Handling problem.
 

the bike has bee feeling weird for a few weeks now and its starting to pizz me off.

Symptoms:
when dropping into a corner the whole bike has a sensation of wanting to slide and goes very light. this is coupled with the front end weaving till i start to exhilarate out of the corner. the bike is also tracking into ruts and poor surfaces. going anywhere near wet tar like the joints in the road cause the bike to slide about something chronic.

i have not done anything to the bike of significance apart from take the play out the swingarm and add more sag to the front end but i done this ages ago and all was fine.

Re: handling problem
 

have you checked you head bearings /play/worn/ need re-packing ?

Re: handling problem
 

head bearings are tapered roller and were greased up last year when i put the bike on the road. have checked them recently and all is fine, nice and smooth with no play.

this one has me stumped :-(

all linkages have been greased and the swingarm is free moving.

the only time i have had a problem like this before was on the last bike and was the lower shock bolt rubbing on the dogbone but i have checked that and this time its not that.

Re: handling problem
 

tyres possibly? is it dependant on weather/temperatures or all the time?

Re: handling problem
 

if as you mention the bike firms up under acceleration, that would suggest some sort of longditudinal play of some sort, start from the front and work back systematically.

Re: handling problem
 

Wifey and I cannot offer much, but have you checked your tyre pressures? Or do you have a wheel bearing failing? Finally, have you had any of the bikes bits out of their place recently and one of the fixings has loosened again?

I found that my bike felt awful for a while and this was because the front tyre had worn on one side. Since replacing both tyres, the bike feels lovely again.

Sorry I can't offer more insight.

Re: handling problem
 

all the time and gets pretty scary in the wet

i will do. could it possibly be lack of play as there is absolutely no side to side play in the swingarm that is normally associated with the pointy SV. it moves up and down silky smooth as does the linkages.

any suggestions are welcome and i'm open to all.

i'm pretty anal about maintenance. tyre pressures spot on, bearings spot on., recent new front tyre (400 miles), rear about 2/3 worn but not squared. last front did have some cupping but i'm putting that down to my riding. i'll go over all the bolts on the front wheel to make sure i haven't missed any.

Re: Handling problem.
 

Assuming all bearings are moving smoothly, tyres are good, and the problem straightens out when you start loading the rear, I'd ask:

Front fork oil, how old is it? Mine was a little wayward with the older oil, new stuff seems to have helped.

Jambo

Re: Handling problem.
 

i was thinking this but its just over 10,000 and was silkoline rsf so it should still be good till the winter tear down.

when i put the bike on the road in April last year it was fitted with a storm-st on the rear and a storm-ultra on the front. i replaced the rear at 4000 for a storm-ultra and everything was fine. i stripped the swingarm and linkages off took the play out the swingarm and greased everything up at about 6000 and all was fine. front tyre started cupping at around 8000 and this is when the problems started. i replaced the front at 10,000 for another storm-ultra and the problem is still present. the bike is now just over 10,400 miles. the only thing i can think is that i have put too much sag in the front but the front is only using 2/3 of its travel.

As a thought. Could the rear have worn odd given the slop (you have now removed) in the rear swing arm.?

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