Bike handling all over the place!

bigron

bigron

Registered
Hello Folks,

So I went for a longish ride recently and noticed that the handling was all over the place.
It would take way more effort to turn in and out and change lanes. It felt as if it resisted changing lanes at both very slow speeds as well as during fast spirited riding.
Also, every time a slight uneven ( not potholes) patch would come on the road it would become all skittish and unstable.
Not while going over them but if I happen to be parallel to a patch and then got on to it.

Just did a recent service. Changed the wheel bearings and the steering head bearings were perfectly alright. No changes made to suspension settings and tyres have enough rubber on them with no noticeable flat spots. Also, no noticeable resistance while turning the steering left/right while stationary.

A 2011 Gen 2 with 25000 miles ( 40,000 kms)

What do the folks here recommend I start looking for? The steering damper, shocks, bearings , sag/rebound settings or anything else.
Thanks for reading.
 
Yes Sir, tire pressure checked out fine and suspension is set for my weight. No changes were made to the suspension settings.
 
1. Were there any changes to the bike since you last rode it beyond what you mentioned?
2. How long has it been since you rode the bike? Sometimes our memory on feel is less than accurate.
3. Do you use counter steering to turn the bike? Pretty unusual for the bike to resist that. Sounds like you know what you are doing from your description so something's up.
4. I would check the damper, just to be sure all is ok.
5. Did you by chance change the sprockets and increase the wheelbase? You are very sensitive if that made that much of a difference!
6. Are your fork seals leaking or maybe even the shock? I didn't really notice mine leaking until it got to a pretty severe condition, and I suddenly noticed handling anomalies.
7. I once had a tire with less than 500 miles on it go bad. Looked normal but I was getting vibrations and other symptoms. Finally changed it and all was well again.
8. As crazy as it seems, bikes do have bad days.

That's all I got. Will be interesting what you find keep us informed.

PS: Did you switch to a 50 from a 55 series tire?
 
Last edited:
bigron said:
Hello Folks,

So I went for a longish ride recently and noticed that the handling was all over the place.
It would take way more effort to turn in and out and change lanes. It felt as if it resisted changing lanes at both very slow speeds as well as during fast spirited riding.
Also, every time a slight uneven ( not potholes) patch would come on the road it would become all skittish and unstable.
Not while going over them but if I happen to be parallel to a patch and then got on to it.

Just did a recent service. Changed the wheel bearings and the steering head bearings were perfectly alright. No changes made to suspension settings and tyres have enough rubber on them with no noticeable flat spots. Also, no noticeable resistance while turning the steering left/right while stationary.

A 2011 Gen 2 with 25000 miles ( 40,000 kms)

What do the folks here recommend I start looking for? The steering damper, shocks, bearings , sag/rebound settings or anything else.
Thanks for reading.
Click to expand...

If it just happened just after you serviced the items above you may want to recheck the work...
 
Thanks alot @fallenarch , @Mr Brown and @08BusaKY busaky.

@ Fallenarch, I will do a once over on the bike coming weekend but from memory I have the following:

1. No Changes made to tires/suspension/forks/. I did regular service, changed the tire bearings, throttle body clean, coolant change, bake/clutch bleed. Can inspecting the steering head bearing change the way the steering responds? Maybe I did not re torque it properly.
2. This was my third ride after I worked on the bike. It felt slightly off the first time I took it ( but I disregarded it since I was riding after a few months break) but today it was someone elses bike.
3. I think I know how counter steering works but this was standing out more than normal.
4. Will check the damper and revert.
5. No change to the length of the bike, both sprockets and chain was inspected and showed considerable life left. Will again go through them and revert.
6. No visible leakage from the seals, Can a seal leak without the oil spilling or running down the fork? The shock looks fine but will give it a once over.
7. I am really hoping that its the tires. They still have thread though and no bald spots or uneven wear. I will check them again and revert.
8. I completely believe in a bike having a bad day. Maybe it was a bad day. Another ride should rule this one out.
9. Running stock size Pirelli m7.

Thank you again for taking time to write this. I shall work on these and revert with my findings.

@ Mr Brown - I have hit bumps and potholes but nothing out of the ordinary. Are you referring to the tire indentations that might occur after the bike goes over bumps/potholes fast. I will closely check and revert. I am sorry, I did not get the broken belt part?
 
Last edited:
Jeremy (Mr. Brown) is referring to a broken belt in the tire. I hadn't thought of that but it's a good maybe. I didn't really see much to indicate the fork seal was bad until the last couple weeks. Then all there was a line around the fork from the oil. I think the seal actually blew and was squirting oil on compression - so there were no puddles in the garage and the wheels and brakes were mostly clean.
 
If your tire PSI is ok, I would think it's the preload on the front forks. If the preload is too high you will need more steering effort to steer the bike at all speeds since it changes the rake and trail. If you took it for service and it's like this now someone changed your suspension setting. What PSI are you running? Check your clickers and the position they are in and how many rings you are showing on your preload adjusters. Let me know how many clicks out your front suspension is at now.
 
bigron said:
Thanks alot @fallenarch , @Mr Brown and @08BusaKY busaky.

@ Fallenarch, I will do a once over on the bike coming weekend but from memory I have the following:

1. No Changes made to tires/suspension/forks/. I did regular service, changed the tire bearings, throttle body clean, coolant change, bake/clutch bleed. Can inspecting the steering head bearing change the way the steering responds? Maybe I did not re torque it properly.
2. This was my third ride after I worked on the bike. It felt slightly off the first time I took it ( but I disregarded it since I was riding after a few months break) but today it was someone elses bike.
3. I think I know how counter steering works but this was standing out more than normal.
4. Will check the damper and revert.
5. No change to the length of the bike, both sprockets and chain was inspected and showed considerable life left. Will again go through them and revert.
6. No visible leakage from the seals, Can a seal leak without the oil spilling or running down the fork? The shock looks fine but will give it a once over.
7. I am really hoping that its the tires. They still have thread though and no bald spots or uneven wear. I will check them again and revert.
8. I completely believe in a bike having a bad day. Maybe it was a bad day. Another ride should rule this one out.
9. Running stock size Pirelli m7.

Thank you again for taking time to write this. I shall work on these and revert with my findings.

@ Mr Brown - I have hit bumps and potholes but nothing out of the ordinary. Are you referring to the tire indentations that might occur after the bike goes over bumps/potholes fast. I will closely check and revert. I am sorry, I did not get the broken belt part?
Click to expand...
Tires are constructed using belts (typically steel or kevlar) which run around the circumference and provide strength.
Sometimes they will break when hitting a sharp edge like a pothole or curb. This allows the tire to flex which can make for weird handling. In a car this is often felt as a vibration or swinging motion from the front or rear end. On a bike it can make it feel like you describe, hard to turn in.
 
Thank you everybody.

I will go through each and every thing mentioned here over the coming weekend and revert. ( work commitments during week days makes it difficult to follow up)

There could be a possibility of someone changing the suspension settings since I worked on the bike at a friend's garage and would let it sit there for days. He has a steady footfall of all sorta people coming in with bikes. Will re adjust the suspension settings.

@ZeePopo I got my psi checked before I went for my last ride which was 2 weeks ago. I don't think I am losing air. I run 40F 42R right from the start. But I will check this now.

@ Jeremy. Thank you for explain this. I understand what you were saying. I don't have access to a front paddock stand so will take it to my friends garage who has one and will see the condition of my front tyre.
 
I had a low front tire once that took much more effort to turn but it never felt skittish or unstable. (That) could be from running too much air. Starting at 40/42 is too much, especially in hot weather. You’ll add 3-4 psi easily so starting at 40/42 you’ll have 44/46 in just a few miles. But again, too much air wouldn’t make it feel sluggish when turning. I run 34/36F and 36/38R. Maybe your air gauge is off?
 
bigron said:
Thank you everybody.

I will go through each and every thing mentioned here over the coming weekend and revert. ( work commitments during week days makes it difficult to follow up)

There could be a possibility of someone changing the suspension settings since I worked on the bike at a friend's garage and would let it sit there for days. He has a steady footfall of all sorta people coming in with bikes. Will re adjust the suspension settings.

@ZeePopo I got my psi checked before I went for my last ride which was 2 weeks ago. I don't think I am losing air. I run 40F 42R right from the start. But I will check this now.

@ Jeremy. Thank you for explain this. I understand what you were saying. I don't have access to a front paddock stand so will take it to my friends garage who has one and will see the condition of my front tyre.
Click to expand...
40/42 psi is fine. A tad high, I prefer 36 cold but if you like it at those PSi thats fine too. Higher PSI will turn quicker but less stable at speed. So tire PSI is not your issue then.
 
Okay folks, working on the bike and going through the points shared by members here i think its the Steering head bearings. They would need to be replaced. Thinking of going with tapered roller bearings instead of ball.

Anything else that I should look at or change as a preventive measure? Since I am going to be taking the front end apart as it is.
 
Before you replace anything, be sure that's actually the problem. What makes you "think" it's the steering head bearings?
 
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