A few weeks ago I noticed that after about 120 or so the bike would start to develop a very regular wobble that started getting violent at around 135 or so ( I ride with another hawk and a GSXR 1000...). I'm running Shinkos so I thought that perhaps the cheap tires were beginning to cup a little but they appear okay. Last Thursday after a night of hard riding I noticed that it handled very differently from the norm, almost like I had raised the rear end. The best way I can think of describing it is like the play that some cars have in the steering wheel where you can turn it a little either way and not really move. It feels like it just doesn't want to go in a perfectly straight line. The best I can come up with is that the steering head bearing must be loose. Is there any way I can check that out without having to remove the top brace on the triple (and the plastics and the clip ons etc.)? I'm beginning to get these daydreams of me coming down from a stand-up and finding that my front wheel is gone .

 

At first, you had me thinking warped rotor or unbalanced tire. Then there's triple bolts, axle and pinch bolts. And then possibly the steering bearings. I'm not sure to what extent you must remove parts in order to check that, but luckily the hawk is pretty easy to disassemble. Relatively simple stuff, espeially with a service manual.

 

If you have a friend that can help... you can put the bike on a rear stand... jack up the front by putting a floor jack under the oil pan (use a piece of wood between the jack and pan to avoid damage) have your friend the bike steady, and then pull back and forth on the lower fork legs... also turn the wheel side to side slowly while it's up.... if the legs move, or the steering feels "notchy" the bearings are gone.

(If you have to do it yourself, you can stabilize the bike by strapping it to the rafters of your garage like some have done on the board when swaping front ends).

J.

 

Ditch the POS Shinkos and try again. If it still feels the same then check your steering head bearings as above.

 

I tightened up the bolts in the triple (they were a little loose) and put a few lbs in the tires and the feel is much improved. I still need to check the bearings though.

 

After reading the opening post I was going to say that it sounded almost entirely like tire pressure. If they took a few pounds to get back to normal than that very possibly was the issue. Tire pressure is hands down the most important thing to bike handling.

 

It's funny how many times you can hear it/ do it/ know it and still somehow allow it to slip your mind. Of all the routine maintenance I do I regularly forgot to check the single most important part of my ride.

 

It happens to the best of us