sway

[desertlvr]

Hi Everyone,

It has been over 10 years since I have had my last Venture Royale (85 I think it was). I don't know if it is just because the bike is as heavy as it is, the road suface, the speed, the age, etc. I recently got an 89 Venture Royale, at higher speeds (65 +) the bike just doesn't feel as stable and tight It is not a wobble, more like swooshi (if that's a word!) and loose. The tires are literally brand new (Dunlop 404's). I don't remember my last Venture riding like this, but like I said it has been a long time. I don't think there is anything wrong with it but I'm just not sure.

Any thought or similar experiences would be appreciated.

 

Thanks so much!

[Trader]

have you checked to ensure the steering bearings are tight?

 

With the bike on the center stand and the front elevated, when you swing the handle bars to the lock position, it should only bounce back a few inches. If it bounces more than a few inches....or repeatedly bounces, your steering bearing is too loose.

 

I'm assuming the air pressure in tires and suspension has been checked???

[BOO]

Take two rounds out of the track barl.

BOO

[Venturous Randy]

This sounds like a problem I had when running Avon Venoms, but I have not heard that problem on the 404's. I really like the Dunlop E-3's.

RandyA

[BOO]

How about the rear swing arm (is that what its called?) Anyway it's the frame part that lets the rear wheel move up and down over bumps. If this bushing is worn the bike feels like it is a snake going down the highway and the 89 should have a zerk fitting on it.

May not be what you are feeling but this happen on a 86 I had years ago.

Good Luck,

BOO

[desertlvr]

Thank you, I think you nailed the description of what it feels like, a snake. I have only had this bike for 3 weeks, just got the tires on last weekend. Took on some windy roads to see how it handled on them, no problem, took the turns beautifully. Soon as I was on a straight away and brought it up to 65 you can almost feel the backend get weird again. I am thinking the shop needs to look at this one, it can potentially be dangerous I think.

[Marcarl]

Couple of years ago Wizard765 and I had the same issue when we put on Vemons. Wayne took his off and put on Metlzers and has not had an issue since. I put on another rear Venom but still had the issue, so I went with Dunlop EIIs. Still had some of it so I took the whole front end apart and put it back together again, found one fork was slightly lower than the other (maybe 1\32") and that seemed to clear it up. This year I put the Avons back on and wouldn't you guess it,,,,, I had the same problem again, so I sent them back to Avon, and so far haven't heard from them yet. Put on Dunlop E IIIs and still the problem is there. So I thought that maybe it would be in the rear wheel hub where the pins go into the wheel. Super cleaned and lubed that all last week, but it made no difference. I don't know what to do next, so I'll be watching to see what your results will be.

[GeorgeS]

Have you done the check for head shake, on a nice straight road, at about 55, take hands off both bars, and see if you start to get any head shake .

 

check a several different speeds, up to about 70. ( But be carefull )

 

You might check t see if the bike has had progressive suspension front springs installed !! If not, this might help.

 

Also, the " Super Brace" aftermarket fork brace, helps handling !!

Also, I would drain, and replace all the Front Fork Fluid !!!

 

Also, if it has the aftermarket springs, installed, you need to use about 1 to 1 1/2 oz LESS, fork fluid in each front fork tube.

 

---------------

 

One more thing, is my 89, has always had a tendancy to Wander on the road a little. Never have figured it out exactly. I Just learned to live with it.

 

Greeseing and RE-Torqueing, the Swing Arm Bearings, is also a place to check.

 

Also, Under the rear Shock, there are several Pivot Shafts, pull out those Bolts, and clean and Hand Greese them. There is no other way to lubricate tme, If bike is over 50 K and this has never been done, you might have to replace the bolts, and bushings.

Lots of us have installed Zerk Fittings, here, so we only have to do this job once.

 

Another comment, this bike is " different " it takes some getting used to, its big, its heavy, and has a lot of wind loading.

But the thing will grow on you. I have an 89, and a sport bike, two totally different animals !!! But I love them both !!!

 

Just sit back, relax, and use " push, push Steering " on the Venture, Forget about leaning !!

I Ride my sport bike, but I have to " Drive " the Venture, but thats OK,

[Flyinfool]

Another thing that could be different between now and what you remember is that many roads are now grooved.

 

There is one stretch of highway that I ride every day and the road surface makes the bike wander. At first I was always trying to correct it to maintain a straight line but that only made it worse. I was checking all kinds of things on the bike to figure out what was wrong, never found a problem. I have learned to just let the bike deal with it, the bike seems to know what to do. It means that the bike has a slow weave back and forth of about 6 inches or so. It only does it on this one 2 mile long stretch of road.

[Condor]

Thank you, I think you nailed the description of what it feels like, a snake. I have only had this bike for 3 weeks, just got the tires on last weekend. Took on some windy roads to see how it handled on them, no problem, took the turns beautifully. Soon as I was on a straight away and brought it up to 65 you can almost feel the backend get weird again. I am thinking the shop needs to look at this one, it can potentially be dangerous I think.

 

Probably tired fork springs, and the need of a better fork brace.... That should get the bike tracking correctly....

[CrazyHorse]

Solid engine mounts helped me. Have you torqued down any of the frame mounting points? I have found some loose in the past.

[saddlebum]

have you checked to ensure the steering bearings are tight?

 

With the bike on the center stand and the front elevated, when you swing the handle bars to the lock position, it should only bounce back a few inches. If it bounces more than a few inches....or repeatedly bounces, your steering bearing is too loose.

 

I'm assuming the air pressure in tires and suspension has been checked???

My 89 tended to wander when the steering head bolts were too loose

But I also found with my 89 if I overtightened steering head bearings too tight or stiff it will tend to sway and when going to into turns I would find myself fighting it into the turn as the bike would tend to try to straighten itself out. Once I backed them off a little it was fine.

[Old Texan]

Hi Everyone,

It has been over 10 years since I have had my last Venture Royale (85 I think it was). I don't know if it is just because the bike is as heavy as it is, the road suface, the speed, the age, etc. I recently got an 89 Venture Royale, at higher speeds (65 +) the bike just doesn't feel as stable and tight It is not a wobble, more like swooshi (if that's a word!) and loose. The tires are literally brand new (Dunlop 404's). I don't remember my last Venture riding like this, but like I said it has been a long time. I don't think there is anything wrong with it but I'm just not sure.

Any thought or similar experiences would be appreciated.

 

Your experiencing the exact same thing at the same speeds and with the same tires I've got. I've had everything checked and rechecked and can't find a thing wrong, so I'm down to the tires. I've decided to bit the bullet and invest in a set of Metzler's even though my 404's only have about 2200 miles on them and see what happens. Will let you know after I get them installed and scuffed in if there's any improvement. But let me add that your not crazy this condition does exist and certainly gives you a uncomfortable feeling.

 

Jim