Bike goes to the right when ya let go of the bars...

[TaosBrick]

...and yet, you have to hold the bars ever so slightly Pushed To The Right to keep it tracking straight.
Have loosened everything on the forks and top clamp and tightened it back up while holding it all skewed one way, took a ride up street and back - no change. Loosened everything up, then tightened it back up skewed the Other Way, STILL no change  :dunno2:
Wondering if swingarm is cocked somehow, or frame bent? Am on road right now and do not have a level or any other tools to figure this out, as if there's anything I can do about it now anyway.
But gotts to tell ya, after a 600 mile day of holding the bars with that even that teensy bit of pushing to the right, one gets a bit tired, stiff and annoyed.
Any tips welcome, Fellow Bricksters!

[tsnap]

check tires for uneven wear.  Most riders are more aggressive in a turn in right or left direction, depending on the rider.  Is this a new bike to you?

Fork tubes pushed all the way up?  Did you have the tubes out?  Axle needs to be in place when tubes are reinserted in triple clamp.
 (just watched the chris harris bearing change, laughed thru the whole thing!!

)

A dragging caliper or dirt in caliper/pad?

Is it a windy day?  Wind out of the left?

It turns to RIGHT when bars released at speed. then....you have to PUSH right  side bar (pull left side bar) to keep it straight?  All at speeds OVER about 10 MPH? (gyro effect)

tom

[tsnap]

Is the steering "notchy"?

Did you give the front wheel a good front to rear shake to test head bearings? Possible broke bearing or race?

Which bike is this?

tom

[TaosBrick]

Thanks Tom. So... Nekkid K75, 1992. EVERYTHING in the front end was either replaced or lubed before my trip from Taos to Nashville. New fork seals, wheel bearings, steering head bearings cleaned and lubed - both roller cages fine, bottom race fine, top race Ever so slightly worn/scalloped, but when re-assembled and torqued to spec, no notch-eyness detectable with the front wheel held up off the shop floor and turned from stop to stop. No draggy brake pads either. Bike goes right at whatever speed or wind direction.
  Note: this issue existed Before I did the front end R&R, and has to some extent since buying the bike in 2011. For whatever reason, it seems to be a bit more noticeable at present. Rear tyre IS worn out, due to be replaced Thursday. Will be interesting to see if that has any effect.
When I bought the bike, the right handle bar was tweeked a bit, bent it back straight.
PO said that this had been the result of a 'garage drop'. In light of what's going on, I am suspecting he actually took a bit of a digger and may have fibbed about it.

[TrueAce]

I am suspecting the rear wheel is not aligned properly, causing the front to behave as described............the worn rear tire could be a factor, also check for the spacer when mounting the new tire against the off-chance it isn't there, check the shock mounting bolts for any play. Let us know how it performs after the new tire. One other possibility, make sure triple tree bolts and axle bolts are proper torque. I once experienced a "dancing" front pull and discovered the above bolts had not be equally torqued after a complete front end rebuild. Also have noticed handling quirks when fork tubes are off dead even by just a slight amount. Final grasp......are the fork oil amounts equal?

[tsnap]

incorrect fork tube fluid filling. unequal springs, missing parts, spacers, bushings, dust caps.

correct front wheel spacers on front axle. I believe the left and right are 2 different sizes. That is seen in the above video on disassembly.

that upper race showing wear worries me.  It is magnified by the length of the fork tubes.

Were the fork tubes checked for straight and true and round?. I have seen them bent on bikes  following hitting a curb or severe pothole,  or rear end collision. Symptom is a leaking fork seal due to "out of round".

check rear wheel for bends when tire is off.

check shock bolts and bushings, shake and lever with pressure for play.

Inspect lug nutz and mating surfaces for flatness and complete correct nut seating.

check tracking before and after new rear tire by pushing bike across a nice smooth garage floor after wetting tires with spray from water or windex bottle, or by sprinkling flour on floor and pushing bike across it in vertical position, note tire track print.

the human always wins these battles.

tom

[TrueAce]

+1 what Tom said! It ain't right, but you'll figure it out.

[tsnap]

maybe that;s why my earlier post disappeared?  I thought I posted it somewhere else or failed to push the  button.  Hope I didn't send you on a wild goose chase!! :dunno2:

tom

[johnny]

greetings tb...

is this chili red...

wanna make sure i understand...

riding on good flat road you have to keep forward pressure on the right grip or the moto will slowly angle right...

is this correct... there is a relationship between countersteering and offtracking... happens in an instant...

considering no wind and your cargo weight is even on both sides and you dont have any bagpipes acting as a sail... when you let go of the bars does it angle left or angle right...



j o

[Scott_]

Have you noticed it behaving the same way in both lanes?
Road crown can/will have an effect.
Tire balance can also throw you off as well.
By factory specs, the front/rear wheels are offset by about 1/2", so keep that in mind if you do the "roll thru water on a flat surface" or try to check them with a string line.

[Laitch]

. . . and you dont have any bagpipes acting as a sail...

So that's what was causing my difficulties. I've put them on Craigslist to swap for a saxophone.

[TaosBrick]

Ok, getting new rear tyre today.
In answer to queries, bike starts going right immediately upon lettin' go the bars - on both sides of the road.
Forks internals were cleaned spotless, then the Exact Same volume of oil filled in each side (you 'measure levels' people can sputter as much as you like).
Yes, the spacer should be there, was last time I had that rear off. Rear tyre wear on right side is interesting tho. I have seen lots of rears that were worn on the left, due to road crown.
Defective tyre? Some other radically wrong thing with frame-swingarm alignment?
I DID put a used transmission on the Beest shortly after mounting the current rear. Something with swingarm pivot pins? But that is a fixed, unchanging commodity in Brick-dom, far as I understand. Swingarm Pivot bearings seemed fine.
Also, spun the fork tubes around in the clamps to several different positions - all subsequent test rides showed no change. Each time everything below the top clamp nut was tightened First after using bounce method of fork alignment.

[johnny]

frame shims can cause this... didnt think about it until you mentioned trans swap...

[TaosBrick]

Frame shims - where is they? On swingarm pivot mounts? Didn't notice any shims when I had the swingarm off the frame, but that was over a year and a half ago, and at 57 I am beginning to notice the effects of half-hiemers.

[tsnap]

I just due dilled frame shims search and found this thread x2.

tom

[Scott_]

Yea, if you are having wear pattern on the right side of the rear tire, you have something out of whack.
The frame shims mentioned are used with the motor mounts. Look up the frame to motor mount instructions for a better explanation.
Makes me wonder if something was tweaked, as you say it had been dropped hard or hit.

[tsnap]

hue said prev owner admitted to a garage fall over type incident

tom

[TaosBrick]

Update - New rear tyre installed. Situation improved somewhat, bike does not go as hard to the right when bars let go, but still enough to be annoying. Closer examination of the old tyre shows right side noticeably more worn, with a bit of cupping on the left.
  With everything on the front end being rigorously examined and repeatedly adjusted and Both wheels balanced, it would seem that a tweeked frame is the winner in this diagnosis party (and I am the loser).
The question now is will frame shimming be enough to solve this, and how does one determine which side to shim, and how much? I guessed that the two rear transmission mounts are where this is to be done, but the fiche points to the Front engine mounts as to their location.  :dunno2: Ah, geometry. I was fairly good at it in school, but in this application I am not so sure...

[TrueAce]

Could the tire wear and poor handling be due to a bad rear shock?

[The Dude]

Update -:dunno2: Ah, geometry. I was fairly good at it in school, but in this application I am not so sure...

Are you one that rides with their arse hanging off the side of the seat?(they often don't know)
Or to put it another way,have you tried riding with your arse hanging off the seat and does this help?
Ok, mine (brick)does a little of this so I just whack it back with my knee and carry on texting. :neener:
Yours must be real bad?

[TaosBrick]

Could the tire wear and poor handling be due to a bad rear shock?

Don't think so. Shock seems fine. This bike was "dropped" by movers according to the PO when moving from Philly to Santa Fe, where I purchased the bike. I am beginning to think it must've been dropped from the back of a large, tall moving van. When I got the bike it was barely noticeable. But after having replaced the transmission, it became more noticeable and the funky tyre wear began.
  The reason I'd replaced the trans was failure of input splines - within 20k miles of them being lubed. Perhaps another suspicion from something bring majorly outta whack.
Have gone only 8k miles since replacing tranny, almost feel like having a look at those splines when I get to 10 or 15k to see if inordinate or weird wear is happening...

[TrueAce]

Dropped? Enough to bend that drive train a tad causing spline & transmission failure............not good. We call that Broke Back Syndrome. Could the transmission be slightly misaligned? Having never replaced a transmission, I am not familiar. Bet Mighty Gyphon could advise, among others. Seem there should be evidence in measuring the frame which would reflect a drop impact of that magnitude. Is the rear wheel totally straight & undeformed? The right side tire wear and left side cupping suggests something is wobbling somewhere on the back end.

[tsnap]

iF A CARRIER DROPPED IT, HE MAY HAVE SETTLED FOR A CASH SETTLEMENT.

mAYBE A carfax would reveal something?

tom

[TaosBrick]

Another couple of things to ponder - the input shaft splines on the original trans had failed once before, at something over 10k miles, if my memory of this occurrence in the meticulously kept shop records that came with the bike is correct. Original owner had the input shaft replaced. I had acquired it at 28k and am the 3rd owner.
   When I did my first spline lube, at something like 35k, the transmission was a Total Bugger to stab, took over an hour and the help of another pair of hands to finally get the shaft into the clutch - and I'd not done a thing with the clutch.
  In contrast, when I stuffed the new/used trans, it went in like butter. Weird, no?

[The Dude]

  In contrast, when I stuffed the new/used trans, it went in like butter. Weird, no?

Yeh.Weird.I thought it was just Moto Guzzi that made lemons!least "going in like butter"indicates you won't find any spline wear issues after you're short mileage.
Surely, this can't be where your tracking problems originate?Accurate wheel alignment measuring?bent frame?should all be obvious,by now.
That top stearing head bearing cone,did you take it out then put it back in,(slightly rotated) to clean it?yeh,long shot!I would have left it in...