a mind of it's own

[sydem]

lately my bike seems to have a mind of it's own when it comes to going straight. I have checked the tires, made sure the front fork pressure is even, snugged up the steering head and it just seems to be getting worse. Any idea of what I should check next would be appreciated.

[SilvrT]

lately my bike seems to have a mind of it's own when it comes to going straight. I have checked the tires, made sure the front fork pressure is even, snugged up the steering head and it just seems to be getting worse. Any idea of what I should check next would be appreciated.

 

could you be a bit more specific about your bike's "mind"?? ... or is it not sharing that info with you?

[Yammer Dan]

could you be a bit more specific about your bike's "mind"?? ... or is it not sharing that info with you?

 

 

 

:sign yeah that:

[sydem]

it likes to dip and dive. any little groove in the road, and i do mean little, off it goes like someone pushed on the side and it's time to change lanes. going into a corner and all is well then it just seems to dive into the corner full bore. it's most noticable in the 30 to 80 km/hr range (20 to 50 mph). coming to a stop is an adventure most times as well. nothing feels loose, i've had it up on the lift and all is snug. it seemed to worsen a bit after the steering head adjustment.

[SilvrT]

tire air pressure. That happened to me when I first got this bike... I took it for a ride, not thinking anything about the tire air pressure... gawd it felt weird... then I checked... tires were at 20lbs.

[camos]

Tire pressure was my first thought but you said you checked the tires so how about wheel bearings or loose axel nut?

[SilvrT]

Tire pressure was my first thought but you said you checked the tires so how about wheel bearings or loose axel nut?

 

ok, so he said he checked the tires but did he check the tire pressure and was the gauge he was using accurate? Maybe the brand of tire? put more air in and see what happens.

 

And it could be those other things too...

[camos]

ok, so he said he checked the tires but did he check the tire pressure and was the gauge he was using accurate? Maybe the brand of tire? put more air in and see what happens.

 

And it could be those other things too...

All good questions about the questions.

Unbalanced air in the forks and worn tires can also be a culprit.

 

Isn't guessing fun?

[Freebird]

Also, make sure that you don't have the steering head bearings TOO tight. Having them too tight can be worse than them being too loose. With the front off the ground, you should be able to lightly push the front end so that it swings and hits the stop. It should rebound off the stop and then come to a gentle stop. It shouldn't oscillate back and forth but it should be loose enough to rebound.

[Marcarl]

Sounds to me that it's time to grease the steering head bearings. Could be that you washed the little bit of grease that they put in there, down the drain.

And the rest of the comments I agree with.

Carl

[Caveman]

My '07 did the samething when it had bridgestone tires on it even if the pressure was right. Changed to Avons and tightened the head bearings just a little bit and wow what a difference. My next guess would be axle nut or bearings as well.

[Seaking]

lately my bike seems to have a mind of it's own when it comes to going straight. I have checked the tires, made sure the front fork pressure is even, snugged up the steering head and it just seems to be getting worse. Any idea of what I should check next would be appreciated.

 

Start from the cheapest and easiest and work your way up to the more difficult and expensive..

 

Tires: Are they shyte tires, low on pressure, showing odd wear? Are you experiencing this mostly when hitting road snakes (long swervy tar lines in the road)

 

Forks: Uneven pressures will cause some effects.. could be as simple as uneven air pressure or a leak in your forks..

 

Neck Bearings: Put the bike up on a jack so the bike is upright, and push the bars to both sides, let it swing on it's own.. when it hits the stops, it should bounce back slightly and stop.. if it bangs back and forth a lot (like mine did) then your bearings are loose and you'll need to either do the quick tightening explained in other articles or get the bearings greased.

 

All of these things affected my steering this summer and replacing old tires, equalizing the fork pressures and especially getting the neck tightened made the world of difference..

 

best of luck!

[Squidley]

What kind of tires are you running? I have found, and this is why I dont like them, that Dunlops will track terribly on tar snakes and any road imperfection. I have actually had my bike be jeked over in the rain from the front tire tracking a tar snake. You have recieved a lot of good advise here but I just wanted to throw this out too

[Seaking]

What kind of tires are you running? I have found, and this is why I dont like them, that Dunlops will track terribly on tar snakes and any road imperfection. I have actually had my bike be jeked over in the rain from the front tire tracking a tar snake. You have recieved a lot of good advise here but I just wanted to throw this out too

 

The Dunlopp 404 that typically come with the bike are bad for that.. however the E3 tires by Dunlopp are better.. I keep mind at 41 PSI front and 42 PSI rear and they'll last a long time and not give me any squigglies where other might experience them..

 

Here's something to toss out there, in the past, the road snakes were mostly tar based, but lately they've been using a silicone based material that reaaaaally makes it wildly not nice to encounter.. One of our popular bike runs was littered with these new compound snakes and usually all in the turns which really scared a few people.. scary.. I noticed it also but apparently a lot less than others..

[frogmaster]

How many miles on Bike???

 

Sounds like front wheel bearings might be wore out or looooose and should be inspected. A sloppy front wheel bearing will cause what you have described.

 

2.5 cents

 

Good Luck and keep us posted with the final fix!!!

[T.J.]

lately my bike seems to have a mind of it's own when it comes to going straight. I have checked the tires, made sure the front fork pressure is even, snugged up the steering head and it just seems to be getting worse. Any idea of what I should check next would be appreciated.

 

I don't know how many miles you have on your tires but if the tire pressure had been low during a lot of miles your tire may have created cupping. You can feel this with your hand. Run your fingers on the tire and if it is cupped you will feel it. Nothing you can do now but replace the tire. If you go over a straight crack in the road it will throw your bike in what ever direction it wants to go. You have no control.

[V7Goose]

This (the erratic tracking of road irregularities) is a classic symptom from a rear tire with a square profile (one worn flat in the center with rather sharp corners on the edges). In addition, the heavy handling and attempt to fall into a turn is typical of a front tire a bit low on air. Other things that cause the heavy handling are the terrible Brickstone front tire and lowering the rear of the bike.

Goose