| Author | Message | ||
     Shaiss |
Thanks to anyone that reads this for there input. I'm a lamen who knows nothing about motorcycles except how to ride, so I'll explain my best. I have a 05 XB12R, at about 6000 miles the steering felt loose. What I mean is that if your stoped at the light you could easily with one hand wobble the bars left and right. When at high speeds you could feel the front end wobble. About 180 miles and 1 week later, the wobbling was throughout the bike to the tail. And standing at the light, one finger was enough to wobble. When pulling a wheelie (maybe 1ft of the ground) you would feel the front end turing and fight it to stay straight. Nearly killing myself one day when the wheel landed crocked, I took it to my local shop. The shop owner said that not only was the front brake assembly loose, that the steering bearings had finally set in. So he tighted and adjusted and it was fine for about a week, then same thing all over again. Not as bad, but still enough to make a daily rider take the bus. My lamen solution was to buy an LSL steering dampner, which I'm sure will help. But is this "wobble" normal, do you have to buy a steering dampner to keep the bike steady at 80+ mph? Anyone that has any idea, thank you for your help and input! | ||
| Rogue_biker |
Shaiss, did you get this issue resolved by your dealership? It may be that you have to replace the steering head bearings due to wear. It shouldn't wear out like that under normal riding situations, especially only at 6k miles. Could it be wheelies are putting undue wear on them? Did you check your fork seals too? Fork seals are usually the first things to go when you do wheelies on a regular basis. You shouldn't need a steering damper on the XB either. And there shouldn't be ANY wobble at ANY speed. | ||
| Bigdog_tim |
For whatever it is worth, my XB12R is a wheelie machine. I did find a little slip in the steering head bearings - but a quick re-torqueing fixed that. I did that maintenance at 20K. Your problem sounds like a failed bearing (but have never had one - only speculation). I don't have a damper on my bike and ride it pretty aggressively. Wheelies, above 90MPH (when appropriate, of course), etc.  | ||
| Shaiss |
I had the dampner installed, it helped with the wobble and just making the overal ride smooth as butter for a lack of better words. I have been pulling wheels and bringing the bike down a tad hard sometimes. But its not like I stunt ride everyday. I had the stearing head bearings readjusted, worked for the weekend and crap again on monday. My mechanic raised the forks, which helped a tad with the wobble, but its still there. Do any of any shop in the OC that specializes in Buell. I've talked to AL at American Sport Bike and will probably make my way there for now. Thanks guys for your help. What should I look for when checking the forks for leaks, in lamens terms please. And thank you again.. | ||
| Jkhawaii |
wobble.... you mean turn the wheel left and right? with the wheel of the ground there usually is hardly any resistance to turn the wheel spec is 1-7 lbs turning force. when you hold the brake and rock the bike forward and back while on the bike is there any play in the forks or steering head? when you are moving... your saying the steering is wobbling or turning right to left rapidly? is the wheel bent? wheel bearings? | ||
| Shaiss |
Hi JKhawaii, thanks for the help. by wobble I mean this. Ride your bike to say 40mph, push the right, the left, the right, and so on. I know, by doing this you are going to make the bike want to go differant directions. But, what I call wobble, is when you do this the tail wobbles. sort of like a whip, the front wobbles and this continues through the tail. There was play in the forks, but my mechanic took care of that. How can I tell if the wheel is bent, it looks straight to me . I've heard steering bearigns, what are wheel bearings? Thanks again for the help! | ||
| Rogue_biker |
It's easy to tell if the front wheel is bent but you'll need something to hold the front end of the bike up. YOu can then spin the front wheel to see if there is any wobble to it. To measure a very small bend, you will need something to put very close to the wheel rim in a fixed position while you spin the wheel. If that thing touches the wheel at a certain point, then your wheel is bent. Wheel bearings are similar to the steering head bearings. Except, they mount to the center of your wheel where your axle goes through. Honestly, wheelies are cool and look impressive when done right. But they do nothing but damage to your bike. |
