Check your tire pressure!

[pseudo]

Well, maybe I ned to put the ol' crack pipe away. At least it's not happening anymore. Thanks for all your input guys!

 

[DaCol.]

Agree on 2 psi making no difference

, I would check your tire alignment with the front

. Sounds like your rear wheel is not running true with the front. NOW THAT, will make a REAL Difference  

 

[EastCoast]

2lbs

that's not enough to make a difference

+1

+ 2

 

[IG.]

Yeah, I'm sure you just heard the mechanic wrong. Surely, tire pressure can definitely make the difference that you described, but not at only 2lbs. Your tire pressure varies by more than that when the tire heats up and cools down.

Out of curiosity, what is your pressure at now? I mean, what did the dealer set it at?

He set it 20 42lbs front and rear, as the manufacturer calls for.

I sure hope the "20 front, 42 rear" is a typo! I would say 42 for the rear is a bit high, well that's arguable. But 20 for the front is absolutely wrong! Is the dealer smoking something? Did you check the recommendation of the manufacturer?

20 front is way.. way too low to begin with. And, if the bike sits in a warm garage with 20 psi, then on the cold street it could be 18 psi.

I'd say, and I think most will agree that the front tire pressure should never go below 29 - 30 for normal riding (and really should be within 30 - 40 range depending on personal preferences, and specific tires), and that's for the ambient street temperature, not the indoor temperature.

BTW, it's a good idea to shell out around $200 for the tire pressure monitor (smartire.com). I want to do it when I get a chance.

 

[Over_Easy]

It's worth taking 2 minutes to check your psi before every ride. It will prolong the tires' life and possibly yours as well.

 

[bronc3]

2 psi? Some folks at the track drop alot more than that to improve adhesion.

 

[Rycardo]

To prevent these situations I buy from ebay, this item:

 

[TheDude27]

It's was windy this morning, but I've driven in this kind of wind before and never had any problems.

Something wasn't right about my baby, she was all over the place, felt like I was riding on roller skates, every time the wind blew, it would make me swerve, so bad that I almost hit a cement freeway devider head on.

I had posted earlier about how she was acting squirrely last week, and someone had mentioned that the tire pressure may be low.

I discounted it at the time thinking "no way, tire pressure wouldn't make that big of a deal", but today after almost killing myself, luck had it that I happened to be right next to my dealership.

I took it in, asked them check the pressure for me, and sure enough it was 2 lbs off in each tire.

They didn't seem to think that tire pressure would cause the problems I described, so I held my breath and ventured back out onto the road.

It was like someone super glued my tires to the road, wow what a difference!

I'll never second guess advice from the forums. Thanks guys!

maybe he said 22lbs low? If your bike was squirly at 40lbs, you still have a problem. I usualy run at 38-40psi (cold tires) unless I'm 2-up then I'm at the full 42.

 

[gtblades]

Definately check your air pressure before a ride. In the past week I noticed that my front tire was low on air. Further inspection of why the pressure was low I noticed the shreder valve was loose. I am glad I always inspect my bike before rides. This could have ended up real bad.