Hi guys (hope your not getting sick of me =p). When I take my hands off the handle bars when riding the bike starts leaning to the right very quickly. My guess is the wheel alignment is out? If its leaning to the right would it be safe to guess that the rear wheel needs to be pointing more to the right?
My dear fellow.....this situation is easily remedied............DON'T TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF THE HANDLE BARS.....dangerous!!
I am okay with the results of something bad happening from doing dangerous things *nods*. So with that being said, back to the question =).
Wondering steering could be a number of factors 1. worn head stem bearings, any lateral movement ? 2. bent forks \ triple tree 3. unbalanced front or rear wheel 4. worn wheel bearings 5. poorly inflated tyre 6. brake caliper dragging on the disk A quick and easy trick to test if your forks are bent is to undo the top and bottom bolts on your triple tree (on one side only) as well as your handbar bar bolt, then grab the chrome part of your fork and twist it, it moves then hits some resistience then may well have a bent fork tube. Its it turns freely, then you can you rule out forks. When you get your new tyres, they will balance it for you, you can ask them to check your wheel bearings for play at the same time. Cheers Chris
#6 interesting that you say that because when I brake the bike starts pulling to the right. but I will try check all those things.
1/ Check your wheel alignment. There are marks on your chain adjusters. 2/ Check everything that Kiffsta said 3/ If all else fails you might need to check the frame for straightness also
I think its maybe because your right testicle hangs lower than your left ..... upsets the balance and tracking of the bike.
Damus, the guy's are right, take it easy, we don't want a tragedy. I knew a bloke when we were young, a big bloke & a gun tradesman, fascia & gutter installer. I came across him later at a bike meeting, he was in a wheelchair, both legs gone above the knees. Lost it on a corner & went under a car going too fast. Shocked the **** out of me & slowed me down too. Enjoy your riding but be sensible. I recon you need to get on the track & get it out of your system before you hurt yourself on the road.
I appreciate the sentiment, I do believe going on the track will be good. But its honestly not as bad as it sounds, I dont just take my hands of the handle bars to be stunt man mcgee. I just noticed it randomly one day. As for the whole launching at the lights thing, its only ever up to the speed limit. But I guess in fairness we can all never be too safe, but with motorcycles its kind of obvious what can and has happened to people. I don't want to die but on the same token I am just here to have a good time and I just need help looking after my bike ya know?
Actually riding no hands is a good way to check your steering. Just do it on an empty road and be aware that the camber of the road makes a difference too. Refer to Tony Foale's work. This is a modified BMW with a 15 degree rake.
Ok so, I sit on my bike (not running) in neutral. Walk it forward while pushing the tank and the steering column turns left fairly quickly, after multiple attempts it just turns left on flat ground every time. I cant hear the break scraping or anything so at this stage I feel its safe to assume its the triple tree or forks. 1. how much does this matter? 2. whats the cost of a front end replacement? Thank you, Damus
Forks can be easily straightened and triple clamps can also be straightened/repaired. In any case probably the best thing to do is find someone who specialises in crash repairs or frame straightening and get a quote for them to give it a once over. It would help if you put your location in your profile so that other forum members can suggest someone local to you. cheers Blair
The thing that is tripping me out is the bike only went in for a fork rebuild a month or 2 ago by the previous owner and you would think the mech's would have picked up on it, and there is no signs at all of a crash or trauma to the front forks. (location updated =))
Theres your problem right there Never believe anything a PO tells u He probably knew it had a problem and is covering himself Or .... if it did go to a mechanic for a fork job they stuffed it up You need to jack up the front end and check the wheel is running straight ... then if so , remove it then loosen all the triple tree clamps so everything can line up ..... put the wheel back in to assist in everything being 'square' When all the front end fairing, brackets , lights etc are removed you should be able to look down and see if things are straight or out of wack
It is pointless testing it at push speed and you have not assured us that all the points that Kiffsta mentioned have been covered, like wheel balance etc. +1 to Mr Grey
Not stupid at all, if you don't have a front lift then grab a mate and get him to stand on the side of the bike where the side stand is,grab the handle bars and pull back towards himself. Soon you'll find the correct balance and you'll be free to check your front wheel. It ain't perfect but it does work and can get you out of trouble.