[Guest]

So here I am, the squid of all squids, cruising along on the highway at a normal squid speed of +200 and -40 in the turns... when all of a sudden this d**k cuts into the slow lane!!! GEESSHH! So I slam on the front brakes and the bike started a violent little tank slapper? This is not normal I am certain ... I also have noticed that if I take both hands of the bike, The bars will start to shimmy back and forth. I have tried this at relativly low speeds of 40-60km/h.

Could the front tire be out of balance? I have noticed that the tires ARE CRACKED and I am going to change them next week but funds are shy.....

Any input??


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Hello I ride a motorcycle, please cut me off!

 

[madmax]

Yup - I think a new one would cure your woes. I had the same problem once - wasn't bad enough to get into a tank-slapper, but I don't think I ever got into a panic situation like you described. Anyway, the tire had plenty of tread, but the sidewalls were cracking (not much). I was concerned about loose steering head bearings or something along those lines. Once I got the new tire, everything was cured. I could once again ride w/o hands on the bars and there was no longer the occasional front shimmy while braking. Granted, tires ain't cheap but at least it's better than something chassis-related, or balance/alignment probs.
I never understood why my tires seemed to age like that. Even on the cage I've had problems that seemed like out-of-balance tires or a mis-aligned front-end. Those problems went away once I replaced the tires (I thought still had plenty of life). Who knew?
BTW - I just bought a new front tire from a local shop (not a factory dealer). I had already checked tire prices on websites / catalogs. Initially I thought the price at the shop was a little steep. However, once I read the fine print on the catalogs - I realized I would have had to add "shipping/handling" fees (more for tires for some reason) AND "insurance fees" which would have added quite a bit to the price of the tire. I think you gotta do some checking before you point and click and tell yourself you saved a lot of money. Just my .02.
Good luck.

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[GreenNinja]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Aril, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by madmax:
....I think you gotta do some checking before you point and click and tell yourself you saved a lot of money...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

VERY TRUE!!!
Im with ya on that one.

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Fear Green.

 

[motociclista]

Hey madmax:

If you have repeated problems with tires aging and cracking, both on your bike and car, check to see if you're parking them near something in your garage that has an electric motor. Supposedly, ozone given off by an electric motor can cause such aging in the rubber. (I hope I'm remembering that right. If not, more knowledgeable types with actual chemistry training and such can feel free to flame away.)

Squidwannabe:

New tires often cure lots of ills. I know money's tight, but that's the last place to scrimp.

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[VYPIR]

Madmax, stop using cheap Armorall knockoffs! (joking) That's really weird for your tires to be aging that fast.

I would check the steering head bearings before laying down the green for a tire. You also should look into getting a steering damper. If you going to be going fast anyway.

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You get the best thrills on two wheels!