problem: my xx bends to left when I leave the bars

dan71 · 05-05-2008, 1:01 PM

i recently bought a 2006 blackbird; it is wanderful, but i noticed two bad behaviours:
1) the bike never crashed; both wheels seem to be straight; but when I leave my hands away from the bars, the bike markedly drifts to the left.
did anyone else have this same problem?

2) at a certain speed (say 130 Km/h, 80 mile/h), when leaving the bars, the front wheel starts swaying. As above, is this a common problem?

i'm going to show it to my mechanic, but i would be very happy if i had any suggestion from some other blackbird owner before that...

thank you!

dan

ALUN.CBR1100 · 05-05-2008, 1:12 PM

Mine's an 06 BB also, it runs straight for quite a long distance when i let go the bars , but if i sit to one side it will steer that way, ie::::::::::: is ya bot straight on the seat.I don't normally let go the bars at 80mph, but have at 50ish without any probs.
So canni really help but it does lets u know that mine dunni do it

SilverBrd · 05-05-2008, 1:42 PM

Make sure your tires and wheels are balanced. Check your tread for wear as well.

dan71 · 05-05-2008, 2:33 PM

i can exclude tyres, they are very little worn. but i didn't look at wheel balancing: i'm going to make it checked, it's a good point to start from.
Anyway i guess it may have effect on wobbling, but not on bending.
I was told that a cause for bendig could be a different "pressure" (i.e. "strength", "load" - sorry for my poor english) inside the two fork stems.
Can this be a reasonable idea?

staffbull · 05-05-2008, 2:57 PM

Luggage, top box in particular can make the front end wobble

Banshee · 05-05-2008, 5:40 PM

How much camber (angle for rain runoff) do the roads have? That will cause the left drift.

Having said that, I think my '07 has a (from new) twist in it somewhere. When riding in a straight line, as with you, it will drift left if I take my hands off. I also noticed that my left bar seems to feel further forward if I keep my helmet centered behind the dash. If I ride so my hands feeh even I wear the flat on the rear tyre off to the right, showing that by leaning so I feel even, I am leaning to the left & tilting the bike to the right.

I checked the rear alignment with a stringline and found that it was pointing to the right by a couple of degrees. When I adjusted it so the alignment was correct by the string, the marks on the adjusters were different by about 2mm. (Left about 1/2 a mark further back than the right.)

It still feels uneven, though, haven't figured out why, yet.

Hope this helps you a little, but also hope yours isn't twisted.

My '98 was perfect.

AntXXG · 05-05-2008, 6:34 PM

Hi, I'd do the usual checks...rear wheel alignment, tyre pressures, loading of the bike, fork yokes then if it still does it consider having the frame checked for trueness. Banshee has a valid point but in Italy it'd drift to the right as you ride on the right so the camber would usually be that way...hope you get it sorted (oh and wheel balancing..that'd make the bike shake like mad I once lost a balance weight!!)..

youfly2 · 05-05-2008, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dan71

i recently bought a 2006 blackbird; it is wanderful, but i noticed two bad behaviours:
1) the bike never crashed; both wheels seem to be straight; but when I leave my hands away from the bars, the bike markedly drifts to the left.
did anyone else have this same problem?

2) at a certain speed (say 130 Km/h, 80 mile/h), when leaving the bars, the front wheel starts swaying. As above, is this a common problem?

i'm going to show it to my mechanic, but i would be very happy if i had any suggestion from some other blackbird owner before that...

thank you!

dan

make sure your rear tire is set straight make sure your adjusters are equal or this can make your bike pull to one side or the other! notice that on mine every time i rode a wheelie it walked left on me stuck it in the shop for a new chain and spocket and found the rear wheel was cocked abit evened it up and straight down the road one wheel or two!

PJNXX · 05-06-2008, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by youfly2

........make sure your adjusters are equal or this can make your bike pull to one side or the other!

Not true! If your adjusters are equal, that is, if the alignment marks are the same both sides of the swingarm, the rear wheel will probably NOT be straight. To ensure perfect alignment you need to use a chain alignment tool or the string method that Banshee mentioned.

dan71 · 05-06-2008, 2:08 PM

woa, in fact it can be...
the marks on both sides of the swingarm are even, but i didn't realize that the trick of the stringline can tell something different...

hornet · 05-06-2008, 2:27 PM

are ya lopsided?

try taking your wallett out of your pocket so you dont lean over?

get your tires BALANCEd, then buy a steering stabalizer and adjust it a degree or so to the right?

Banshee · 05-07-2008, 2:22 AM

My adjusters are out of line by about 2mm or so. Right side has to be that much further forward. Just came in from redoing the stringline & measuring the bar positions relative to ground & pint at back of bike.

They all seem even now. I'll find out when I take it out again...

dan71 · 08-06-2008, 5:59 AM

ok, just to make a final update:

problem 1) the front wheel started swaying when leaving hands away from bars; i replaced the original steering head ball bearings with cylinder bearings (honda italia assistance office itself suggested this change): no more wobbling now, problem solved.

problem 2) the bike drifted to left when leaving hands from bars: the left side front fork had little oil in it (there was a leakage); i filled it with oil and replaced the damaged part that caused the leakage; the drifting is less marked now, but still present!!!

Leftlaner · 08-06-2008, 7:00 AM

Mine does the same. Been like that ever since I bought it, 2 years ago (2nd hand)..

I'm about to overhaul the forks now, and check the rear wheel alignment. Hopefully that'll take care of the problem. Oh, by the way my bike was wobbling too before I installed those tapered head bearings.

dan71 · 08-06-2008, 8:22 AM

please let me know if you get rid of the drift -- and how!

TR1Hemi · 08-06-2008, 6:32 PM

Most bikes I have had, including this Bird, have drifted to the left a little, strange, it seems to be the case with most responders to this thread also!

xx2wheelin · 08-09-2008, 12:39 PM

when i first read this post i actually thought you had a drinking problem and was gonna suggest that you not drink and ride...but 90 percent of the time i have heard this complaint it has been fixed by either rear wheel alignment, steering head bearings or a fork adjustment (overhaul) the other ten percent was due to crooked riding positions....thats something you have to deal with on your own

PoGo · 08-12-2008, 4:54 PM

Question???

My bird also pulled to the left, but my left fork had a bad leak. I replaced the seals and oil last night. It still pulls left slightly but not as much as it used to.
What I noticed while replacing the seals is that the left fork is much heavier than the right, with the extra brake cylinder and brackets. When the front wheel is suspended it tends to fall to the left. Can that cause the bike to pull left??? I checked the rear wheel alignment using the mentioned methods, it seems to be ok. Just wondering?

Leftlaner · 08-13-2008, 1:20 AM

I overhauled the forks the other day, but haven't had a chance to ride her yet, as I'm still waiting for a new R/R.. But theoretically, isn't it possible to put the rear wheel slightly out of allignment (like 1 or 2 millimeters) to compensate for the bike's tendency to turn left? I'm quite sure it would cure the problem for highway cruising, so the real question is: How would this affect handling in highspeed sweepers and in the twisties..?

xx2wheelin · 08-13-2008, 2:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leftlaner

I overhauled the forks the other day, but haven't had a chance to ride her yet, as I'm still waiting for a new R/R.. But theoretically, isn't it possible to put the rear wheel slightly out of allignment (like 1 or 2 millimeters) to compensate for the bike's tendency to turn left? I'm quite sure it would cure the problem for highway cruising, so the real question is: How would this affect handling in highspeed sweepers and in the twisties..?

the only way this could work effectively for you is if everytime you have a sore back you have someone punch you in the face. sorry but solving a problem with another problem is never a good idea. the higher the speed the more the affects will be felt so at some points you may find yourself pushing to the other side. not to mention your rear tire will wear faster and the side load on the chain and sprocket will cause some premature wear there as well.

dan71 · 08-18-2008, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PoGo

What I noticed while replacing the seals is that the left fork is much heavier than the right, with the extra brake cylinder and brackets. When the front wheel is suspended it tends to fall to the left. Can that cause the bike to pull left???

it could be... but if that was true, all BBs would have the same problem...

dan71 · 08-18-2008, 1:09 PM

one more bit:

I started paying more attention to an issue that I should have looked at from the very first time... the bars alignement WHILE riding.
When looking at them on the trestle, all seems ok; but when riding, I noticed that I have to keep bars slightly steered to the right in order to go straight.
I'm going to do a deeper check at the front wheel alignement, but I begin to think that the fork may be a little twisted...

I think I'll do this way: I will lean two wooden boards along the front wheel, one for each side, and steer the front wheel till they are perfectly aligned with the bike main axis; then I will lean another wooden stripe (or any other kind of straight row) over the bars, joining the stems heads: If this isn't exactly 90 degrees relative to the bike main axis, the fork is twisted...

Banshee · 08-18-2008, 7:16 PM

Check the rear wheel alignment. I used a stringline & found that my right side adjuster has to be ~2mm further forward than the left. And the front alignment is still off to the right when I ride.

Logoman · 08-18-2008, 9:15 PM

You have a socialist Blackbird. They all drift to the left. Nothing much you can do except buy a more conservative bike.

My '02 Blackbird never drifted or wobbled with my hands off the bars, but it did suddenly develop a tank-slapper exiting a corner last Jan. and the outcome was shattering to say the least. I'm not sure what was wrong, but I think it was a combination of tired suspension and the rear tire out of alignment.

Glad you're getting your problems resolved before things get worse.

PoGo · 08-19-2008, 1:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dan71

one more bit:

I started paying more attention to an issue that I should have looked at from the very first time... the bars alignement WHILE riding.
When looking at them on the trestle, all seems ok; but when riding, I noticed that I have to keep bars slightly steered to the right in order to go straight.
I'm going to do a deeper check at the front wheel alignement, but I begin to think that the fork may be a little twisted...

I think I'll do this way: I will lean two wooden boards along the front wheel, one for each side, and steer the front wheel till they are perfectly aligned with the bike main axis; then I will lean another wooden stripe (or any other kind of straight row) over the bars, joining the stems heads: If this isn't exactly 90 degrees relative to the bike main axis, the fork is twisted...

Same here... I also thought that the forks might be bent. But when I had them out to replace the seals, I checked and they are dead straight.

I replaced the front wheel bearings too, but it still bends. Not as noticeable but it still does.