GrahamLFCkeeper

Well the VN1500 has been sold. I hate selling any bike, i always get attached to my bikes. It's always comedy trying to find a new one. Ebay is ridiculous. Isn't it amazing how many people are 'emigrating' or' leaving the country'.... 'Hence sale' 😂 (Maybe you don't get that in North America as your nations are the so big?) Also... 'Few scratches as seen in pics'..... Checks pics... Nope can't see any.... I moan but its fun... We buy bikes that 'need tidying' and then move them on if we can for a bit of extra pocket money.

I struggle to land on my feet when I stand up from a chair 😁😁

Sorry to hear about your loss, sending thoughts to all

Short ride to one of our stores (big mistake on my day off ha), about 20 miles... All seems good on a mix of twisty and highway roads... If I'm being super sensitive there is a slight wobble, nothing major, at 20-40 mph so I'll back the steering head bearings off a touch Forks are still noisy on bounce test but it's probably time for them to be serviced anyway. But I can ride my RSV again!

He's a good guy... My fiancé and I own retail stores so when I'm in, we often talk about the trials and tribulations of retail and of course we talk motorcycles. I'll tell him in a 'oh did you know' kind of way. I won't be 'having a go'

Cheers chaps Confirmed what I was thinking... Just looks like he's missed doing his 1/2" torque ups, maybe he got a customer or something I'll pop in and just let him know

I've used my local mechanic for years. He never overcharged me or looks for things that are not there, round here that's very rare. However, My VN1500 came back with the head bearing lock nut and axle nut loose (steering head bearing replacement).. I mean just over hand tight Question is... Do I put this down to a one off mistake and next time check everything after or never use him again? What would you guys do?

Steering head bearings tightened and I believe* I am sorted. * I say believe because right now I'm apprehensive when riding .. I'm also worried about overtight bearings now (honestly you should try being in my head ha) even though the movement through the bars feels good.. I need to relax a little bit, because I'm feeling every twitch and bump wondering what it is... I can hopefully take her for a nice relaxing morning ride on Friday.

I'm picking up a 27mm spanner on my way home today... See if I can get the top nut loose to do the steering head bearings 'cheat' tighten If that doesn't work (remove the 'wobble') this will be next. I do think it's the head bearings though... Its got the same deceleration wobble my VN1500 had... Steering head bearings were changed on that and it handles great now. I just hope they don't need replacing... My mechanic seems reluctant to do it due to the massive amount of work involved (fairing off ect)...

That's better! Washers in place no movement in the bars. Took it out for a short ride feels stable again. I think the steering head bearings may have taken a small amount of punishment (drops slowly with no encouragement to the left) and I get a very minor bar wobble if I take my hands off the bars. I tried tightening them as per the instructions on this site but no amount of force will budge the lock nut The main thing is I now know what going on.

They are torqued up correctly, so even as a temporary measure I'll pick up some 'industrial strength' washers tomorrow see if that does the trick... Cheers

Better image of how they SHOULD look

I can't get in at the moment to see how tight they are (no spanner that size) there's quite a gap at the riser bolt... Here's a pic taken off this site of what they should look like (you can see it on the right) .. These are mine.... Even with out these pictures I'm convinced now this is the issue

Well another quick potter in the garage after dismissing my air idea as unlikely... Grabbed the (now fixed in place) handlebars and gave them a shake side to side and up and down. There seems to be ALOT of up and down movement in the risers... More so in the left. Never shook them like that before (why would I?) so don't know how much movement there should be (my VN1500 risers are solid and don't move at all) Not sure if this is an easy fix or not? This would possibly explain why left corners felt so 'wobbly'?

I like that... The tech looks good and I like the style I always have to try on a helmet before I buy though (I was impressed shipping to the UK was free though)

Just thought I'd drop this in for anyone who is interested. Bought a camera by a company called EZVIZ. It allows me to watch the bikes when ever I want on my phone. Has an alarm system that pings my phone if it senses movement, and you can talk through it. It was only £40 (about 50 usd) and for the money I think it's an excellent piece of kit. They have to be within range of your home WiFi though. You can get them on amazon https://www.amazon.com/EZVIZ-Mini-1080p-Wireless-Monitoring/dp/B07BCJZK2K (must clarify I have nothing to do with this company - just thought it was great value for money)

It's due in at the mechanic hopefully next week.... I'm going to have another look over the weekend... Maybe it's something I've not spotted.... My VN1500 was a bit 'off' handling wise when I put a bit too much air (within range) in the rear suspension... Now it's at 5psi (twin shocks) it rides nice... Maybe the the new tyre (now at the correct pressure and new) has left the suspension overly hard leading to (my perception of) instability... More than likely I'm clutching at straws but it won't cost anything to try.... I'll update when I know anything more

The 3rd gen has never been available in the UK. In fact if you want a 'v-twin' cruiser it's Harley’s or Indian... The only full on tourer is the new Goldwing (which I sat on at the motorcycle show and I'm sorry but that's not a goldwing it's an ST1800) It's pushing used prices up though... Second Gen are about £6000-£6500 (7600-8300 usd) from a dealer. I can see the prices of used Jap cruiser / big touring bikes soaring in the UK in the next few years.

I live in Ingleby Barwick... Which is probably twice (at least) the size it was back in 2002! Ha The missus often meets friends for drinks in Norton.. I'm frequently the taxi! You're right about the roads being very good... You're also correct about them not being quite as deserted. I still class my self as very lucky to have the moors and the dales right on my doorstep. Though every time I read about people's trips on here.. Makes me want to get on a plane and tour the U. S and Canada (on a bike of course!)

I hate selling any bike... You accept you're selling it.. Put it for sale then you have that awful feeling when you see someone else ride it away. I love VNs mind... Had the 800 and along side my RSV is a VN1500 FI Classic tourer

Just thought I'd update... Happy the back was OK... I moved to the front Head bearings seem OK... Then I did a quick bounce test... Horrible awful creaking (springs?) noise coming from the front (unheard with the engine running on my rides?) ... After 3 bounces the handles dropped to the tank (they're tightened up properly) . To say I'm unhappy is an understatement. It'll now be going in to a mechanic to get it looked at properly. I've contacted the recovery company and they have said send us a quote (if they pay up is another story ha) Thank you again to everyone for all your help and advice. This site is awesome!

Well tightening up didn't stop the minor wheel movement... But maybe that's just normal with a wheel not under load? I'm going to nip up the steering head bearings to rule that out... Maybe even take the wheel back to the tyre shop to completely rule out balancing issues and go from there. No chance of a test ride in the next few days due to it being 11°c (52°f) and pouring down (summer in Britain!) If I'm still not happy I'll nip her to my local mechanic.. Thankfully a good guy who won't rip me off! ha I'll update when I know more...

Sometimes in life you get thrown a curve ball...A problem that stumps you... One of life's great mysteries... Other times you are a complete wazzock... I've bought a new torque wrench recently... After years of having one in ft lb I failed to notice my new one is..... In Newton Meters So basically I've only torqued the back wheel up to about 80ftlb... In theory this should cure the problem (can't check properly as it's raining and I haven't finished poking nails in my eyes as punishment) I check back to confirm this was the issue... In the meantime I want to again thank everyone for your help and suggestions

I've noticed (better late than never) the disk is rubbing on the brake pads / caliper indicating the wheel is moving not just the tyre... This is when rolling by hand... First step I think is instead of just re- torqued nuts I'm going to disassemble the whole thing and triple check everything is correct... Thank you to everyone for their help and suggestions so far.

Not the best quality but you can just about see the wheel wobble... Does anyone know if this is just out of balance? Or something else? Or maybe even normal?