Tire wear issue

[FjrHoop]

I really(x1000) wish I had read this thread before I took 4.5k mile trip a few weeks ago.

I'd been having some handling problems ie: front felt like it was going to wash out, minor front end slides, falling into corners, not holding a line, but they coincided with me moving the handle bars to the farthest back position, so I thought it was either a weight distribution/input thing or else in my head. The first day of my trip, after spending the better part of the day on mostly straight flat roads, I turned in at a T-intersection and thought I was going to lose the front...I blamed it on road surface or (maybe) a bad tire. Under inflation never even occurred to me. Anyway, that set the mood for the whole trip, I never felt comfortable in the mountains, and came home thinking "it's time for the FJR to go". After leaving the FJR alone for a week in the garage, (I have a wr250r that I also ride) I started to look on the forum here for tire issues, still thinking I had a bad tire, finally I came across this thread, went and checked my tire psi, and discovered it was only 27 psi... :angry:

Not only did it nearly wreck my trip, but it fried the tire, so now with a new tire on the front, I'm learning to love the FJR again. :yahoo:

 

[Fred W]

Try to get in the habit of checking your tire pressure every time you ride before you leave the garage, or if you are a commuter that rides every day, at least once a week. It might actually save your life...

 

[user 213]

Big +1 on that. More than once I've found a nail because I checked the pressures in the garage. The garage is a much nicer place to plug a tire than the roadside. I always check before each ride at home.

 

[FjrHoop]

Try to get in the habit of checking your tire pressure every time you ride before you leave the garage, or if you are a commuter that rides every day, at least once a week. It might actually save your life...

I really don't know why I never even thought about checking the tire pressure, I've had bikes before that had handling problems because of incorrect psi. I guess the FJR is so low maintenance that I figured something as routine as tire psi was not worth the time...I blame no one but myself.

 

[krotchrocketgrampa]

had the same problem with stock bridgestone that came with new 09, ran 39 psi just like manual said,at 4,300 miles,had same raised ridge all the way around tire,dealer said it was do to low psi,now have roadsmarts with 42 psi front and rear. what a difference it made .I hated the way the fjr turned in and squirlled all over a turn. now it rides like its on rails,can belive they put crap tires on a $15k bike,now I like my fjr, jury was out until the new rubber

 

[TCMike]

The Bridgestones the bike came with did that, and the Roadsmarts I replaced them with are developing the same ridge. I set psi to 40-42. Have yet to find a decent tire for bike. PR2's, or Storm's will be my next try at finding a tire that lasts more than 4k without issues.