Front tire cupping

[binx]

I have dunlop q2's and the front tire is cupping with less than 1000 miles. Has anyone had this issue or know why these do it ? I had one replaced last year under warranty with less than 2000 on it. I run 40-42lbs in the tires which I was told by dunlop is fine. I had the suspesion set to my weight after the front was replaced last year to see if that would help. It hasnt helped and was told by the shop when I called to find out if this was a problem, and was told that because the Busa is so heavy that even with the right pressures and suspension settings these are going to do it under braking. The balance is also true. Is there anything else I should look for ? Its nice to get a new tire under warranty but I am tired of doing 2 fronts to one rear which I got 5k out of. The bike does not pull to the side and the bearings are good and the brakes were just replaced. The bikes an 05 with 10k on the clock with the original oil in the forks, which is going to be changed soon. Ive checked everthing I can think of. I know you guys will know what it is.

 

[skydivr]

Pic pls?

 

[binx]

Hope you can see with cell pics

 

[skydivr]

Mine is doing the exact same thing - as you run your hand across the tire, you get a high then low spot. Same tire on my Gixxer does not. I don't know if it's a busa-specific problem or not.

 

[binx]

yeah I dont get it either. I never had this issue on any other tire I have ran. But these are the only ones I have ran on the Busa. I had these tires on my Zx and they wore fine. This will be my third front in less than 3000 miles, it doesnt make sense to me. I have only done sport-touring really and commuting with these as you can tell from the whole tire chicken strip. Roads in Mass arent clear enough to really get on it. Dunno, I hope someone can shed some light on this.

 

[busabobh]

Have you alligned front to rear tires?

 

[skydivr]

Have you alligned front to rear tires?

How, praytell, would you do that?

 

[The Big Red One]

yeah I dont get it either. I never had this issue on any other tire I have ran. But these are the only ones I have ran on the Busa. I had these tires on my Zx and they wore fine. This will be my third front in less than 3000 miles, it doesnt make sense to me. I have only done sport-touring really and commuting with these as you can tell from the whole tire chicken strip. Roads in Mass arent clear enough to really get on it. Dunno, I hope someone can shed some light on this.

If you're a hard front braker, that can cup tires quicker....but unfortunately front tires on bikes cup, some just do it much worse or quicker than others. I'd rule out those tires as a choice for your busa, at least the front. My stock front bridgestone BT-014 on my zx14 was so badly cupped at 2500 miles it was unrideable, I thought i had some seriously warped rotors. It was just the combo of mega-strong front brakes, and a bigger, heavier bike destroying a tire that wasn't up to the job. Changed brands and no problems since

 

[skydivr]

I do like the soft front and some pretty heavy breaking. Need to ask Twobrothers if his cups, 'cause he's KILLER on braking!

 

[binx]

What tires are you running now?

 

[Warchild]

Mine is doing the exact same thing - as you run your hand across the tire, you get a high then low spot. Same tire on my Gixxer does not. I don't know if it's a busa-specific problem or not.

It is not Busa-specific. Trust me.

This is simply the by-product of a large, heavy sport-touring bike that is using its front brake properly on the street. Virtually all front tires will cup under normal street use.

One of the biggest contributors to front tie cupping is simply the tire's tread pattern. Some tread patterns truly lend themselves to cupping, even early in it's service life - the Dunlops are among the worst of them, Q2's and RoadSmarts in particular. Some Bridgestone models also cup quite early in their life.

Other tire models don't display much cupping until close to the end of their service life. The Michelin PR2s and PR3s are examples of late-cupping tires.

 

[skydivr]

I've never seen cupping on my 1K - but it maybe cause they don't last much more than one trackday anymore

 

[The Big Red One]

What tires are you running now?

I'm running conti Road Attacks on my busa and Avon storms on my 14. My gsxr-1100 is still on old battleaxes, but they'll be changed for something else when they're done. Just don't ride it much

 

[binx]

I may have to next time seeing how dunlop will only give me a front for warranty and I already have the rear. I am worried about the performance of the tire when it starts to do it and I dont want to mix tires. I wanted the conti's originally but they were 120 more for the set, now I know why. I wonder how long dunlop will keep warranting them

 

[Tufbusa]

I don't think anyone knows for sure what actually causes cupping on a motorcycle tire. There are many theories. I personally think it's a combination of issues. One thing I do know is it's not the tire, it's the bike. Softer tire cups faster than a hard tire but they will all cup eventually if the motorcycle is prone to cupping.

Personally, I have never had a bike that was prone to cupping. I've run tons of Q2's without an issue yet some have problems with the Q cupping.

If I were you I'd check steering stem bearings, fork set up, aftermarket steering damper set too tight may have an affect, drop the air pressure a little to see if that helps. There are a multitude of things that could be contributing to your issue. Gripping the bars to tightly or leaning on the bars may also contribute.

Cupping is a hard one to figure out. Good Luck on resolving your issue.

 

[binx]

Thanks tuff. Is it reasonably safe to continue to run the tire for now?

 

[doniton2]

here is what mine was doing.

with some advice from Tufbusa I put race tec springs in and that made all the difference. I was changing front and rear every 2-2500. I now have 3000 with 1 track day on them and the front still looks great and the rear will need to be changed after this Sundays ride. I think I'll be at 2 rears to one front now.

 

[880jedi]

Go to a hard compound tire next time. Pilot Road 3's is what I run now, and I run 42 psi and can get 13K with no cupping at all.

If they show cupping also, you'll know it's not the tires, but the bike. Good luck.

 

[Tufbusa]

Thanks tuff. Is it reasonably safe to continue to run the tire for now?

I'd have no trouble running it as long as the tire has reasonable tread.

 

[black diamond busa]

I have 4000 miles on the Dunlop Q2s I got last summer and I have no cupping on the front. The cheapo tire that was on it had bad cupping on the front.