I'd like some collective advice please. I bought a 99 5th gen, 76000km, bodywork in great condition and no obvious signs of being dropped. I fitted new Metzeler Z8 tyres, and have given it a once-over for bearings, brakes, chain lube and tension, oil and filter changes. Rides well for its age and overall nothing jumps out as a problem. Except...if I take my hands off the bars it wants to pull to the right, and needs quite a bit of right knee pressure to get it straight. If I keep my hands on the bars I can't tell any problem is there.
I've loosened the forks (all except the top tree) and bounced the forks to align them, no change. Bars and wheel look dead straight when riding. Can anyone suggest where I should go looking to get this straightened up? Thanks for your help as always.
Ok, don't take my word for it cause I really don't know much, but could it be tires that are not well balanced/aligned? I'm assuming the road is not the culprit here (not crowned?). No wires/cables pulling hard on the bars? Just stating the obvious, I know, but that's the extend of my knowledge. Sorry. And good luck.
C
Beyond that next is square swingarm, pivot play issue?
No the swingarm and shock bearings are in good condition with no detectable play.
Front wheel aligned correctly? There is a specific procedure for that described in the service manual. When I bought my 5th gen the front wheel was misaligned, and it had obviously been much worse at some point by the rotor wear marks on the left caliper body.
Yes I have done this by the book; tighten the axle bolt, tighten the RH clamp, bounce the forks, tighten the LH clamp, check the clearance between rotor and brake hanger. There's no interference between the disc and calliper.
This is reaching to but is something dragging on the brakes? My front end did odd things if the pressure was low on my last set of tires.
Thanks for the suggestions so far. The brakes are just fine, the sliding pins are well greased and there's no undue drag there. The tyres are new, and I am very careful with tyre pressures (OK, that word should be anal!). My last new (really new) bike was carefully (???) delivered with about 19psi in the front tyre by the dealer and that handled like a wheelbarrow full of wet cement.
I'm waiting on some new fork internals (Jamie Daugherty are you still out there???) and when these arrive I will fully disassemble the front end and check the fork tubes and axle for straightness.
Have you checked the steering stem bearings?
I've checked them for
Have you checked the steering stem bearings?
Yes I've checked them for freeplay, binding and notchiness. No problem with any of these.
More reaching, if you jack up the front end does it favor any side with no load?
Maybe go one last step and loosen everything including the top triple clamp. Using the centerstand, a scissor jack under the headers is sufficient to support the weight while it's done. A visual inspection of the steering bearing races might reveal some brinneling that might make it take a set in a certain position. I would think you would feel that while turning the bars but the most obvious things seem to have been eliminated so maybe look for more unlikely reasons.
Front wheel aligned correctly? There is a specific procedure for that described in the service manual. When I bought my 5th gen the front wheel was misaligned, and it had obviously been much worse at some point by the rotor wear marks on the left caliper body.
Beyond that next is square swingarm, pivot play issue?
Could it be that your floating disk buttons are seized?
Could be a loose wing nut behind the wheel. Get a wing nut torque wrench and check it. Ok bad joke.
Sounds like you are working with new tires mounted and balanced correctly. The front axel bolt must be torqued to spec before you tighten any of the pinch bolts. I did this wrong for the longest time. I think its the camber of the road. Usually crowned so both sides have a drip plane to its respective edge. I think that could be it.
Especially if it holds its lean angle and doesnt pull one way or the other under braking. Or you upper and lower steering clamps ar mis aligned. Loosen steering stem nut slightly then brace the front wheel and twist the bars to correct alignment. Simple tip over can cause it.
Any chiropractors on the board might chime in - but is there any chance that you naturally carry more of your body weight on your right side? I go to a "Cracker" a couple times a month - and often times i have more pressure on my right foot before the adjustment than after. It may sound wacky - but he uses two scales - one foot on each - and you see what the weight distribution is.
When you ride with both hands on the bars - the heavier side isn't noticeable. Take your hands off and "balance" as you mentioned - and if you are prone to carrying more weight to one side - it'll become apparent.
Before you all call me a nutjob - give it a try and see what you find.
Any chiropractors on the board might chime in - but is there any chance that you naturally carry more of your body weight on your right side? I go to a "Cracker" a couple times a month - and often times i have more pressure on my right foot before the adjustment than after. It may sound wacky - but he uses two scales - one foot on each - and you see what the weight distribution is.
When you ride with both hands on the bars - the heavier side isn't noticeable. Take your hands off and "balance" as you mentioned - and if you are prone to carrying more weight to one side - it'll become apparent.
Before you all call me a nutjob - give it a try and see what you find.
Nutjob :goofy: Checkwheel alignment
I think this is common in 5th gens. No matter what combination of old/new parts and suspension heights, my 2000 has always wobbled with no hands on the bars. Worst on de-acceleration.
I've had three fifth gens, and they normally do wobble when you let go of the bars on decel. Seemed to be ok at 60, then starts around 45 or 50, and quits around 35.
characteristics change with new tires, different tires, more rear ride height... but always there to some extent (more rear ride height, and new michelin tires almost eliminated it for me). I just got used to it.
I think this is common in 5th gens. No matter what combination of old/new parts and suspension heights, my 2000 has always wobbled with no hands on the bars. Worst on de-acceleration.
Any chiropractors on the board might chime in - but is there any chance that you naturally carry more of your body weight on your right side? I go to a "Cracker" a couple times a month - and often times i have more pressure on my right foot before the adjustment than after. It may sound wacky - but he uses two scales - one foot on each - and you see what the weight distribution is.
When you ride with both hands on the bars - the heavier side isn't noticeable. Take your hands off and "balance" as you mentioned - and if you are prone to carrying more weight to one side - it'll become apparent.
Before you all call me a nutjob - give it a try and see what you find.
+1, people are not perfectly symmetrical and often stand or sit slightly off kilter... very few people have perfect posture. If the mechanicals check out ok try scooching your butt to the left a little or adjust your pressure on the foot pegs.
I've had three fifth gens, and they normally do wobble when you let go of the bars on decel. Seemed to be ok at 60, then starts around 45 or 50, and quits around 35.
characteristics change with new tires, different tires, more rear ride height... but always there to some extent (more rear ride height, and new michelin tires almost eliminated it for me). I just got used to it.
I think this is common in 5th gens. No matter what combination of old/new parts and suspension heights, my 2000 has always wobbled with no hands on the bars. Worst on de-accel
Wow...if mine did that I'd think something was wrong. NEVER had a deceleration wobble.
If you are doing your testing on the road, it could actually be the "crown" on the road that's causing the bike to pull right. All roads are built with a high point in the middle, between the lanes, to provide proper storm water drainage...... That's why we sometimes also notice that our tires seem to wear on one side more than the other......
No wobbles here either between 2 5ths. I can take my hands off at any time/speed, and the bike continues it's line without drama.
The Duc had the 40-50 wobble thing going on until I replaced the Q2s with Pilots. Wobble gone.
My 5th gen never has suffered from any wobbles. The sixth does depending upon the tires and how much they're cupped - new tires = no wobbles.
I think this is common in 5th gens. No matter what combination of old/new parts and suspension heights, my 2000 has always wobbled with no hands on the bars. Worst on de-acceleration.
Mine always did too until I switched to Michelins, have never had a problem since no matter how bad the tires were worn. PP, PR, PR2..
I had serious wobble on my 5th gen when the head bearing was notched. Slowly going left to right when the front wheel was off the ground, it was oh so slight, but I felt a flat spot. Switched over to the tapered bearings and she would track a straight line no problem and no wobble on decel.
Not saying this is the issue the OP is talking about, but wobble is not indicative of the 5th gens in my experience.
I had serious wobble on my 5th gen when the head bearing was notched. Slowly going left to right when the front wheel was off the ground, it was oh so slight, but I felt a flat spot. Switched over to the tapered bearings and she would track a straight line no problem and no wobble on decel.
Not saying this is the issue the OP is talking about, but wobble is not indicative of the 5th gens in my experience.
Same symptoms with two of my fifth gens. Both were solved with tapered roller bearing in the steering head. Non of my five fifth gens wobbled hands-off that was not associated with cupped tires or steering head bearings.
What marriedman and MaxSwell just said! And keeping the tires at the correct pressure will make a big contribution to prolonged tire life and reduce the cupping!
Deceleration wobbles are usually a sign of worn tyres and loose head bearings I think. My 5th gen is dead stable, just pulls to the right which suggests the wheels aren't in line when straight up and down. So a bent fork or triples seems most likely.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk