Headshake: front tire wear or steering head bearings?

Huh...

Amazing what upping the rear preload so it starts to approximate the newly doubled front spring rate does for the ride and handling. Pretty much eliminated the problem. I can still feel the pavement ripples (and I can feel it in the cars, too) through those turns, but it does't wag the bars nearly as much.

I'm going to order a new front tire, see what that gives me, and go from there. I know I need one. It's going on 5yo, 4K miles, and cupped.

 

Might seem silly. Check ur bar ends are inplace & tight.

 

waking this one from the dead.

Never did figure it out, but then in november I locked up the rear tire (on a straightaway), slowing for a turn, and picked the wrong way to solve the problem (rode sliding down to 10mph, and then lost it to the left, high-side... much unhappy plastic). However, I started this fun event 100 ft before the start of the turn, it's a pretty steep hill.

Anyway, I'm ok, stuff in luggage ok, and bike was still rideable.

I tore the bike down finally over the weekend (it's been parked all winter). have the steering bearings out (big shiny scars, but no dents like others have had), have the wheels off (rear bearings won't turn by hand), and it's getting all new wheel/steering bearings and new tires this week. And probably new brakes, too.

$$$

But some of this stuff is 22-23 years old, the tires have 5 year old date-codes, and a fingernail won't dent them at all.

yay.... :frown:

 

Wasn't watching the forums much in October, but I read through this thread now, since it was made current.

I tend to think part of the problem might have been in your tires. But from your description (third post) of steering head bearing preload, I think that's pretty loose. There's definitely a 'gray area' for amount of preload on those bearings and that's definitely on the loose end of the scale, and some adjustment may have helped.

It's a touchy adjustment, best done by 'feel', trial and error. Once you get in the 'ballpark', a 30 degree turn on the spanner can make a huge difference. But adjusting the bearings on the 'tight' end of the spectrum frequently improves 'headshake'. Careful though, you don't want 'em too tight...symptoms would be difficult to turn at parking lot speeds and a tendency to weave most noticable around 30MPH.

 

The friend that rode my bike home for me (I had a broken toe) made two comments on my bike that day:

1) brakes are odd, just feel/sound like they're not working right, but hard to quantify

2) The bike always acts like it doesn't want to turn, like the tires are low pressure, even though they're 32/42 f/r. He's made this comment multiple times in the past when riding my bike (he's been riding for 13 years, and has had a pretty wide range, from a suzuki standard to an ST1100 to an Aprilla Falco).

And having dropped the wheels off at the dealer for new tires and bearings today, and getting the estimate on that... $$$ Cheaper to buy the right tools and do it myself if I have to pull the bike apart. Takes as long to drive to the shop as it does to do the bearings.