Fall in!

After having my bike in the garage since last year, I took her out for a few laps around the neighborhood. It started up just fine (after putting in a new battery) I let it sit for a while to warm up, then took it out.

Something I noticed right away was that in turn it wanted to fall into the turn. If I was turning left I had to push, a little, on the left handlebar to keep the bike from ... not sure how to describe it... it's like the bike wanted to dive into the turn, if that makes sense. Same thing with the right turns.

I didn't check the air pressure but the tires are firm and didn't appear to be flat or squashy.

I'm baffled. It ran like a dream before. Any thoughts?

Mr. Toad said:

I didn't check the air pressure but the tires are firm and didn't appear to be flat or squashy.

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That's why you check air pressure with a gauge and not by eye.....unless you're eye's good for 2 psi.

Ignacio said:

Mr. Toad said:

I didn't check the air pressure but the tires are firm and didn't appear to be flat or squashy.

Click to expand...

That's why you check air pressure with a gauge and not by eye.....unless you're eye's good for 2 psi.

Click to expand...

Are you saying you think it's the air pressure that's causing the bike to lean in hard on a turn?

Mr. Toad said:

I didn't check the air pressure but the tires are firm and didn't appear to be flat or squashy.

Click to expand...

I would have thought that low tire pressure would cause the bike to resist turning, not make it fall in. *shrug*

Anyway, after checking the pressures you might also check the front brakes for dragging. I had a bike in storage back in the early 80's and the front calipers rusted to the point where the pads dragged pretty badly, and the first thing I noticed was that it wanted to fall into corners.

dbx

Iggy is right, if you are struggling to get the bike to turn it is your tire pressure. And by the wy dude, it is against the law to leve an FJR unattended in a garrage for a year!

Never just hop on a bike that sat long enough that you had to replace a battery without checking the tire pressure!

Kevin Daly said:

Iggy is right, if you are struggling to get the bike to turn

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He said he's having the opposite problem. That's why I questioned whether it was (low) tire pressure... :blink:

dbx

Kevin Daly said:

Iggy is right, if you are struggling to get the bike to turn it is your tire pressure. And by the wy dude, it is against the law to leve an FJR unattended in a garrage for a year!
Never just hop on a bike that sat long enough that you had to replace a battery without checking the tire pressure!

Click to expand...

Kevin, sorry buddy. It's the other way around. It wants to turn hard core when I'm trying to turn gentle. Is that from tire pressure?

It's low tire pressure causing it to turn funny. I would be surprised if they're much over 20 psi if it's sitting for a year. Get an air compressor and a tire gauge and check them every week.

r1byker said:

It's low tire pressure causing it to turn funny. I would be surprised if they're much over 20 psi if it's sitting for a year. Get an air compressor and a tire gauge and check them every week.

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+ Gunny....

He's betting 20 or less... I bet there's 22.5 lbs in those tires

Thank you for the help. :clapping:

While we're at it, what's the general opinion here about the rated air pressure on the tires. Do you fill the air pressure to that rated number, a bit below, a bit above? I ask because it always seems to change every couple of years.

Everyone has their own "magic" formula.

I run mine @ 40/40, cold (260 lb rider), normal commute and day rides. On trips, where I have the bike loaded heavier, I will up the pressure to 42, cold.

I'm 180lbs. According to the owners manual it appears I'm supposed to use 36 psi, but I hear other riders use different numbers. :blink:

Hey, what changed between an '05 and an '06? My manual calls for 39f and 42r. For my weight(160), I think that's a little harsh, so I run a couple psi less on the rear.

So to actually answer the question:

Sounds like not following the proper tightening sequence for the rear wheel when re-installing. If you tighten the pinch bolt before tightening the main axle, you can slightly pull the rear out of alignment.

I had this problem years ago after a tire change, and loosening and re-torquing all the rear tire bolts cured the problem. You could see the swingarm "jump" slightly when the pinch bolt was loosened.

Not sure it's your problem, just something to check.

In addition to the importance of tire pressure.

How many miles on your tires? Are they original or aftermarket?

I've learned, at least for Gen. I OEM tires they wear badly and quickly have turn-in problems. Not too sure about Gen II OEM tires.

SPORT said:

In addition to the importance of tire pressure.
How many miles on your tires? Are they original or aftermarket?

I've learned, at least for Gen. I OEM tires they wear badly and quickly have turn-in problems. Not too sure about Gen II OEM tires.

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The tires have lots of miles left on them. The tread hasn't worn down. The bike road like a dream last year before I put it away.

Seems this thread was resolved here.