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Showing results for tags 'steering'.
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I just finished a year long project to get a 1983 Venture up and going (been fun, have learned a lot, mostly from this website, like others have said, it's well worth the $ to become a memeber), anyway, to make a short story long, took her out tonight on it's maiden voyage, and she wants to wander a bunch. Tires look good, no cupping etc, lot's of tread left on them, pressure seems to be good (mid to upper 30's right?). I'm looking for ideas on what I should start looking for. PS, I do notice that when not moving, I can move the handlebars from right to left and there seems to be a "detent" feeling at the center of the steering, is that normal? -
steering head bearings
Locomotive posted a topic in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)
I finally had time to do a few things to my bike and one of them was to tighten up the head bearings. Now the wobble is gone but the bike seems to wander a bit on the road. Im thinking that i tightened the nut a little too mutch. What is the best way to know just how tight the steering bearings have to be ? I had my bike on the centerstand when i adjusted mine but i gave the nut a little extra snugness and that might be where the problem lies. Any ideas ? -
went through surgury n came out the other side in great shape. Still got pain n discomfort, but its already better. gonna start therapy today, that will b a long road ta hoe, was last time, but everything has worked great so far! been order'n parts for winter prodgits. Flanders handle bars, utopia backrest,highway pegs for passenger, new led lights for saddle bags. still have old I clutch basket from first 06, may put that in also, gonna grease driveshaft splines, swingarm, steering head bearings, want to do valve adjustment if i can find someone close with a tool n shims. Really look'n forward to been'n able to ride without pain. THANKS all for Prayers sent!!!
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Once again I find the manual lacking enough info for a lowly so-so mechanic such as myself to get a job done without help. Is there anywhere on this forum that has a good description and hopefully pictures that can take me through the dismantaling process of the front cowling so I can get to the steering head bearings which I need to change. The quick fix of tightening the steering nut was not good enough to remove looseness. Bought roller bearings from Skydoc for the job. Any help would be appreciated.
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I doubt many put their bikes on the lift backward, but it is quite handy when removing the front wheel. They drummed this into us in school (with lots of practice because it ain't easy) and I always put bikes on backward when working on the front wheel or forks. In addition to my new starter the 89 is getting steering bearings. It's on a Harbor Freight lift backward for the work. The wheel, forks, steering head, instrument cluster, headlight, windshield and top panels are removed. The fairings are still on. The handle bars are resting on the fairing stay above the headlight opening. There are two helmets in the trunk and some junk in the bags. When I lowered the lift I found that in that position the center of gravity is forward of the front legs and the motorcycle and lift tipped down (at the rear of the bike). Fortunately my weight on the hydraulic pedal kept it on the floor until it was down and my foot came off so it only dropped about 3". Raising the lift back up required a lift on the passenger grab rail to keep the motorcycle from falling over backward. At about 1/4 height the center of gravity was back to where the lift stayed on the floor. I wanted to pass this along because if I'd stopped going down at 1/4 or pulled the steering head below that level it would have done a back flip. Don't want anyone to find this issue the painful way.
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I bought a 2008 rsv a couple of weeks ago, had always been a GW rider until now. The problem is at speeds above 55 mph the bike seems unstable, similar to wind buffeting but in a zero wind condition. I've considered tires (it still has the original 404's) or loose steering head, just not sure. The bike only has 2075 miles on it and the previous owner had the 400 mile check preformed. Any ideas?
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My steering head has a center-detent that just gets worse as the miles pile on. Can I knock the bearing and race out, rotate and put it back in?
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Still having issues with a wobble in front end of 2007 RSTD with 93K KLM (57K miles). Have new front tyre balanced and fitted, new steering head bearings and everything seems nice and tight. Wobble happens at about 40kph (25mph). Not noticable whilst accelerating/braking but if speed is constant in a straight line and smoth road wobble develops. Seems OK at higher speeds. Any suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated.
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Need to adjust my steering head over the winter and although I read the tech article I'm still not clear on it. I have the tool and bike is on the lift... Anyone free to assist? No rush.... can't ride with the snow/salt. Just like to see how it is done once.
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I bought a Steerite modified triple tree for my 99 RSV from Side Effects www.sidecars.ca Why did I choose this company? Customer service and a great product! Father/son team of Peter and Brock Smith are fantastic. Every email and phone call has been promptly and thoroughly answered, and they also gave me added information to help with the sidecar set-up. They even offered to call and talk me through the alignment process. The mechanic who did the work for me also stated that they were very helpful when he called. They had the triple trees in stock. You just send back the old one when you have the new installed. To say this has made a difference in steering my rig is an understatement. They tell you it's like adding power steering, and it is amazing. About 175 miles last Sunday throught twisty country roads and it was great! I know there aren't many folks here with sidecar rigs, but they also do work for trikes, too. (and if we aren't allowed to endorse a product, moderator, please delete )
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I have been very lucky with my RSTD. The stock battery finally died last week (after 7 trustworthy/faultless years!) This is the winter to do some more detailed maintenance. I have an estimate of $750 from my local dealer for adjusting the valves, new plugs, synching the carbs, and flush/fill of the coolant system. That seems fair to me. However, the dealer is saying that - at 25,000 miles - I am overdue to have the steering head repacked at $900!!! No way. Just asking: how much have you paid to have the steering head repacked (and is it even necessary?) As always, THANKS! in advance.
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Did the demo ride today on a Spyder Touring and was shocked and impressed. A lot nicer then I expected and well worth the price of a Wing. Thing is so comfortable and the clutch-less paddle shifting is great. Has more bells and whistles then you can imagine and all sorts of storage space. I got the adjustable on the fly suspension system set and I couldn't feel a bump. Before the ride I asked the rep about comments I heard that it was twitchy steering, it has power assisted fly- by- wire steering. He said the riders that felt the twitch was more the likely griping it to tight. Sure enough as soon as i took off I felt the twitchy steering and lighted my grip and all was fine after that. I started out downshifting my self but it will downshift for you and I started letting it do it and it worked great, thing runs 55 mph at 3200 RPM in 5th, I let it slow down to 35mph in 5th then gassed it and no bog at all. When you paddle shift you don't let off the gas at all and at one spot was able get it on and the thing is quick. Lot of thought has gone into this Spyder with the traction control, ABS and all the computers and all comes together real good. That trailer for it looks regular from the outside but when you open it up it's HUGE. The trailer has electric brakes and when you plug it into the Spyder it calculates the weight and adjusts the gas, shifting and brakes to accommodate the extra weight. The thing that would take time to get use to is cornering, gives you the feeling that it will tip over or throw you off, but it won't, just the lack of leaning gives you that feeling on the first few turns. If the Spyder Truck comes to your area do yourself a favor and go take a ride, there is a lot more to them that you might think. OH the stereo sounds great and it even come with adjustable hand warmers for the passenger. The touring and the Sport are as different as a RSV and a crouch rocket so if you rode one when they first came out there are a huge difference.
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Got the turnsignal / flasher fixed and all back together. And everything works. Engine is warming up right now. Thank you all for the help. But I need some more help. This one bolt, I do not know where it came from. It fits a 12 mm socket. I took the headlight out to get to some of the electricial. I took the steering cover off. I took the Air Compressure unit out, with the fairing cover so I could remove the flasher switch. I took the 2 side covers off. I took the seat out, but it is now back on with the 2 seat bolts. Any ideas?
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2003 with 58000 km on it. Took it out for a ride, seems to ride just fine,, not as nice as a 1st gen, but then it's not a first gen. Steering seemed a little loose, that all. Didn't see any serious marks or breaks. Needs a good cleaning.
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I'm trying to figure out how to check my steering head for adjustment on a 2nd gen. Right now it seems to not stay anywhere I put it and will swing from side to side bouncing off the stops.
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Ok, so my 88vr flunked the safety check....they said the steering bearing was toast. I felt some "clunking" when I rode it home from Chicago and it felt a bit snakey in the corners so I figured they were probably right. BUT...tonight I started tearing into it...put it up on the jack so the front end was free and clear. I tried the "bounce test" but the limits of travel are restricted by wires and hoses and so it won't bounce at all...it eases to the limit, along with some the creaking sound of rubber on rubber. I grabbed the front wheel , standing in front of the bike and tried to lift and pull forward at the same time...no movement, no "clunking". I'm thinking they flunked it because of rubber...not because of bearings! And of course the potential 4 hours labour plus parts to replace the steering bearings. ADDED: did more checking and I can feel a flat spot when steering is centered...could that be enough to fail a safety? Any thoughts?
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The Dealer says I need steering head bearings which is over 4 hours labour at $85 per hour plus the kit. The bike only has 65,000 so I"m wondering if perhaps they are just loose. I'm going to look into that this afternoon. But if I need some work on it........I've got Dingy's wrench But I need a "how to". I found a tutorial for 2nd Gen by Freebird...but couldn't find anything on a 1st Gen (mkII) ....could anyone let me know if there is a how to on REPLACING or Greasing the steering bearings?
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While prepping the bike for Cody I noticed that the steering was very loose. Push the bars from the center and they would bounce off the stop 2-3 inches. I didn't feel any play but the bounce concerns me. How much of a hassel and time does it take to adjust the steering head? If it's a bunch I'll wait until getting back from Cody.
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Guys- I am going to change out my steering head bearings. Do I need to order any seals? The park shark print shows part #3 as (cover ball race 2) is this just the upper dust seal? and is there one like it on the stem under the #2 bearing. I might as well change the fork oil, should I remove the top nut on the forks or use the lower drain hole? I see the part number has changed on the stem nuts, if I replace the rubber washer with a steel one do you have to replace the stem nuts? Thanks guys..
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Just saw this link. Am I reading this ride, a kit to make the trail shorter? Wouldn't this bring the forks in? I really don't know anything about the topic, but I thought you wanted to extend the trail for ease of steering. http://www.ridermagazine.com/output.cfm?id=2733373
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Dose anyone use a steering damper on their trike? The steering on the trike I'm building seems loose(easy to turn) thinking it may give me a wobble at speed or in turns. Have not road tested yet, working on fairings & paint Thinking I may need a damper.Looking for ideas. Thanks (work in progress) :canada:
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I am working on the steering column of my 96 GMC full size P/U. There are a bunch of screws in the steering column that look like a Torx BIT, but are 5 point instead of 6 point. So I need a nut driver that has 5 internal points. This screw head is about 1/8" OD. I have been looking at tool places and can not find anything like this. I have found the Pentasockets but they are for a screw head with 5 flat sides, This is a star shape more like what a Torx bit looks like.
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I have received the parts to upgrade my 99 venture clutch and also bought a new horn from Harbor Freight that I would like to get some help with putting on. Also bought a wrench form Dingy to tight my steering. Please post when is the best time to meet with all of you and thanks again for offering to help. Dana
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Caught myself off guard. For safety reasons I had turned the key to the lock position. I was working on a little project and went to stand the bike up with the steering in full right turn. It just scared me a little more then anything. I was expecting the bars to come straight but of course they didnt. Ooh well. Lesson learned.
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I have received the parts to upgrade my 99 venture clutch and also bought a new horn from Harbor Freight that I would like to get some help with putting on. Also bought a wrench form Dingy to tight my steering. Please post when is the best time to meet with all of you and thanks again for offering to help. Dana
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