Front Wheel Shimmy

[PMK]

Air pressure ( psi ) can't balance an un-balanced tire ..... Nor can it un-balance a balanced tire. .... And Air pressure doesn't cause or fix, " shimmy ". I have successfully Drag Raced my Spyders at 12 psi REAR with 45 psi FRONT, these amounts are way more disparate than yours. And I had no issues with Shimmy. ..... Mike

Mike, while in general I agree with the words you posted, I will differ from you in that altering tire pressure can change balance and vibration on a tire.

Understand, a quality tire, with no defects should retain balance regardless of pressure.

But you must consider, if this person has a defective or damaged tire, increasing or decreasing pressure has the ability to change the out of roundness of that tire. With a change in out of roundness, the tires ability to remain balanced diminishes.

Often with the oem Kenda tires we witness this. The tire can be balanced on a balancing machine, but vibrates when ridden. No amount of balance weights, beads or goo will correct it. However, altering pressure can alter the defect, giving a false hope.

Even though the person posting has an aftermarket tire, it is possible the tire is defective. Then again, the tire could be true, and any number of other issues or variables could be causing his concerns.

[PMK]

Think I am going to love the Vredestein Quatrac's, they are really smooth. I should have done this years ago! Thanks for the suggestions.

Just remain cautious and careful until you test them in the wet. Roads here get a lot of standing or flowing water during some afternoon storms we frequently get caught in. Any tire can lose grip in the rain. Hopefully your tire choice works well when needed.

I have never ridden the tires you installed, but experience with oem tires was alarming. The Federal Formoza tires that replaced the oem tires have been very good in the wet.

[missouriboy]

I have a 2013 ST-L. It has about 10,000 miles on it and the original Kenda front tires. <snip>

I'm flabbergasted that NO ONE spotted the real problem here: the best tire made is just JUNK after about 6-7 years from manufacture, even if it sits in a cool warehouse all that time. The bonding compounds holding all the plies together just lose their integrity, and when that happens, there is no hope for the tire. The first line above points out the 8-, possibly 9-year age of these tires. Voila!

Oh well, the OP now has decent tires (like mine!) so his problem is solved.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I'm flabbergasted that NO ONE spotted the real problem here: the best tire made is just JUNK after about 6-7 years from manufacture, even if it sits in a cool warehouse all that time. The bonding compounds holding all the plies together just lose their integrity, and when that happens, there is no hope for the tire. The first line above points out the 8-, possibly 9-year age of these tires. Voila!

Oh well, the OP now has decent tires (like mine!) so his problem is solved.

Really - maybe read posts #2 & 3 & 4 ...... just a thought ...... Mike

[missouriboy]

I DID, Mike. I read the whole thread. But NONE of the posts mentioned the AGE of the tires... only that Kenda is junk to start with. Note that I implied even the BEST tires made will die of old age, regardless of mileage. Even 0 miles.