83 pulls to left

[hdroyer]

The 83 is running grate thanks for all the help. the bike pulls to the left when I let go of the handle bars, is this caused by a lose steering head bearing or may be tire any ideas.

[buddy]

First off keep your hands on the handle bars,Sounds like what Mom would say .Could be several things like brake caliper sticking - wheel brg - steering head brg -ect ect.Put the cycle on the center stand and check your steering for being to tight or too loose and spin the wheel and see if its hard to spin.look for the easy stuff first.

You will get more info. as you go along from the family here.

 

 

buddy

[Yammer Dan]

What Buddy said. first guess would be dirty caliper. Not hard to fix.

[chabicheka]

1. what buddy said....in his first sentence.

2. i would make a background check on what political party the bike belonged to before you acquired it....

[Denden]

2. i would make a background check on what political party the bike belonged to before you acquired it....

:rotf::rotf:

[hdroyer]

I redone the brakes they were not sticking but will check again. The wheel bearing had no play when I put the wheel back on.

the bike seems to sway just a little so. I thought this might be the wobble the head bearing causes ?

[RedRider]

I redone the brakes they were not sticking but will check again. The wheel bearing had no play when I put the wheel back on.

the bike seems to sway just a little so. I thought this might be the wobble the head bearing causes ?

 

 

Sure it isn't just your front wheel being out of alignment?

 

RR

 

PS. Yes, I'm joking.

[Gearhead]

"2. i would make a background check on what political party the bike belonged to before you acquired it....:cool10:"

 

 

 

Yeah; at least if it pulled to the right...

I don't think brakes will do it, but easy enough to check. My Virago has always had a slight pull to the left (gasp) as well. Never figured out why. My Venture steers straight. I wonder if there are small variations in frame alignment or something. Tire wear sounds like a suspect.

You speak of sway - that is different from pull. My 87 VR has had two types of "wobble" or "sway". There was a front-end wobble where the bars and front wheel would ocsillate rapidly and with increasing intensity if I took my hands off the bars, starting around 30 mph and up. This went away (almost completely, but has happened once since) with a new front tire, which has been my experience with this type of wobble on other bikes as well. There is also a high-speed "weave" which comes in around 65-70. It is distinctly different, though. It's frequency is much lower (oscillates more slowly). It is not just the front end, but rather the whole bike. Grabbing the bars harder does not stop it, but it damps itself out quickly anyway. It does not happen on its own, but only with a sharp input on the bars like perhaps a rapid lane change. The tendency increases with speed. I have gone thru the entire suspension. I believe this one to be a function of the bike's size and layout and flex in the frame. Articles from 1983 mention this as normal for a full-dress machine, although it does make me wonder, "What if it doesn't damp out just one time?" Reading on this forum has led me to believe the only way to really reduce it is to install solid engine mounts which stiffens the frame, once you are sure your bearings, etc are working properly.

Jeremy

[Grandpagak]

mine turned out to be bended forks...

after i tried all of the above...

[GigaWhiskey]

Have you had someone check ya to see if you are dog tracking? Maybe you have a crack in the frame which changes the alignment of the front and rear tire.

 

I do not know, just guessing. 83's have been known to have frame issues.

 

What does that weight in the handlebar do? Could that do it?

[Monsta]

I don't know the history of your bike but if all the other things check out here's some more things that can cause pulling.

 

~ Forks with different amounts of air in each.

 

~ Forks not even. Check that both are the same distance above the top triple clamp.

 

~ Rear wheel not tracking straight. I know....hard for a shafty. It would be something bent. Easy enough to check by measuring from the axle to a known & equal point on each side. In fact, putting your bike on the centerstand you can measure the distances between the front & rear axles from the right side of the of the bike and then the left side. String works best (easiest). They should be the same.

 

~ Bad tire(s). Improper tire pressures.

 

~ One saddle bag loaded more than the other or any other kind of unequal (L to R) load.

 

~ And, as you've been suspecting, steering head bearings too loose. However, even loose the bike should track straight unless aerodynamic or static weight forces cause the wheel to move to the right. So just don't go snuggin' down the bearings only to mask what the real culprit may be.

 

 

ON EDIT: You might wanna check to make sure that the front wheel wasn't installed backward. I'm not sure of the actual arrangement for the wheel on the 1st Gens like if there is a speedo gear that precludes any possibility of reverse installation, so this is just a WAG. It came to me while trying to fall asleep last night.