Triumphrat

kelticwolv · 02-16-2005

OK, the tires on the bike are for crap. The front is a Dunflop 220, and it has quite a few miles on it. Had this tire on my Connie, and thought it was decent until I went to Avons. Anyway, I know the tire is much closer to being changed, but I'm getting a bad headshake if I take pressure off the bars. As long as my hands rest on the bars it's OK. Is there any issues with loose headstem bearings (common COncours problem), or some other issue? I lean more towards it being a badly cupped front tire, but hoping those with more than 3k miles on it will have better wisdom. Thanks.

kelticwolv · 02-16-2005

OK, the tires on the bike are for crap. The front is a Dunflop 220, and it has quite a few miles on it. Had this tire on my Connie, and thought it was decent until I went to Avons. Anyway, I know the tire is much closer to being changed, but I'm getting a bad headshake if I take pressure off the bars. As long as my hands rest on the bars it's OK. Is there any issues with loose headstem bearings (common COncours problem), or some other issue? I lean more towards it being a badly cupped front tire, but hoping those with more than 3k miles on it will have better wisdom. Thanks.

2ndSpace · 02-16-2005

Had the same problem with 010's. They cupped badly and at low speeds I could feel the bars wobbling. I put 7k on set on Avon ST's with no cupping. You will love the way the Avons turn in. My only complaint, some will disagree with me, the wet traction of the Avons was very bad. My brother watched me nearly slide off the road in the rain. He was on a F4I with D208's and had no ploblems in the same rain on the same road. A friend of mine had the same complaint on a Bandit 1200. The BT 010's were great in the rain but all 3 sets of BT's cupped. I just spooned on set of Conti. Raod Attacks, but have no opinion yet.

Back to the piont....new tires fixed the problem,

2ndSpace · 02-16-2005

Had the same problem with 010's. They cupped badly and at low speeds I could feel the bars wobbling. I put 7k on set on Avon ST's with no cupping. You will love the way the Avons turn in. My only complaint, some will disagree with me, the wet traction of the Avons was very bad. My brother watched me nearly slide off the road in the rain. He was on a F4I with D208's and had no ploblems in the same rain on the same road. A friend of mine had the same complaint on a Bandit 1200. The BT 010's were great in the rain but all 3 sets of BT's cupped. I just spooned on set of Conti. Raod Attacks, but have no opinion yet.

Back to the piont....new tires fixed the problem,

Stlakid · 02-16-2005

Check your headstock bearings too. It is very common for them to be loose or 'Overtightened'. If you overtighten them you will destroy the top bearing quickly! The dealers and factory regulary overtighten them too. Get the front wheel off the ground and pull on the forks to see if you feel any movement. If you can they are loose. He're how I do them.......

Remove the top nut (lock nut) and loosen the adjusting nut as much as necessary to get some grease on the bottom tapered bearing. They are not really sealed very well and the grease needs replacing periodicly. The top bearing is sealed and cannot be repacked. This is the bearing that will fail if overtightened. Run the adjusting nut back on with a socket BY HAND ONLY as tight as you can. Run the forks back and forth a few times to distribute the grease. Now loosen the adjusting nut and run it back down with the socket BY HAND ONLY and just snug it up good. Replace the lock nut an be very careful that it does not tighten the adjusting nut with it. You can usually tell if the forks get 'sluggish' to move there is to much preload on them and you need to back off a bit. You want it snug, but not to snug. The reason they are so touchy is that the top bearing is being used incorectly. It is not designed for side loading and will chip the races if there is to much pre-load placed on it. There are other bearings that are designed for this, but if you take care in adjusting yours they will be fine.

Stlakid · 02-16-2005

Check your headstock bearings too. It is very common for them to be loose or 'Overtightened'. If you overtighten them you will destroy the top bearing quickly! The dealers and factory regulary overtighten them too. Get the front wheel off the ground and pull on the forks to see if you feel any movement. If you can they are loose. He're how I do them.......

Remove the top nut (lock nut) and loosen the adjusting nut as much as necessary to get some grease on the bottom tapered bearing. They are not really sealed very well and the grease needs replacing periodicly. The top bearing is sealed and cannot be repacked. This is the bearing that will fail if overtightened. Run the adjusting nut back on with a socket BY HAND ONLY as tight as you can. Run the forks back and forth a few times to distribute the grease. Now loosen the adjusting nut and run it back down with the socket BY HAND ONLY and just snug it up good. Replace the lock nut an be very careful that it does not tighten the adjusting nut with it. You can usually tell if the forks get 'sluggish' to move there is to much preload on them and you need to back off a bit. You want it snug, but not to snug. The reason they are so touchy is that the top bearing is being used incorectly. It is not designed for side loading and will chip the races if there is to much pre-load placed on it. There are other bearings that are designed for this, but if you take care in adjusting yours they will be fine.

hootieST · 02-17-2005

Kelticwolv - I discovered that my front wheel axle was loose which I believe was causing some wobbling and a slight weave. I need to check my wheel bearings for any possible damage.

Hope you find your problem.

Mark

hootieST · 02-17-2005

Kelticwolv - I discovered that my front wheel axle was loose which I believe was causing some wobbling and a slight weave. I need to check my wheel bearings for any possible damage.

Hope you find your problem.

Mark

FattRat · 02-17-2005

It's not altogether unreasonable to think that the simple replacement of your front tire may arrest your "wobble".....

FattRat · 02-17-2005

It's not altogether unreasonable to think that the simple replacement of your front tire may arrest your "wobble".....