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Kumho after 1000 miles


yamahamer

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Hmm, I just had it mounted. Total crap shoot on the spacers? Never gave it a thought.

I am guessing it can be a problem?

 

how many miles on the car tire? if you just installed it, make sure you air it up close to 40 or so for a bit and then air it down slowly until it feels comfortable to you. I had to play with my pressure a bit before it felt perfect. mine at 32 lbs is great.

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how many miles on the car tire? if you just installed it, make sure you air it up close to 40 or so for a bit and then air it down slowly until it feels comfortable to you. I had to play with my pressure a bit before it felt perfect. mine at 32 lbs is great.

 

 

I was running it at 40 for the first 1000 or so miles. I have since dropped to 36.

I do most of my riding two up. I may try playing with it a little more.

I really like everything about it except the shimmy....which may or may not be related?

 

I did lift the front and even switched the spacers while there. I spun the tire with a stick firmly placed abutting the tire. It sure seemed the front was not out of round.

 

Really more of an annoyance.

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Crockett -- I have that same wobble on my Kumho. When I was in Houston a couple of months ago I stopped by Gunboat's place and we looked at it. Nothing seemed out of place and we think it may just be belts in the tire that may have wandered. I have since changed the front tire and the shimmy persists up to about 25 mph and disappears. I don't worry about it any longer and i now have about 10,000 miles on the Kumho. I run about 36-38 psi.

the next time I change the front tire I will try the Cobra, which is a radial.

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Crockett -- I have that same wobble on my Kumho. When I was in Houston a couple of months ago I stopped by Gunboat's place and we looked at it. Nothing seemed out of place and we think it may just be belts in the tire that may have wandered. I have since changed the front tire and the shimmy persists up to about 25 mph and disappears. I don't worry about it any longer and i now have about 10,000 miles on the Kumho. I run about 36-38 psi.

the next time I change the front tire I will try the Cobra, which is a radial.

I still wonder if the excessive install pressure is possibly affecting the integrity of the tire in a way that is not visible.

 

I have made some inquires (last week) to a Canadian Kumho representative who is consulting with the US technicians in regards to the install pressures and the effects that excess pressure may have on these tires. For the most part I suspect that I will get a textbook answer (if any at all) but I’m hoping they will not only answer but also expand on it and perhaps also provide some test results. As soon as I hear back I will post the information.

 

If in fact the wobble is a result of the tire being exposed to excessive pressure the next logical question becomes ‘how can the tire be installed without over pressurizing it’?... One thought I had (which if going to the Darkside is not controversial enough...) was to modify the rim. Just thinking out loud and trying to think outside the box.

Edited by dragerman
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Crockett -- I have that same wobble on my Kumho. When I was in Houston a couple of months ago I stopped by Gunboat's place and we looked at it. Nothing seemed out of place and we think it may just be belts in the tire that may have wandered. I have since changed the front tire and the shimmy persists up to about 25 mph and disappears. I don't worry about it any longer and i now have about 10,000 miles on the Kumho. I run about 36-38 psi.

the next time I change the front tire I will try the Cobra, which is a radial.

 

I actually rode "alone" and had the pressue at about 33 pounds. It did seem to be less noticeable. It's really not that bad unless I ride at 22 as in a stop light area or something...

 

I am going to pull it to have it balanced...or order the dyna beads.

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I still wonder if the excessive install pressure is possibly affecting the integrity of the tire in a way that is not visible.

 

I have made some inquires (last week) to a Canadian Kumho representative who is consulting with the US technicians in regards to the install pressures and the effects that excess pressure may have on these tires. For the most part I suspect that I will get a textbook answer (if any at all) but I’m hoping they will not answer but also expand it and perhaps also provide some test results. As soon as I hear back I will post the information.

 

If in fact the wobble is a result of the tire being exposed to excessive pressure the next logical question becomes ‘how can the tire be installed without over pressurizing it’?... One thought I had (which if going to the Darkside is not controversial enough...) was to modify the rim. Just thinking out loud and trying to think outside the box.

 

I think it's great you are trying this...I agree, a text book lawsuit protecting answer is most likely but you never know?

 

Keep us posted.

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I put my first Kumho on myself. Had to inflate it up to about 105 Psi. I had the wobble at slow speeds also. I put the bike on the car rack at my shop and ran it in 1st gear. You could see the tread waver back and forth in one area. I called and had my tire distributor pick it up and warranty it thinking it had a belt broken in it.....I put the replacement Kumho on and it also took 105 psi to inflate.....It wobbles the same way. Put it on the rack and ran it and it has the same tread waver in one spot. I'm running dyna beads. Smooth after you are going 25 miles or so. Personally I think it is the excessive Psi required to seat the beads....YMMV

 

I'm still running it and no known issues.

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I put my first Kumho on myself. Had to inflate it up to about 105 Psi. I had the wobble at slow speeds also. I put the bike on the car rack at my shop and ran it in 1st gear. You could see the tread waver back and forth in one area. I called and had my tire distributor pick it up and warranty it thinking it had a belt broken in it.....I put the replacement Kumho on and it also took 105 psi to inflate.....It wobbles the same way. Put it on the rack and ran it and it has the same tread waver in one spot. I'm running dyna beads. Smooth after you are going 25 miles or so. Personally I think it is the excessive Psi required to seat the beads....YMMV

 

I'm still running it and no known issues.

 

I put a Kumho on my brothers Venture and I have the same wobble (one spot where the tread shifts slightly) when run in first gear on the lift.

 

I am going to place mine on the lift and look at it when I get his down.

 

Like I say, smooth as can be at all other speeds..?

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I put my bike on the lift today and ran the bike in 1st and 2nd gear. My tire does have a wobble of sorts.

 

What I am not sure about is if all tires have some wobble?

The rotor stays perfectly straight (by eye).

The tire is seated real evenly and there are no lumps or distortions I can see.

 

I am thinking of trying Dyna beads and if I can't loose the wobble...going back to the MC tire? I am not happy with the wobble I get at 20 mph....

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Don`t ride 20MPH...blast past 20 like it doesn`t exist!!

 

:confused24:

 

It's just the darned parking lots that ruin that idea...otherwise....I'm with you!!

 

I pulled the tire to get it on a balancer and get a good look at whats' happening. I rode my brothers Venture with a new Kumho and it has no problems...It rode real well?

 

His tire was mounted by a different shop and balanced. Mine seated at 100 pounds which makes me wonder about belts? I will try and see what his seated at tomorrow.

 

Either way, I'll correct it...just sick of pulling tires. Since I got the lift I have become popular....My brother is leaving his bike with me now? He lives 100 miles away.

 

He may take it back when i finish with the maintenance and tires////:thumbsup2:

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I wonder if they had a bad batch? Everyone with the wobble should post the date code from their tire.

I bought and mounted mine 1 1/2 years ago and no wobble, no waver in tread and smooth at all speeds, just me or two up.

Just a thought.

 

 

Hmm, Like I mentioned, my brothers was worse than mine as far as movement when turning...I did get his balanced.

 

I almost ordered another Kumho but I want to see how he likes his and maybe ride his a little more. i was light on running it due to the new front tire...I need to give it a better run.

 

Sometimes I get tempted to buy a rear Avon and be done....but then I feel bad for leaving my brother with the CT....alone!

 

I'm just a good big bro!:mo money:

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I wonder if they had a bad batch? Everyone with the wobble should post the date code from their tire.

I bought and mounted mine 1 1/2 years ago and no wobble, no waver in tread and smooth at all speeds, just me or two up.

Just a thought.

 

 

Hey ya'll that's a good idea. I went back to the mc tire after trying to get the wobble out but never did. I had already put around 1500 miles on it but couldn't get it to work out. That was back in December. Anyway I went back to the mctire and the wobble went away with it. I really wanted this to work but it just didn't. I didn't say anythong about it on here because I didn't want to dicourage anyone else from maybe getting in on a good thing. I'll look at the date on the tire tomorrow and see what the date was and post it here. There may be something to this "bad batch". These tires were pretty cheap in price anyway, so maybe I got one of the worst ones!! Something to think about.

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The date on my Kumho 4508. Still no word back from Kumho in regards to the max install psi.

 

 

 

I just went out and checked the date on the Kumho that I removed. It was 5108. Pretty close, huh? I had the wobble.

Edited by Kirby
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I just went out and checked the date on the Kumho that I removed. It was 5108. Pretty close, huh?

 

 

Mine is 4508. Installed it on 1/2/2010. Took about 120~130psi to pop the bead. I have 567 miles on her and have never experienced the dreaded "wobble". Hate it that others do and don't understand why? Hope this helps!

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