95 handling issue

Hi guys,

Total newbie to this forum so be gentle with me :smile:

Have a 95vfr750 ( bought it in 96 ! ) perfect in evey way up until about 6 months ago, stupidly "loaned" it to a friend for a couple of weeks while I was out of the country & god knows what hes done to it.

Handling seams very vauge & a bit bouncy, totally screwed up the total confidence inspiring nature of the beast..

In an attempt to sort this out I :- ( its done 35,000 miles by the way )

Have replaced steering head bearing with tapered jobbie, was a bit hit & miss with getting the tension set right but think I have that sorted now, fully stripped cleaned & rebuilt both forks, everything seamed OK very little contamination in old oil. Tyres have about 2k on them & are not "squared" rear shock is dialled up to max spring preload as is damping ( always had it set to this since I bought the bike as I do a fair bit of 2 up riding )

The above has helped but as I mentioned she just doesnt feel "right"

I suspect the rear shock has finally given up the ghost ?

It feels "ok" & passed an MOT no problem but just seams a bit soggier than I remember ?

Incidentally if you grab the rear wheel & the rear subframe & flex them about there is definately some "movement", flex rather than clunking I cant compare to what it used to be cause I've never tried this before but is this normal ?

any suggestions as to where to look next would be appreciated, as I'm now having difficulty keeping up with my other mates round the corners ! they are all driving 2007+ CBR's & the like but this never used to be a problem !

maybe its me & I've lost my "edge" ? I dont think so but who knows.

SS

 

would look into that Movement as you say in swingarm and back off rear spring and dampning a bit. best to reset spring when riding two up then reset to a lower setting when riding solo.

 

checked bearing conditions throughout rear end & all seams OK ?

Tried softening pretension, no difference other than generally "softer" & lower ride height, damping adjuster screw appears to have siezed !!

can a 2006 rear shock be modded to fit a 95 bike as there is one in my local breakers at a decent price ? plent of older ones there too but I guess they are just as likely to be dead as my own one, apparently the 95 shock cannot be stripped for service ?

have been looking for a 929 as per another thread on this site but they are all kinda pricey.... budgets pretty tight at the moment but not scared of a bit of fabrication welding etc...

would really appreciate any more suggestions guys ( & possibly girls ? )...

SS