Front Tyre

[Steve Downey]

Hi I have a a Honda cbf 500, the issue I have is when overtaking when I hit the white lines the bike is very twitchy.Can anyone recommend a alternative tyre

[Stu]

Hi and welcome to the forum 

 

What tyres have you got on currently? have you also checked the tyre pressures? as this can have an affect on it 

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

I have a CBF500 and they shouldn’t be overly twitchy on white lines. I run mine at the recommended pressures of 36 front and 42 rear. The pressures quoted in the Haynes manual is wrong and does result in bad handling.

 

I am running Continental ContiMotions at the moment, no complaints with them. 

 

When was the fork fork oil last changed? The front forks are a bit soft on the usual 10W fork oil. Some riders prefer going to 15W in there.

 

 

[iangaryprice]

Are you sure its the front tyre that is causing the problem?

How much tread is left on the tyres? 

"white lining " tends to get worse as the tyres get more worn, but its usually the rear the is most affected.

[manxie49]

As above I would check other things before changing your tyres, tyre pressures, forks etc, as Ian said, it's the rear end that normally gets a bit skittish ...... If you want a recommendation for tyres then I personally think the Michelin Road 5's are excellent, slightly softer compound so you won't get as many miles from them (depending on how you ride) but they are excellent, in all weathers.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

If you have ridden a CBF500 then you'll be aware that the front forks are known to be on the soft side and this can produce some peculiar riding characteristics. Nothing horrendous but not confidence inspiring. The CB version was the same and people used to add spacers or springs from the 750 (which won't fit CBF forks). It was a bit hit and miss and most of the time changing the oil grade seemed to work for most people.

 

There is a definite difference between the tail end being skittish and the characteristics of the front end which some riders find with the bike.

 

@Steve Downey - do check everything else of course. You haven't stated that it is the front end which is twitchy, just that the thread title refers to the front tyre. Check the rear isn't flattened off because they get affected more by road surface issues when that happens. Thinking about it I always avoid the white lines when overtaking. But when crossing the new Runcorn bridge there are some huge white road markings which the CBF can get unsettled on - whereas the Bobber just doesn't notice them.