wear bands of a leaned motorcycle. The extreme forces that come in to play when the bike is leaned in a turn are what produce the effect and when the wear becomes sufficient, one will experience vibration and noise when one banks into a turn. Upon examination of the pictures at left of our sample rear Avon, our dusted front VTX Dunlop D256, and the picture of our chalked Dunlop D206 one can see how the cupping follows the tread pattern. The leading edge of the tread does not flex much as it grips the road and the rubber is scuffed off the tire in that area causing a depression. As the tire rotates, the pressure moves to the trailing edge of the tread pattern where the tread flexes more causing less scuffing so less material is ground off the tire. The more complex the tread pattern, the more complex the cupping pattern will be. The softer the compound of the tire, the sooner this cupping will develop. Radial tires are more prone to cupping than are bias ply because the compound of radials is softer. As one can see, the simple tread pattern of the Avon pictured produces a simpler scallop pattern while the more complex VTX D256 Dunlop is somewhat involved, though still easily seen in our photo. Cupping on the Valkyrie Dunlop D206 is very hard to photograph because of the complex tread pattern. Low tire pressure will exacerbate this wear pattern and you will lose many serviceable miles by running low. Improper balance has nothing to do with cupping on a motorcycle tire. Improper balance will merely cause your bike to vibrate within certain specific speed ranges.

The following textual illustration comes from Martin who contributed to this article by E-mail on June 26, 2006:
I was just reading your bit on "cupping" and thought I'd share with you how I describe what's going on. I usually tell people that what's happening is that the individual "blocks" or "islands" of tread are squirming and deforming due to the forces applied to them during cornering and braking. When this deforming takes place, the wear is naturally not evenly distributed across the surface of the tread. (I define a tread block as an area of the tire surface surrounded by a groove.) I next tell people they can demonstrate to themselves what's happening by taking a new pencil with an unused eraser on the end and while holding the pencil perfectly vertical, push down and drag the eraser on a rough surface in one direction. Then I tell them to look at the eraser and note that all the wear is on the leading edge and not evenly distributed across the end surface of the eraser. It seems to make the concept easier for many to understand. Cheers!"