Technical Discussion Topics related to Technical Issues

I can ride my bike with no handlebars, no handlebars.

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 06-22-2010, 05:23 PM
  #1  
B R
Senior Member
Back Marker
Thread Starter
 
B R's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 152
B R is on a distinguished road
I can ride my bike with no handlebars, no handlebars.

But when I did the last time, while coasting downhill, my front forks would start a small wobble, & then it would keep building up & getting progressively worse.

Everything seems ok when I ride normal with my hands on the bars. I think all bearings are tight, front tire is not worn funny. Just checking to see how common this may be, & maybe figure out the cause & solution.
B R is offline  
Old 06-22-2010, 05:26 PM
  #2  
Senior Member
Superstock
 
spladle160's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Warrenton Virginia
Posts: 380
spladle160 is on a distinguished road
How old are your tires? does it do it on the flat?
spladle160 is offline  
Old 06-22-2010, 06:00 PM
  #3  
Boosted
SuperSport
 
Syclone's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Sioux Falls, SD
Posts: 642
Syclone is on a distinguished road
check your tires and check/replace your steering stem bearings with TRB's (tapered roller bearings) from Allballs.
Syclone is offline  
Old 06-22-2010, 06:02 PM
  #4  
Senior Member
SuperSport
 
residentg's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: NY State
Posts: 667
residentg is on a distinguished road
usually a tire / balance issue, could be a warped roter / sticky caliper issue. Jack the bike up and spin the front wheel, inspect all.

Last edited by residentg; 06-22-2010 at 06:08 PM.
residentg is offline  
Old 06-22-2010, 08:30 PM
  #5  
Senior Member
Back Marker
Back Marker
 
superdutyd's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 139
superdutyd is on a distinguished road
I would say low air pressure.
superdutyd is offline  
Old 06-22-2010, 09:27 PM
  #6  
Senior Member
Back Marker
 
toy4xchris's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Oxnard, Ca
Posts: 233
toy4xchris is on a distinguished road
I know mine did that with the all ***** and the 954 front end when I had lower air pressure but once I aired up some more it was all good

you have the stock frontend? I know the 1st set of 954 forks I had on of them was slightly damaged/miss adjusted from one fork to the other due to damage and it caused a wobble also
toy4xchris is offline  
Old 06-22-2010, 10:10 PM
  #7  
Member
Squid
 
midwest22's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 48
midwest22 is on a distinguished road
You may have noticed from one of my posts that I have a similar issue. However it doesnt build up. Its actually mild and only happens between 40 - 60 mph and never above or below. Ive got 'newer' tires and they are both in good shape with the exception of the rear having a bit of a flat spot in the middle due to the flat riding where I live. I never had this issue with my '98 VFR although its really not that bad...but I know about it and I have OCD so it bugs me.

Does yours happen at a certain speed or all the time?
midwest22 is offline  
Old 07-19-2010, 03:53 PM
  #8  
B R
Senior Member
Back Marker
Thread Starter
 
B R's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 152
B R is on a distinguished road
Thanks for all the posts, I haven't been riding it much lately.

Originally Posted by spladle160
How old are your tires? does it do it on the flat?
Tires are old but in decent shape. I don't think it does it on level surface, but not sure, I'd have to check.

Originally Posted by superdutyd
I would say low air pressure.
I can double check, easy enough.

Originally Posted by toy4xchris
I know mine did that with the all ***** and the 954 front end when I had lower air pressure but once I aired up some more it was all good

you have the stock frontend? I know the 1st set of 954 forks I had on of them was slightly damaged/miss adjusted from one fork to the other due to damage and it caused a wobble also
Stock except I think my friend changed springs & valves when he owned it. I put a fork brace on a while ago.

Originally Posted by midwest22
You may have noticed from one of my posts that I have a similar issue. However it doesnt build up. Its actually mild and only happens between 40 - 60 mph and never above or below. Ive got 'newer' tires and they are both in good shape with the exception of the rear having a bit of a flat spot in the middle due to the flat riding where I live. I never had this issue with my '98 VFR although its really not that bad...but I know about it and I have OCD so it bugs me.

Does yours happen at a certain speed or all the time?
Seemed like any speed, but I wasn't riding under that big of a big range of speeds.
B R is offline  
Old 07-19-2010, 04:03 PM
  #9  
Senior Member
Back Marker
Back Marker
 
PJay's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Russell, Bay of Islands, New Zealand
Posts: 229
PJay is on a distinguished road
Heh heh heh every BMW I've ever owned did that.

BMs are just that way.

Tires and correct set-up help, but it's just an exaggeration of the series of mild ellipses we all always ride, anyway. No-one ever rides a dead straight line.

It is always good policy to ride with at least one hand on a bar at all times - didn't your Mommy tell you that - "Look, Mom - no hands.....look, Mom, no teeth"?
PJay is offline  
Old 07-19-2010, 05:55 PM
  #10  
Out of my mind, back in 5
MotoGP
 
Tweety's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Skurup, Sweden
Posts: 6,109
Tweety is on a distinguished road
Originally Posted by PJay
Heh heh heh every BMW I've ever owned did that.

BMs are just that way.

Tires and correct set-up help, but it's just an exaggeration of the series of mild ellipses we all always ride, anyway. No-one ever rides a dead straight line.

It is always good policy to ride with at least one hand on a bar at all times - didn't your Mommy tell you that - "Look, Mom - no hands.....look, Mom, no teeth"?
No, no... It's "... ooh mohm o eeth"...
Tweety is offline  
Old 07-26-2010, 03:18 AM
  #11  
Senior Member
MotoGP
 
nath981's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: altoona, pa
Posts: 2,934
nath981 is on a distinguished road
I do this alot, hands off riding down hill toward a stop and have had this vibration, judder, wobble. Balance usually changes after prolonged tire wear and front tires often wear unevenly. If you can lift the front wheel and rotate the wheel and feel the tire surface there is likely some irregularity. You can check the balance if you have jack stands or other means of supporting the wheel, or if you back the brakes off so there is no drag, do it on the bike. Make sure the tire bead line is even all the way around the rim on both sides, make sure the tires are warmed so there is no flat spot from sitting with weight on it. You can remove the weight if there is one and re-balance with dynabeads, stick-on or rim weights. Also, reduce the air pressure to 32psi cold and see if the wobble is reduced. If you do nothing, you'll probably discover that when you replace the tire and balance, your hands off vibration will have disappeared.

you said you installed a fork brace. I put one on my xr650l and later discovered accidently that it was too tight. I was changing fork oil, so I removed the caps, compressed the forks completely to exhaust all the oil, and the one side stuck and wouldn't drop without pulling it down. I couldn't believe that when i losened the brace bolt by a small amt on that side, it dropped immediately. When the bike was sitting on its own weight with oil in the forks, i couldn't detect this drag on the one fork. I guess the lesson is that fork braces can be tricky to install correctly and should be tested for overtighening and misalignment before riding.

let us know if you reslove the issue so others may learn.
nath981 is offline  
Old 07-31-2010, 12:38 AM
  #12  
B R
Senior Member
Back Marker
Thread Starter
 
B R's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 152
B R is on a distinguished road
Originally Posted by nath981
I do this alot, hands off riding down hill toward a stop and have had this vibration, judder, wobble. Balance usually changes after prolonged tire wear and front tires often wear unevenly. If you can lift the front wheel and rotate the wheel and feel the tire surface there is likely some irregularity. You can check the balance if you have jack stands or other means of supporting the wheel, or if you back the brakes off so there is no drag, do it on the bike. Make sure the tire bead line is even all the way around the rim on both sides, make sure the tires are warmed so there is no flat spot from sitting with weight on it. You can remove the weight if there is one and re-balance with dynabeads, stick-on or rim weights. Also, reduce the air pressure to 32psi cold and see if the wobble is reduced. If you do nothing, you'll probably discover that when you replace the tire and balance, your hands off vibration will have disappeared.

you said you installed a fork brace. I put one on my xr650l and later discovered accidently that it was too tight. I was changing fork oil, so I removed the caps, compressed the forks completely to exhaust all the oil, and the one side stuck and wouldn't drop without pulling it down. I couldn't believe that when i losened the brace bolt by a small amt on that side, it dropped immediately. When the bike was sitting on its own weight with oil in the forks, i couldn't detect this drag on the one fork. I guess the lesson is that fork braces can be tricky to install correctly and should be tested for overtighening and misalignment before riding.

let us know if you reslove the issue so others may learn.
Thanks, there's so many possibilities it may take a while to go through each of them one at a time.
B R is offline  
Old 07-31-2010, 07:57 AM
  #13  
Senior Member
MotoGP
 
nath981's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: altoona, pa
Posts: 2,934
nath981 is on a distinguished road
You're right, there are many possibilities, but eliminate the obvious first. A new tire mounted and balanced properly will likely resolve this issue which i've experienced a couple times. Then if it doesn't, you'll need to start checking everything from wheel bearings to steering stem bearings, fork stitction, alignment, fork brace and who knows what else. But from my experience it has always been the tire. Let us know what you find out.
nath981 is offline  
Old 07-31-2010, 12:22 PM
  #14  
BBB
Good Root
Squid
Squid
 
BBB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Shoebox
Posts: 87
BBB is on a distinguished road
I just replaced my front. Whilst it was still legal, but when taking a good look at it, it showed the profile had altered slightly, but more importantly, if you ran your hand along the tyre you could feel a consistent rise and fall in the profile an inch each side of centreline.

Haven't put the wheel back on yet but fully expect the wobbles to have gone.

BBB
BBB is offline  
Old 07-31-2010, 03:16 PM
  #15  
Senior Member
SuperSport
 
kai ju's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 524
kai ju is an unknown quantity at this point
Originally Posted by B R
But when I did the last time, while coasting downhill, my front forks would start a small wobble, & then it would keep building up & getting progressively worse.

Everything seems ok when I ride normal with my hands on the bars. I think all bearings are tight, front tire is not worn funny. Just checking to see how common this may be, & maybe figure out the cause & solution.


What does it do when you stand on the seat ?
kai ju is offline  
Old 07-31-2010, 03:59 PM
  #16  
Senior Member
MotoGP
 
nath981's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: altoona, pa
Posts: 2,934
nath981 is on a distinguished road
Originally Posted by kai ju
What does it do when you stand on the seat ?
used to do that alot of bike surfing in my younger years, but would put in neutral roll down the mountain, and of course, no gear all the time. pretty smooth sailing usually.
nath981 is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Scoutpilot
Modifications - Cosmetic
10
01-16-2009 04:32 PM
Killemall
Modifications - Cosmetic
2
02-21-2008 09:51 AM
102dals
Classifieds
1
11-10-2007 10:57 AM
bmwalfaone
Modifications - Performance
2
07-24-2007 06:43 PM
Rich A
SuperHawkForum Mailing List
1
01-25-2005 03:04 PM



Quick Reply: I can ride my bike with no handlebars, no handlebars.



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 04:14 AM.


Top

© 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands



When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.