Feels like a low or flat tire

Hi All,

I need some help here. I have an 08 with ABS, stock MetzlerMEZ4A tires with ~ 3000 miles on them. Front pressure is 36, rear is 42. I weigh ~ 220 lbs. During normal medium speed cornering and including long sweepers at ~ 55-60 mph, it feels like there is a low or flat tire, it seems squiggly... I checked the pressure again, made sure that the front and rear wheels were tight (duh). Reduces my ability to hold a line and makes me wonder if the tires are any good. I don't see any cupping but ... Any help would be appreciated.

 

hummmmmmm i got those same tires on mine same weight.....look on the sidewall for the proper inflation cold, nowthen if you are seriously hualing ass around a corner like the other vfr racers here then the tire will want to pull itself from the rim as a (flex) or a (roll) also the pavement makes a difference, grooves, offchamber, downhill etc.... also you state a 6psi difference in tire presure why???

 

sounds like your suspension isnt set up right

 

I 2nd, that your suspension probably needs dialed in. Have you measured and set your sag?

 

Thanks for the information. Now a new question. Is there a "how to" link for setting up the suspension (sag)? I looked in the owners manual and it doesn't say anything about setting the suspension except to adjust the knob clockwise for harder and counter clockwise for softer.

 

sag instructions

Here you go, you'll need three friends to help.

Sport Rider-how to set your motorcycle's static sag

 

Just turn the preload up to max (screw in) and back it out if your ride is too rough.......

 

Heh heh, that's funny. I was going to suggest he back the spring preload out as they tend to get cranked up to hard and that will make the rear end bounce therefore feel squiggly.

For some reason everyone thinks cranking spring preload to its hardest is the hot racing setup. It can be, on a track but most people ride on real roads.

I weight 200 lbs and my bike is 20 years old and I just turned my shock spring preload out all the way because it was too hard on some of the bumpy roads I ride on. All the used bikes I've ever bought had that preload cranked way up hard.

Even with a new bike it's possible some mechanic thought he was doing the new owner a favour and cranked it up before delivery . It's a good idea to check the current position and yes try other positions.

What happens when the shock spring is too hard is the rear wheel leaves the ground over bumps, rear wheel traction is compromised. Feels great on a perfectly smooth road or a track.

If there is an adjustment in the dampening, perhaps that would help too.

 

your bikes suspension is designed to work within the last 2/3 of it's travel. Spring preload whether it be forks or rear shock should be set to allow about 1-1 1/4in. of sag with you on it feet off the ground with your gear on. Too, much preload and not enough rebound dampening will give a pogo stick affect to the rear of the bike. Unless the shock or forks are non adjustable for compression and rebound your preload doesn't need to be set too stiff. It sounds like your bike is wallowing around through the corners. If a rebound adjustment is available I would add a click or 2 at a time and see how that feels before doing anything else. Ride it at the same speeds on the same roads over and over if you can while making any adjustments.

 

You can try this link also:

http://vfrworld.com/forums/suspension-articles/4-suspension-setup.html

I had posted earlier this year about a very similar issue. Even though my tires (at that point) had about 1000+ miles left on them, the bottom line is that they were wear and cupping enough to notice a difference in the way the bike handled. At first, I thought there was some problem after they sat for the winter (maybe a flat spot), but turns out its nothing more than just a worn out tire.

For what its worth, I dropped my pressure to about 34 in the front and 38 in the rear. Whether this was right or wrong, for me, it helped. Since the tires were on their way out, I wasn't too concerned about running them lower than the recommended pressure.

Good luck.

 

Those stock tires are not that great, if tweaking the suspension doesn't help I would recommend putting another brand of tires on them such as the Michelin Pilot Road2 or the Continental Road Attacks.