Having dealt with the grooves thing myself, the best thing I ever did was changing out my front tire for one without a centerline groove (Pilot GT in my case). The worst was when driving with stock tires on a road at lower speeds that had just been rotomilled , in preparation for new pavement. That 'tracking with the groove feeling' made me very uncomfortable, and I haven't had it since going to a crosshatched pattern without a centerline groove.Yes sir the center groove on front tires will make it feel like you are driving on marbles. I was also upset to hear that the GT was being discontinued. I have to tell you that I'm not so upset any more. I put a Shinko 005 radial (wing size) on the front of my 02. WOW it does not have the heavy steer that the GT did. For a wing sized tire it is very nimble.
The stock Connie tires aren't very good, and are holding your bike back. Keep in mind that Kawasaki went with the lowest bidder for those tires, and it shows. There are many better options out there, that will be better suited to whatever riding style you prefer (sport, touring/high mileage, etc.). I will never put the 'stock' tires on a Connie ever again, as the bike handles MUCH better with some of the other choices which you may see recommended elsewhere on the forum here. From what I've read here over the years, almost all members here will concur with the assessment of ditching the stockers for better options when the time comes to get new tires.
I currently have a Pilot GT front and an Avon AM42 Venom rear in 'wing' size as I'm a road warrior type, not a sporty type. The Pilot GTs are discontinued, which is why I currently have a Venom on the rear, and have several interesting options for my next tire change. I have 45K+ miles on the bike currently, and my current tires should be good for at least another 5-8K miles.
I'm STILL pissed off with Michelin discontinuing the GT's. For those of us that didn't mind the heavier steering, they were great high mileage tires that handled well; not quite as grippy as some stickier Avon combos that some Connie owners use here, but definitely much better than the stock tires, and definitely much longer lasting tires. But I digress...
Definitely check the bearings as mentioned above, of course. Also, keep in mind that the front wheel bearings aren't that expensive, btw, should you feel the inclination to replace them yourself.
BTW, www.murphskits.com is a good source for Connie stuff, and he happily stocks bearings for the Connie as well as a lot of other stuff.
Yes sir the center groove on front tires will make it feel like you are driving on marbles. I was also upset to hear that the GT was being discontinued. I have to tell you that I'm not so upset any more. I put a Shinko 005 radial (wing size) on the front of my 02. WOW it does not have the heavy steer that the GT did. For a wing sized tire it is very nimble.
I also put a Shinko 890 Journey on the rear.
I'm STILL pissed off with Michelin discontinuing the GT's. For those of us that didn't mind the heavier steering, they were great high mileage tires that handled well; not quite as grippy as some stickier Avon combos that some Connie owners use here, but definitely much better than the stock tires, and definitely much longer lasting tires. But I digress...I put on a Michelin Commander II on the rear in stock size to replace the Venom that went defective on my last trip. The Commander II is a whole lot better riding than the Venom, much smoother. They both seemed to handle about the same, decent.
I'm sure tires do make a difference on "grooved pavement". Here in the western states [ Californis, Nevada, Oregon] the "grooved pavement" may be used prior to road resurfacing or heavy rain prone surfaces.
On a recent trip through Nevada into California my wife and I hit "grooved pavement". We were riding our bikes ('86 Concours Avon Storm/Azaro; '83 Suzuki GS1100G"L" Bridgestone/Bridgestone) both experienced "wondering around" on the "grooved pavement". Really un-nerving for my wife who knew for sure she was going to crash! She didn't, but didn't enjoy that section of road. A female, Harley rider we met in a gas station at the end of that section had the same complaint. My wife was still complaining about the road and the Harley rider told her to loosen up on the grips, keep your eyes up, look where you want to go and just ride. On our return trip over the same section of roadway my wife did what the Harley rider had said. My wife said it worked for her, but she still felt uncomfortable.
Service the steering head bearings? Sure, I'm sure they all need some adjustment. Choice of tires? Yep, that too. Experience? Yep, plays a big part. And some roadways are grooved worse than others. Metal grated bridges crossing the Columbia are a real experience. One my wife has yet to do and I'm not looking forward to that!
Ride safe all,