Would cupped tires make a noise in a turn?

[CoreyP]

I get a weird almost a grinding noise when I'm turning. Just an odd noise that I shouldn't be hearing.

I've taken both wheels off and checked the bearings, those are good. Also put new brake pads on. Brakes are working fine. Honda brake pads BTW. Cleaned and lubed the calipers up.

My tires are 10 years old so I bought a new set. I noticed the front tire had a flat spot when I took that one off. I can feel the difference having a new front tire but the noise is the same.  Today I finally got around to looking at the back tire and it is scalloped on both sides of the tire. Plenty of tread left but there is no doubt the back tire has uneven wear on the edges.

Maybe this weekend I'll put the back wheel on but I'm wondering if a scalloped tire will make noise in turns? I've never had a tire with this kind of wear so I'm not sure? When I have the back tire off should I be looking at anything that could make a grinding noise? If it's not the tire I'm out of ideas at the moment.

[Bighead]

Yes it will make noise and why in Gods name are you on 10 yr old tires?

[Leathel]

yes they will make a noise, but also check the wheel bearings when replacing the tires

[Bighead]

yes they will make a noise, but also check the wheel bearings when replacing the tires

Said he had checked the bearings.

[Skinhead]

Put a car tire on the back and you won't have that problem.

[98valk]

Yes it will make noise and why in Gods name are you on 10 yr old tires?

don't believe the hype by tire manufacturers who want to sell more tires often.
just like the helmet makers who said 3 yrs, ha, testing has shown that is not true and some helmet manufacturers are providing a 5-7 yr warranty. the basic materials for protection have not changed over the yrs.

[Chrisj CMA]

My experience is that cupping on the rear tire is caused by low tire pressure. 42psi gives me over 20K miles with no cupping ever. Also it’s hard to evaluate bearings just by hand spinning them until they are really bad. With the bike in the lift grab the rear wheel at the bottom and try to move it side to side. Even a minuscule amount of movement that seems more like a little click rather than a movement indicates bad bearings.

[Large]

Low tire press. can cause cupping but so can bad shock bushings had this problem last year. Made humming noise and vibrated in curves but smooth in the straights

[Bighead]

Yes it will make noise and why in Gods name are you on 10 yr old tires?

don't believe the hype by tire manufacturers who want to sell more tires often.
just like the helmet makers who said 3 yrs, ha, testing has shown that is not true and some helmet manufacturers are providing a 5-7 yr warranty. the basic materials for protection have not changed over the yrs.

Not going on any hype by any tire manufacturer. But I wouldn’t ride it to the mail box on them.

[Valkpilot]

Tires harden with age and while this isn't as much of a problem for cars, it can be a real problem with grip for motorcycles. Depending on how and where the vehicle is stored, there could be unseen structural deterioration as well.

I recently spent a lot of money on a new set of tires for my '98 Jeep because the ones I had were 10 years old and I was planning a long trip.  I wasn't going to drive 2000 miles through Texas and New Mexico in a roll-prone vehicle on tires that old, especially not in July.

NSTA recommends 7 to 10 years as the age limit, but they are relying on manufacturer's recommendations (as do insurance companies.)  My local Discount Tire won't mount anything over 5 years old.

All the rubber and plastic components on our vehicles, including tires, are under constant attack from ozone, UV light, petroleum-based chemicals, etc.  They're designed with plasticizers and other additives that are sacrificial to these agents, but when the plasticizers are depleted, the base material begins to fall apart.

I also agree with the cupping being due to low tire pressure.   40psi front and 42p rear, if you're running MC tires, for long life with no cupping.

[CoreyP]

The rear tire is actually 7 years close to 8 and I know about tires wearing over time even when not ridden.

The cupping is new to me, never seen that on I a bike I have had. I have been playing with tire pressures but I have old tires so what I did may not be right for new tires. I do know changing the front made a difference that I can feel. I'm going to take the bike out tomorrow and burn off some back tire just because. LOL. For that matter it will give me an idea of the limits also how the bike handles with a spinning back wheel etc. Going to change the back tire so why not F' around with it before it goes? This is also the biggest bike I have ever owned so hopefully something bad doesn't happen. ...I doubt it.

I more wondering what the noise is when I turn, I'm about 95% now that the cupped back wheel is what is making the noise? It's kind of a project to take the back wheel off so I want to make sure I don't have to do it again.  The bike came with a box of parts, three o-rings for the shaft drive so I'll be replacing those, lube etc.   I will check out the back totally. I'm going to look through the book of paper work and see if I can find out when the shocks were replaced, these aren't OEM. My experience with getting a new bushing into a shock is they are damn near impossible to replace. If someone can point me to a video or give me some advice on how to do that please do.

[Jess from VA]

Tire noise cornering entirely possible, and understand that if tire cupping is started because of low air pressure, adding air up to a proper level may not be able to save the tire.  But noise cornering is also a classic sign of a bad wheel bearing. Tire noise is usually a whine or howl, bearing noise is usually crunchy, grindy (mechanical) and if bad enough thumpy. 

When you get in there, give special attention to the left rear single row bearing because it fails more than any other.  There is a double row (replacement) mod in shoptalk.

http://www.valkyrieriders.com/shoptalk/5204_bearing_mod.pdf

[Skinhead]

A vibration and nose when cornering is also normal on rear tires due to wear. When I ran MC tires on my calls in Michigan, they tend to wear a flat spot in the center of the tire, due to the lack of twisties, there is little wear on the sides of the tires.  They them develop flat spots similar to cupping.  When the bike is then leaned over at speed, these flat spots will cause a vibration and noise that disappears when the bike is straightened up.

[CoreyP]

.  They them develop flat spots similar to cupping.  When the bike is then leaned over at speed, these flat spots will cause a vibration and noise that disappears when the bike is straightened up.

That is basically what I have going on. Dead straight no problem, turn yes a problem somewhere.  This week I'll have a new tire the back of the bike and everything checked out, going from there. 

[98valk]

How can I keep my tires from cupping?
Top

You may not be able to entirely avoid cupping. Tire cupping or irregular wear is a somewhat common occurrence on all vehicles. On a four-wheel vehicle, you are advised to rotate your tires periodically to even out wear. Unfortunately, you do not have this luxury with a motorcycle because front and rear tires, unlike those on most four-wheel vehicles, are not interchangeable.

However, there are steps that can be taken to minimize cupping and uneven wear on a motorcycle: Maintain your motorcycle and particularly your front and suspension. Avoid hard braking whenever possible. Braking causes the tire to grab and wear in one direction. When braking is applied to the front tire, the load transfer over-flexes the tire and increases the tendency for cupping and uneven wear. Maintain your tire pressures. Under inflation and overloading of motorcycle tires are significant causes of cupping and uneven wear, particularly in association with hard braking and/or trailer use.

Once a tire begins to show signs of uneven wear, even following these steps may not improve the condition.

Tire companies can, and are, helping to minimize cupping and uneven wear but you, the rider, must do your part. Following the aforementioned guidelines will help avoid uneven wear.

https://www.dunlopmotorcycletires.com/about/faq/#faq-4

[2KVISRiderDan]

Corey, I recently replaced the bushings in my Progressive 440 shocks trying to get rid of a low speed wobble that was more like a gyration. They were a pain but I got them in, undamaged. PM me a picture of your shocks and the bushing end of one shock. Maybe I can offer some installation tips if they look to be Progressive shocks. Just FYI, the wobble/gyration is gone but I don't know if the new shock bushings or new rear tire took care of it.