b r – yep, my rhs of the front tyre is more worn than left, noticeably!

There’s your answer – now go buy something other than Bridgestone.

Not sure of the reasons why a bad suspension setup will cause more tyre wear, but its well known: Google

I have actually just remembered my original tyres on current sportsbike were BT016s and the front did wear very quickly. But BT016 should not last anywhere near as long as a sports tourer tyre like yours, and by the sounds of your riding I was most probably riding a little more err progressively than you 🙂

I suspect one of the answers regarding front suspension set up is that most people forget about the oil in there. It very slowly gets worse so is never noticed.

Then, when changing the oil yo usee it is all grey and horrible looking – put nice new oil in and it suddenly transforms the front end…

It’s a really easy job but just gets neglected by an awful lot of people.

fwiw and thanks to all. Went to another garage, explained the tyre situation and asked them to thoroughly check the bike for possible cause. They agreed the RHS was more worn (me riding lots of roundabouts was their suggestion!), and surprised at how quick they’ve worn. They checked the bike over and:

– all good
– headset bearings smooth and no play
– front sus slightly soft for a track day / hacking ride, but good for my weight and riding situation (mild commuting) – no suggestion of resetting even on my prompting
– rear sus good
– front brakes good and pulling evenly

Despite a thorough check, and without pulling the bike apart, they had no suggestion as to why.

😯