Check to make sure the antenna is setup/grounded correctly with a multimeter and you'll be fine. If its shorted out that will cause an issue.

Proper tuning is more important for daily/continuous use..... for once a month trail riding you wont damage your radio. Remember CB/HAM stuff is like a cult for people..... if you read their forums it'll probably scare the crap out of you thinking you're doing everything wrong (on "their level" all of our radio setups are probably done incorrectly)