Front Wheel Cupping

I have a 06 VFR 800 Interceptor that my Front Tire is CUPPING and the Honda Shop has no Idea why, How can I correct this Problem. Any Help would be Greatly Appreciated. Also if anyone might know if there is a place to find out if there is any place to find out if there were any recalls for any parts on my Bike.
Aloha & Mahalo
Kahuna

 

I had the same hting happen with the original tires on my 06. Once I replaced the Bridgestones with, something else it was fine. In my opinion once you get different tires you'll be fine. I've tried Metzeler Z6's (good tires) at the moment I'm running Pirelli Diablo Corsa III's (I LIKE very sticky) So in my opinion it's the front tire.

 

Thanks so much

Is there any Specific Tire you would recommend, I just use my bike to get to jobs to do estimates, get home and load the truck, so mostly I'm on freeways and streets, but I do move a lot on the bike. Again Thanks so much, if I can be of any help let me know.
Aloha & Mahalo
Kahuna

 

my stock dunlops started cupping at 1200 miles .... I put Conti road attacks on 1400 miles later NO cupping

 

The dunlops on my '00 cupped as well, so replaced them with Pilot Powers. Now I notice, after 3000 miles, the PP is showing slight signs of cupping as well. My fork seals are shot, So I am replacing them. I would be willing to bet that has something to do with it.
It is a little early for an '06 seals to be bad, but the front suspension may be set too loose. Wouldn't hurt to check.

 

I'm in the same boat Kahuna. My '03 had 2400 miles when I bought it 6 wks ago. I'm up to about 4500 and the front tire is cupping also.

I also do mostly commuting and my main interest is in a tire that will last. Of course I want a decent traction tire but I don't want to be replacing tires every 4 or 5K. That will eat up all the gas savings I get by commuting on the bike in the first place.

Do all the rest of ya only buy sticky tires?

 

My original dunlops did the same. I upgraded to higher quality Dunlops and same thing but not quite as bad. Just put on a set of Michelin Road Pilot 2's so we will se. But I did get 25,000 km and 30,000 km respeftively. Only time I noticed the vibrating was dure fromt wheel braking.

 

The front stock dunlop on my '07 is cupped up pretty good so far at 3300 miles. I don't think it yet has more cups than Wal*Mart though as someone else had said about theirs.

 

I will be keeping an eye on the Pilots after the seal change. Though no more upgrades like springs and valves. So, we'll see.

 

whats the spring preload set at on your rear shock? If you weigh more than 160 and its set at the stock notch of 2 then you are floating the front higher than the rear through the turns(squating). The dunlops are absolute crap as almost any OEM tire is, and they are known for cupping front tires no matter what. You could buy the aftermarket Dunlops and they can be great. OEMS =France, Aftermarket made in Japan. I'd bet better rubber quality even though its the same tire. They are made cheap to be mass produced for factory bikes. Never replace OEMS with OEMs.

 

Front is OEM and Rear is aftermarket, right? I dont know where all thier tires are made....but I have found most OEMS come from France. Weird place to come from, must be a reason and cheaper is my guess. My ZX10 had front and rear from France stock, they were absolute crap. Rear burned up in 1500 miles. I have heard from many riders tho that aftermarket Qaulifiers are pretty nice...

 

Hey MD:

Yes, suspension plays a big part on tire cupping too.

The VFR's are a bit front heavy so the tire soaks up that much more of the road.

BZ

 

Im still playing with mine, only 350 miles on my 08 so far. I think the stock suspension feels "ok", I need to try a little more preload front and rear and get past the first service before I tear into it more and see how unsettled the front gets with all that weight. I wish there was dampening up front, if money grew on trees I would have swapped out the forks and rear shock already! :smile: Are there many options for upgrade? I have not even looked yet....Ohlins or Penski?

 

Dunlop OEM Questions

My OEM Dunlops started cupping at about 3,000 km. What do people here get out of the OEM rear tire? At 5,800 km, mine has worn a lot. And what tire pressue would you use to reduce wear for laid-back street riding and commuting?

 

For that kind of ridding 42 rear and 36 front would be fine. You use less pressure for more traction at aggressive lean angles. When your tires get hot thier pressure will increase, which doesnt happen as much for commuting and around town ridding. So if your gonna tear it up you can look at 3-6 pounds increase on average from friction depending on how hard/fast your pushing it. And you dont want rock hard tires with less contact patch in that situation. So I run 33-34 front and 33 rear, but thats really moving to get the tires up to temp where they should be. Most average quick riders would be best with 36 front and 35-36 rear for a spirited ride. One thing alot of riders dont realize is that the rear tire heats more than the front, Acceleration and back lash from the tranny warm it up fast! So better to run the rear half a pound to a pound less than the front if your a throttal junkie in and out of turns. Of course PSI gets way more complicated when you throw in varying types of tires and outside temp. Best place to learn tons about tires is talking to tire reps at tracks. And now Iv'e gone on a tangen.... Hope that helps a little.