Front wheel seems a bit heavy

I had a new (2009) Pirelli Diablo installed on my bike a few weeks ago. Now, when I turn it feels like the bike wants to fall over a bit more and the front wants to turn in. It seems I am pushing harder on the handlebars to keep the front fork from turning more into the turn. I am not sure if the bike did this previously but it seems to me it did it a lot less...

Would a tire change cause this? Are there settings that could have changed?

Of course it could be that I am getting a little more aggressive with my lean and am leaning a little bit more into the turn. I tried balancing more carefully and riding hands free (well, barely touching the handlebars) and it was not a problem as long as I didn't lean as aggressively. I learned to "lean with my head and point to where I was going".

Firstly check tyre pressure. First indication of a slow puncture is heavy steering!

In addition to proper pressure. Ideal is tires replaced as matched pairs.

#2 Diablo not on the decal of Honda recommended tires for SilverWing.

I had good luck with Diablo on ReFlex, have fresh set for my now 5,000 mile new Burgman.

Diablo provided more fun ride for me on scooter---remember foot pressure also an. aide to cornering---push right/go right

Seems to be any number of opinions on this among various sites, although I have never used unmatched tyres personally.

The most interesting comment I noted was riding with unmatched tyres is like walking with unmatched shoes. Can it be done? Yes. Will some combination of unmatched tyres/shoes seem unnoticeable when working together and other combinations seem more noticeable? The consensus was yes that's probably true.

Unfortunately, my old front tyre was cupped pretty badly but the rear wore evenly. I have been very pleased with front and rear Diablos since replacing that set. But at that point just about anything would have been an improvement.

The rear tire is also a Diablo but went on the bike last year, 4500 miles ago.

The old front was not worn out, just pretty old and looked to have very fine dry rot cracks. I read an article that pointed out that is was dangerous to have tires more than 6 years old and that tire was an 05. There is 4 diget number after the letters DOT on a tire that tell you the week number and the year that the tire was made.

We're not too far from each other. Maybe we can meet somewhere, swap rides, and compare notes.

redeye wrote:

We're not too far from each other. Maybe we can meet somewhere, swap rides, and compare notes.

Sounds like a really interesting idea. It would be good to compare sounds, handling, etc.

The bike does seem to be running fine - my BIL invited me to ride with his Goldwing club to an event and I had no issues keeping up.

I will try to give you a holler when I get back from a trip - June. Right now I am trying to catch up with life stuff so I can go on the trip...

Sounds great, and I understand catching up with life. My calendar is pretty full with end of year college, school and sports activities with my daughters right into early June. Looks like our schedules should clear up at about the same time. I'll send you a PM with my phone number -- call or text any time.

Matching tire rule is perpetuated by tire sales people. Wheels roll independently of each other on a motorcycle. Characteristics of each is so different, that tread design makes little difference.

Cars.... different story, always match tires from one side to the other but it makes no difference between axles.