I have had my Distanzias on for a month now and am pleased with the extra grip they offer, but the front seems to be too grippy if im doing about 25mph or below, at those speeds the front just dosn't want to turn in either direction, it just feels stuck to the road and as I apply more force to turn, it suddenly releases its grip and then I over steer and end up looking like a wobbly ****. I thought I would get used to it, but im not yet. I will check the tyre pressure tomorrow to see what it is, but wondered if anyone else has had this effect with the distanzias?

Jason

Yes check the tyre pressure you might have it too low. I am sure once its right you will not have that wobbly effect anymore

Cheers Capt, thought it could be tyre pressure, the front just feels like its stuck in tar below 25mph. I know its on the forums somewhere but whats the recomended pressures again.

Cheers

Jason

Forgot to say it does sound like your front is to low. The wobbly effect is much better with the Distanzias in my oppinion.

Edit: 30 PSI front and rear for a lighter rider (up to 90kg), 31 front and 33 rear if you are over that..

Right checked the tyre pressure today and my front was 30 psi and the rear was 31 psi, it was a digital air compressor that you set the psi you want and it cuts off when it gets there.

I put the front up to 34 psi and left the rear alone just to see if it made a difference. It didnt, as I drove off the front wheel still felt glued to the road at 25mph and below, its getting anyoing and a little dangerous because all my steering movements are jerky at 25mph and below.

Any one have any ideas as Im a complete novice where bikes are concerned. If im pushing the bike its nice smooth steering, but riding I can feel the tyre gripping and as you increase the pressure on the bars to turn you have to put more and more on until the tyre suddenly releases grip and as im applying a lot more pressure than should be needed the front turns to much and then it gripps again and I then have to push harder in the other direction to compensate and I start my jerky 25mph and below wobble.

I think I should get someone who knows a bit about bikes to have a ride on it.


Jason

To test your steering bearings are ok you need to get the front wheel off the ground and very very slowly turn the bars from full lock to full lock, if all is well it will be perfectly smooth if there is problems with the head bearings it will be notchy, its usually most noticable as the bars get totally straight and you can feel a slight glitch in the smoothness, I have had bikes in the past fail MOTS for this reason and when I tested it it felt ok but an MOT tester showed me even a little is a fail in the UK (or at least in his test bay).

Other than this I am at a total loss. Do you have another XT rider near you could meet up woth so you can swap over for a second to check? I have had Distanzias and they are perfect and you should not get this problem at all.

I dont know if this helps but I had to play with my tyre pressures to get the bike to give me more confidence with both the Pirellis and the Distanzias. Once you get it right for your setup/weight and suspension settings just make a note of the pressures and never deviate from it.

I have to have the front lower than recommended and the rear at the exact pressure for my situation. Everyone is different but ask Fozzer if mine is set up correct now and I am sure he will confirm after the weekend rideout "motard style" LOL.

streeter,

Check your bearings as Tony has suggested. If they are OK I would take the buike back and get the tyre company to replace it. You may just have a dodgy tyre. I had this issue with Bridgestone 090's and they replace the front and it was then OK.

Just a thought matey.

Cheers

WB

P.S. I run distanzias and they are by far the best tyre i have ever run with on the XT

HI i know what you mean,when i first got mine it was like having the brakes on and the front end was like superglued to the rd after a few hundred miles you wont notice it .just try and do your counter steering in one smooth motion ,keep tyre pressures in nomal range i run 29psi front ,30psi rear ,thats what works for me.cheers johnno

Quote:

Originally Posted by streeter I have had my Distanzias on for a month now and am pleased with the extra grip they offer, but the front seems to be too grippy if im doing about 25mph or below, at those speeds the front just dosn't want to turn in either direction, it just feels stuck to the road and as I apply more force to turn, it suddenly releases its grip and then I over steer and end up looking like a wobbly ****. I thought I would get used to it, but im not yet. I will check the tyre pressure tomorrow to see what it is, but wondered if anyone else has had this effect with the distanzias? Jason

Yeah I think I will stick with it as they are great tyres and when I see one of my more experianced biker mates I will let him have a spin to see what he thinks.

Its fine when you counter steer and lean the bike to turn the problem only occurs when you have to turn the front wheel, like for keeping your balance on a round-a-bout approch, or in real slow traffic etc, its like when the wheele gets stuck on a white line or on a tarmac seam, below 5mph its fine but between 5mph and 25mph its stuck solid, its not as bad when the tyres are cold and worse when warmed up.

Jason