S2R 1000 Question

[Mity1]

I am the proud owner of a black, with white stripe. 2008 S2R 1000. I love the bike, but now that the weather has turned hot in Phoenix...let me rephrase that...now that it is hotter than hell in Phoenix, I'm having an issue and I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar.

Since gas has gone through the roof, I ride my bike to the office almost everyday. While I'm in the office my bike sits in direct sun light for up to nine hours...did I mention it is hotter than hell in Phoenix this time of year?

Anyway, when I get on my bike to ride home the steering is incredibly stiff, almost to the point that it is unsafe to ride. When I come to a stop at a stop sign the bars seem to turn normally, but at speed it really takes a lot of effort to turn the bike.

I have a steering damper, Bitubo, mounted on the side of the frame, but that doesn't seem to be the problem. My guess is that it is the extreme heat in the tires, although when I recently checked the air pressure while I was having this problem the psi was 38, not that I high for a street bike. To the touch, the tires were extremely hot, hotter than I remember my tires getting on my track bike.

By the way, I'm running the stock tires, Bridgestone Battle Axe 14's.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.