Front Tire Issues

Recently like 4500 miles ago I bought a brand new set of Bridge Stone Battle axe tires for my 86 Maxim X.
Here about two weeks ago-I go for a ride about 2.5 miles and when I get to my destination I realize that my front tire is real squashy. I am like crud I'll just nurse it back home which I did and then filled it up with air looking for any leaks. Check the tire with tire gauge 32PSI same the next morning. Even now 2 weeks laster still 32 PSI.
What I noticed though is that prior I could be going doing the rode and stretch my arms both at the same time. No problems as in wobbles or anything.
Now I get a severe wobble at varying speedS while under the throttle and I do not let go of the handle bars at all. What I noticed is that on both side of the tire there is a triangle pieces of rubber that are torn partially off. This is all the way around. I will upload a picture when I get home from school to show ya'll.
As safety is of up most importance I have stopped riding and am currently waiting for new tire (+ or -3 days).
I just find it odd that the tire tore Those particular pieces all the way around both sides.
Yes pictures are coming or picture

 

Stop riding and contact the seller of the tire. You have tread separation, and that is both a safety and warranty issue.

 

The only problem is that I do not remember who I bought the tire from and I have stopped riding my xj700x.
I ordered another and it should be here tomorrow or the next day.
I will check my records to see if I can find who I bought it from.
I was kinda thinking that it was my own fault for riding on it for that 2.5 miles while the tire pressure was low.
So here is the picture-the lighting wasn't good so where my finger is pointing is the triangle that is tearing off all of them!
If you blow up the picture you can see the beginning of the tear and it actually goes into the tire about 1/16th of inch when I apply lift to it.
Hope that make some kind of sense.
Funny thing my wife actually noticed that I had not been riding my X and asked me about it. So I told here and she said and when the new tire going to be here since you only have two!

 

I need to look back to when I had the engine pistons re-ringed and had those tires put on. Gotta find the receipt for the actual total mileage. Mainly since I had rebuilt the engine myself I have put 4500 miles on it. Not sure about the previous amount.

 

Check the date code on that tire... I'll bet it's several years old.

 

where would I find that ?

 

Look on the outer sidewall for the acronym “DOT,” which should be followed by a series of numbers. The last four digits are what you need to determine when the tire was manufactured. The first two numbers represent the week, and the second pair indicates the year.

 

Since you don't remember seller; contact the manufacturer directly. Even if it's an old tire, there may have been a recall.

 

looks like bridgestone has a hq in portland, contact them. i bet you get some satisfaction

 

Definitely safety, not necessarily warranty, manufacturing defects are extremely rare when you look at the numbers produced but it can happen

 

So here is the picture of when I believe that the tire was manufactured. I've included both the DOT area and the adjacent set of numbers as well.
Looks like 2005
well that didn't work out well
The picture of the DOT didn't up load
But it says DOT enm5

 

48th week in 2015

 

Not even 2 yrs old

 

after waiting 45 minutes on the phone I got the same answer. LOL
Anyway they said to contact the local Bridgestone dealer and have them check it out. So after I go and do my homework for the day I will be doing just that !
Since I have you have you had any luck with the valve cover "5 Valve" for the left side or a set ?
Per your suggestions I have been searching the web and still have had no luck.

 

I sent you a private message on that a long time ago.....maybe it never reached you. I'll try to find it, and I'll get the box back out. I didn't hear anything back, so I figured you'd found something. I hope I didn't delete it.

 

It's a warranty issue. Always file a claim (unless you knowingly abused a tire). Whether or not it will be covered is another matter, and that can't be determined unless a claim is filed.

 

What did I learn today-
First of all make sure you have a reliable tire pressure gauge!
I had one that I kept in the sleeve of my jacket. It was about 2 inches long and cheap!!!!!!
Anyway I rode slowly down to the Kawasaki dealer as there is no Yamaha dealer within a 100 miles and explained the issues and looked over the tire. The Technician asked if I check my tires regularly and I said every week. He mentioned that it would be better to do it every other day, he then proceeded to pull out a tire pressure gauge and asked me what I run my tires at I said what the manufacturer recommends 41 cold in the front and 42 cold in the rear. He asked if that is what I had in it and I believe that to be true. He checked the tire pressure and both were off by 14 psi-
I mentioned to him that a couple of weeks ago the front was real low and I had driven on it for 5 miles.
He said that the low tire pressure and the fact I drove so low on air was a contributing factor.
As a bridge stone tire representative he could not warranty the tire due to that I was obviously running it low on air basically the entire 2 years I had owned them by my own admission.
So the tire is actually serviceable how ever he mentioned that I should replace it within a 1000 miles-
My observation to the amount of tear may have been a bit over estimated.

Lesson learned with no injury and it only cost me 121.00 for the tire and 25 to replace.

I received the new front tire this evening and it will be going to the shop tomorrow - the front rim and tire to get replaced.

 

I have a set of these : Fobo Bike TPS sensors on my VTX... I can check my tire pressure with my phone, and watch it change as it heats up while riding. I have a compressor at home as well as at my shop...so I always have air available to keep them properly inflated.

 

And what would be the cost of those little goodies?
And where from

 

Link is in the text in my post. They are about $100 for a pair. I've had mine 2 years, and have changed the button batteries twice. They bluetooth to my phone, and have a battery indicator so you know when to change them.

https://www.amazon.com/FOBO-FB1581-Fobo-Bike-Silver/dp/B00YCAVD3W

 

thanks I will have to check them out

 

Some folks worry about throwing the tire out-of-balance.. I've not experienced that at all (they are light). I now use Ride-On tire balancing liquid (used to have dynabeads) so there is no issue.

 

More cheaper, and just as gooder.

They come in a range of pressures, are lightweight, and I've never had one leak in over 20 years of using them.
Slime brand is the current best-deal, but others are out there.

 

Ok, Different system here, there is no claim unless it is a defect and then it becomes a warranty issue

 

this guy saw you comming a mile away.
if you told him you check pressure every day, he would have said to do it every red light.
then he took out his tire guage, the one he know reads low.
41,42 psi, how could the mfg. know that, they don't know what it's going on. seems really high to me, you sure that's not max pressure. does the ride seem really harsh?
"So the tire is actually serviceable how ever he mentioned that I should replace it within a 1000 miles-" if it wobbles and the tread is comming off, serviceable isn't a good word for it.
why a new rim? the rim didn't do that

 

I agree with Polock. You're quoting the maximum safe tire pressure, not the recommended pressure for your XJ, which is (IIRC) 28 psi when riding at high speeds with a passenger.

Even if your gauge was faulty, the tire was being run within the recommended air pressure range.

Take the bike to a different dealer.

 

I will do that-thanks for your suggestions

 

Got the new tire on and I am running the tire pressure at the recommended PSI
28 front cold
40 rear cold
Fairly easy to check in the morning as it has been low 40's here in Southern Oregon.
As far as the ride seems a lot smother then when I was running the tires at the max PSI.

 

The sad reality these days. We've still got one local shop that is super honest and fair, they get all my auto business. Most of the others we've tried, the writers must be on commission. Wife took the suburban to a shop where we purchased our tires for a free rotation. She called and said it needed a fuel system flush, power steering flush, and some other junk. Only $398. Told her to say thanks but no thanks. He stated that GM recommended that stuff at our milage. Funny, I had the manual up online and we were a long way from needing a power steering fluid replacement, like 50k miles away.

 

It is unfortunate that it only takes a few shops to ruin it for so many others.
Kinda like the guy who rebuilt my engine and then it broke three valve guides with in 1,500 miles.

 

That can happen to the best of mechanics. A bad batch of guides, or improper shipping that damaged them, or a mistake by the mechanic.
What seperates a good shop from a bad one is how they handle problems like that.

 

In this case the technician came highly recommended. I didn't blame him outright well maybe but I took a step back and realized that things can happen.
What was a bummer is that technician went out of business.

So I got to rebuild my engine with the help and guidance from ya'll. I am grateful for every bodies contribution.