Setting on side of the road because...

06 RWB. There's a popping sound coming from somewhere up front when I leave a stop sign making a turn. Going straight feels like riding on ice, almost wrecking at every bump. Haven't tore into it yet, waiting on my lady friend to come get me so I can get my truck and my trailer. But visual inspection looks fine!!?? No slack, nothing loose, no oil, no lo air pressures and nothing hot like I said, everything looks good and I'm pretty sure that I'm not imagining all this cause I do t wanna go to work today! Any ideas? Thanks in advance

 

No bumps/lumps on the tyre? Or you may have picked up a nail that has gone in at an acute angle. Afraid nothing else comes to mind,

 

Check your folks seal.....See any leak along the tube? :noidea:

 

Sounds like steering head bearings are gone, or the wheel bearings. My bet would be steering head bearings.

Put the bike on the centerstand and have your girlfriend sit on the passenger seat so the front end comes off the ground. Rotate the wheel, and grab the forks and see if they are good. You should be able to see the problem then.

 

Sounds like a low tire.
Let us know what ya find

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This may sound stupid, but was road recently tarred and graveled? I had same popping sound, road looked OK, but I thought sound was something coming loose in front end. I met some guys later who said road had recently been re-surfaced and it was gravel off front tires.

 

Like others said, check your steering head bearings for play. (Get the front end off the ground and grab the base of the forks and try and move them back and forth.) It sounds like they are collapsed. It can make noise when you turn and it will act all kinds of squirrely.

 

8 year old bike...why would this happen...wheelies or what?
my bikes 12 years old with 22,000, is there anything I should do maintenance wise?

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Many people convert it to tapered roller bearing sets, the factory is a ball bearing style with cage. I think All Balls make them.

 

Hard to do?

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Not terribly hard, but it helps to be mechanically inclined. The front wheel/forks have to come off, triple tree, and bearings. Then the new ones pressed/driven in and reassembled. There's a write-up for it, but can't put my finger on it right now.

 

well I guess I'll have to wait for the symptoms..... thats a shit load of work.
If it aint broke...........dont fix it......

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Call me when you're ready and we can take it on.

 

Hard? Ya gotta take a lot of stuff off. Ya gotta beat the old bearing races out with a drift punch from the top and from the bottom. Ya gotta knock the new bearing races in top and bottom. Then you have to put a lot of stuff back on and ya gotta remember to rout the cables so they don't bind and the wiring so it doesn't get pinched. It's really not that hard if you take it one step at a time and as my teacher, back in my diesel mechanics vo-tech days, said "ya can't do it with your head up our ass!".

 

Where is the OP....? Any update?
op2:

 

I sure will Homer....

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OEM Honda steering bearings usually get all wobbly and worn out by about 25,000-30,000 miles and need replacing.

 

Have you found problem? Just curious.

 

Hey guys. Sorry it took me so long to get back on the site, been crazy busy. And thanks for all the replies! As far as the bike, I'm pretty sure that it's the front tire. Crazy that it would go that bad that fast. But this is the same road I take to work everyday for the past 3 years I know every bump. Like I said, nothing loose, good sir pressure. It just started doing it and steadily got worse till it wasn't rideable. Pulled over right at where I would get on the interstate and would normally be running 110-130. So I'm glad it went bad when it did!
Knots on the tire now. When I got it home and in the garage where I had some light, all this happened at 4am, I could see them. Think the poppins sound may have been cords in the tire letting go. 16k on those tires, ain't complaining.
Bike still setting here. Botter honda gonna come pick it up tomorrow. Putting on a new set of perellis, changing fork fluid and checking seals. Also gonna have the brake fluid changed and new plugs. I really wanna have the valves adjusted like honda recommends at 16k (21k on it now) but that's $550! Don't know if it's necessary. Hate for someone else to work on my baby but I've been busier than a cat covering up shit! Haven't had time to touch it and parking my cage a mile away from the gate at work and having to walk past motorcycle parking that's right at the gate... Takes me an hour longer to get out of work cause I'm stuck in traffic! But the mechanic better fucking do a good job!

Il let y'all know what the shop tells me but honestly, I'm thinking tire. Jolene's been too good to me

 

Glad you found problem, popping sound had me puzzled.