Flat spots on tires..cupping..

[WildKat]

Can you ever really totally get rid of these if your tire end up with a flat spot? Do you just have to ride it out or is it just as well better to replace the tire?

If letting the bike sit all winter, say from Nov. or Dec - April, would that be long enuff to cause flat spots ?

I know I usually rotate the tires every week during the winter. but maybe thats just me being alittle to overly cautious and I dont need to do it..

[jhugh]

If it's on a centerstand then there isn't a whole lot of
weight on the tire(s) so that should not be a problem.
If I didn't have a centerstand on the bike I always put
the tires up off the garage floor by parking is with a
piece of plywood under each tire. Never had any flat spots
in the spring.

[HS2020]

I have stands that I put the bike up on after each ride. I started doing this to make more room in my garage so I could get by the bike and car. You should have no problem with flat spots. I have never seen a bike get them though. My bike sat for about 6 months without being moved. It didn't get flat spots.

[WildKat]

i love the centerstand on the Kat..its so handy for everything, including this.. think I'll still put a wood chock under the font tire to be safe though..im just that paranoid..

[BISQ]

Never had it happen from storage...and my bike has been in storage for at least 4 months a year, each year.

I rode her pretty hard, and eventually got front tire cupping, but no flat spots.

[The CyberPoet]

I've had cupping/scalloping on Michelin Macadams and on Dunlop 205's and 207's, but never any other brands... but that was due to heat and use, not storage.

As for flat-spots in storage, park the bike on the centerstand (lifts the rear off the ground), then stick a couple cut 2x4's under the front forks to lift the front tire off the ground by 1/2 inch. That will stop the flat spots. Overpressurizing your tires helps as well (run them up to the max rated PSI before storage -- 40 to 42 PSI for most brands). If you do have them in contact with the ground, rotating them weekly will make a big difference.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[Katgirl]

When winterizing, I always use the center stand, and a peice of plywood under the tire.
Never had any problems