... I'm not sure exactly what wears or goes out of adjustment but I've noticed I'm doing more pushing vs what I recall is a slight pull when its new & set up right. Most of my sidewalks are in decent shape & I've tried to memorize where the mini fault lines are but the odd time I still manage to hit them & maybe part of the issue. I was actually planning on a tune up visit to Adventure Honda where I bought it, but combination of early snow dump & other life issues getting in the way.
The push vs. pull symptom is because you need new augers. Classic symptom in fact. When you first get new paddles, they should pull you almost too fast.
WRT fault lines—don't worry about them. I've smacked thousands of them over the years. I do it constantly. The machine is made to take the bangs. Just replace the scrapper bar when you replace the paddles, you'll be fine. If you are on a bad section of sidewalk where every crack hangs it up, just ease up on the angle of attack a bit so that the machine slides over them easier. If your rubber paddles (augers) are in reasonable shape they will still catch the snow even if you've eased up on the angle. After you get back to more even pavement, you can tilt it forward as usual.
But what you're describing is a paddle replacement issue I'm almost positive...nothing to do with the wheels or alignment.
The wheel issue is still curious to me though. You may be right about the type of rubber. It isn't a huge thing for me, just an annoyance. I'll keep looking into it and when I'm confident I can buy the new style wheels I will and report back. I know the old ones are discontinued, but haven't found the new ones yet. As an update Adventure Honda tells me if it is a true recall, even out of warranty, Honda pays for the new parts and install if necessary.
I've always wondered if filling in the tread pattern with some compound would solve the issue. But my tests with lawn mower wheels contradict the tread theory. So your thoughts on the rubber itself maybe closer to a solution. If there were more flexibility in the rubber, perhaps it would make the snow and ice break off???? It certainly won't affect the scraper bar angle as the machine rides off the wheels and entirely on the scraper bar when blowing snow. In fact, the paddles pull the machine along (hence its moniker "semi self-propelled") assuming they are within spec and not worn down too much.