Bike pulling to the right?

[Luk77]

Hello all of you.

Since this is my first post I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Lukas, I live in Poland, and am almost 40 years old.

At the moment I am a lucky (almost) user of FZ6 S2, build year 2008. I own this bike for 6 years now, when I bought it in 2010 it had a mileage of 10 kkm (now almost 30k). In general I have no mayor problems with this bike. The only problem that I kind of feel is that when I'm riding it looks like the bike is pulling a bit to the side. Previous user never said a word about any accidents or falls. When I was buying it I checked it with a friend of mine who sells bikes, so kind of person who knows what's going on in the business. So I was almost sure that there should not be any problems with my new machine. After couple of runs I began to have a feeling of this little pulling to the side. It was quite different with my previous bike, ZX6-R that was going straight no matter the speed was, I could take my hands off the steering and it was going like on rails. And this FZ6 behaves in a different way, when I take my hands off the steering bike is starting to pull or turn to side. I can reduce this movement with body balance, but I guess that's not what I expect from my machine. I would like it to go straight, simple as that. Sometimes I have the feeling that I have to pull the steering on the left side and push on the right one, especially in the hairpins.

So where's the problem? What should I do, what should be checked? If the bike had an accident or fall than I think the front suspension is the problem. The axis looks good, wheel is fine (it was checked when I changed the tires). Maybe suspension forks? There are no leaks, they look OK, I tried to turn them about 90 degrees each but nothing changed. Maybe triple tree is somehow distorted? How to check it? Or maybe steering head bearings should be replaced? The last thing is frame, but that would be much bigger problem...

If you have any thoughts thanks in advance.

Regards

Lukasz

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Welcome to the forum Lukas.

Did the issue just develop or was it always there?

The steering head bearings should have been serviced many miles ago. Some have been found to be very dry(little grease).
I would start there and perhaps consider tapered head bearings. They have much more surface area and solve other issues.

Adjustment to the triple is also critical.

If your tires are good, (not worn excessively) there are several threads here about checking / adjusting the rear whee using the "string method".
You may want to try checking with that method as many owners have found the markings on the swing arm not to be correct.

It should be noted that the bike SHOULD run straight W/O physical input...

Good luck and please back what you find.

 

[Luk77]

Well, to be honest the problem is present since I bought the bike. But sometimes I had a feeling that the bike rides better, I mean almost straight without any help of mine But right now the problem seems to get worse. I also thought that head bearings could be the source of the problem, I will start - as you advice - with them. I tried to adjust the triple tree (I watched a lot of clips on YT about it) but no luck, no change. I need to change the oil fork, so that would be a good chance to check the fork themselves. Tires are OK, as you can see my mileage is not very impressive so they're in good condition. Also, right after I changed them I didn't notice any change about this pulling issue. As of rear wheel adjustment I also tried different methods, the markings are not always correct as you mentioned. But that also didn't have any impact.

I will try with those head bearings and then we'll see what's gonna happen

Thank for advice.

 

[FinalImpact]

Good call rotating the stanchion tubes 90°, but I don't see the triple causing this for the exception of the bearings being so tight they stick but that would not favor a direction. With the nose in the air, you would feel this when rotating back an forth. Is it smooth? Does crunch? Does it it have freeplay? If smooth and no freeplay I'd say it is not suspect.

JM2C but your frame would be destroyed long before the triple ever changes shape. It is the most robust component on the whole bike.

However, the forks could be twisted in the triple but you should be able to see this. Even then the bike should go straight but the bars would be angled.

Any chance the bars are bent from a drop? Perception may be role here...

Im eluding to the fact that even if the thrust line is off because the rear wheel is not pointed straight ahead, these things still want to go straight ahead unless we the rider are not loading the chassis equally.

I wrote post on how to string align the rear. Mine was off a few degrees, but never did the bike pull.

However, the one exception to chassis loading would be if somehow the swing arm were twisted from the pivot to the axle. A twist would load the tire in manor that would make the bike turn or pull.
On the center stand on a flat level surface measure from the ground up near the axle. Is it the same?
Measure to the pegs and bar ends too.

Can you have someone else ride it? And lets see a picture of those tires... what shape are they in?

Measure the swing arm. Verify forks are not twisted. String align the rear wheel (see sticky in how to section), and report back.

 

[FinalImpact]

Pictures are still up....
Look here in the How To....

How to string align your rear wheel.. .. ..

This is why I started looking...

Dirty chains tell stories!

 

[Luk77]

FinalImpact - thanks for a reply. I need to take all blame on me and admit that lately I didn't take good care of my bike. Last season I only made about 1000 miles, mostly because of lack of time, and when I could ride the weather was not good. I'm mostly weekend or holiday rider. All I did with my bike was to check tire pressure, lube driving chain and fill the gas... Not too much. So right now even if I'm going to lose a weekend or two I'm going to change some spare parts and try to make my bike to ride better.

At the moment driving chain seems to be in good shape, but considering the fact of 30 kkm driven I'm thinking about changing the whole drive set. Still I don't think this could have an influence on this pull. I tried different methods to align the rear wheel, I'm 99% sure it's done correctly. Also looking at it in a vertical way it looks good, but I have to measure it as you advice (the swing arm).

As for the rest I decided to change the steering head bearings and fork oil. I will also check brake pads, they seem to look OK but I need to take a closer look. So, I need to order all those parts, spend some time in my garage and then we'll see. As for a drive set - what would you recommend? Original gear or a replacement? I heard that the front driving gear, if not original, can be much louder that the one from Yamaha? Can you confirm that?

Thank for all advices.

L.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

OEM sprockets seem to last pretty long (if maintained properly. The OEM chain doesn't have a master link so the swing arm has to come partially off for install.

The OEM chain seems also very well made and also holds up very well..

And yes, the OEM ft sprocket does have a plastic type "ring" applied to it and is quieter than an aftermarket sprocket W/O it.
And get a new ft locking nut and make sure the end is pined to secure it per the shop manual..

 

[FinalImpact]

Stem bearings, fork oil, drive chain, none of that will impact this drift situation....
What brand of tires are on it and are they squared off (flat) in the middle?
Even if the forks were installed at different heights, the springs are so soft they will simply equalize the load through the axle.

Any thoughts on the bars being bent? Or shoved off to ONE SIDE?

- A drop could easily push them through the clamp and measuring would be the only way know they are off!! This could make make it feel strange but again, it should track straight regardless!!!

 

[FinalImpact]

OEM chain is at 26,000 miles and looks and feels fine. I think I've only adjusted it twice along the way.
But I did install a Sunstar 48 tooth sprocket and it weighs about 1/3 of the oem 46t.

 

[Luk77]

Stem bearings, fork oil, drive chain, none of that will impact this drift situation....

I'm afraid of that too to be honest, but I'm going to give it a try. Parts are ordered, I'm going to change them during the weekend. But most important after dismounting all of them I would have a chance to check and measure them. We'll see.

What brand of tires are on it and are they squared off (flat) in the middle?

The tires are Michelin Pilot Road 3, and no, they are not flat in the middle.

Any thoughts on the bars being bent? Or shoved off to ONE SIDE?

This could be the case. We'll see after I measure it. Let's wait till weekend.

 

[Monica A]

I am no expert, but .... I was wondering if the tires need balancing. Had the experience once. Rebalanced a fairly newly installed tire and the difference was amazing. Good luck!

 

[Luk77]

I am no expert, but .... I was wondering if the tires need balancing. Had the experience once. Rebalanced a fairly newly installed tire and the difference was amazing. Good luck!

This could be the case, but right after I switched to a new set of tires bike was pulling the same way as with the old Bridgestones...

 

[FinalImpact]

To be objective I'll say that balance and drift, pull, or tracking has nothing to do with wheel and tire balance.

When has shaking from from imbalance caused a motorcyle to drift? It doesn't. It does induce vibration at speed!

Same with dual rotor calipers. A dragging caliper does not make a bike spin in circles! What about all the bikes with single calipers????? It is a single axle single tire so brake drag from either side is just drag and it has no impact towards inducing drift.

Going a step further: good, bad, or minimal damping contol effects ride quality but not drift.

Bottom line is Drift is a product of tire condition/construction, chassis alignment, and vehicle loading. Lets not transfer learnings of cage performance issues to our bikes as much of it does not apply.

Its a wonder single sided swingarm vehicles go staright at all! Blah

 

[Luk77]

I did some test rides yesterday. It looks like that: when I'm holding the handlebar bike goes straight, but the handlebar itself is not straight I mean it looks like it's turning a bit to the right, I have to pull the handlebar with my right hand. So there's no 90 degrees between wheel and the handlebar, the angle is a bit wider, at least it look like that. So maybe it's a question of correct setting of a triple clamp?
Anyway I have all the parts necessary and maybe today or tomorrow I'll try to change them.

 

[FinalImpact]

If you've ever piled a dirt bike into the earth and twisted the forks its pretty common to stand in front of the bike with tire between your legs and grab the bars and twist it back straight!

Loosen the axle and pinch bolts, loosen the triple pinch bolts and give a good twist. It will move back. Tighten when straight. Test drive. If that was the issue all along, now you know you have the fix before the work begins....

 

[Luk77]

If you've ever piled a dirt bike into the earth and twisted the forks its pretty common to stand in front of the bike with tire between your legs and grab the bars and twist it back straight!

Loosen the axle and pinch bolts, loosen the triple pinch bolts and give a good twist. It will move back. Tighten when straight. Test drive. If that was the issue all along, now you know you have the fix before the work begins....

I tried that too before, it didn't change anything. Right now the front suspension is disassembled, if I have enough time I'm going to put it back together today or tomorrow. I'll let you know about the results after some test rides.

 

[FinalImpact]

What I didnt say was that you have to twist it past straight to fix it when its assembled. It will seem weird at first but it works!
[MENTION=27899]Luk77[/MENTION]

 

[Luk77]

OK, so most of the parts are put back together. Man, that's a pain in the a.. to change those head bearings. I remember when I was doing it with my previous ZX6R and it went smooth. But this time round... well I spent a lot of time to get rid of this bearing inner race. Then hours to put the outer race inside the frame. Never mind, it's done. It was to late to do some test rides, today is the day. Chances for improvement of steering are 50/50. If this change of bearings and the proper setting of triple clamp are not going to make any difference then I really don't know what to do. I let you know about the results tomorrow.

EDIT: So I assembled all to one piece and did some test rides. At the moment I'm 99,9% sure that the bike rides the same way as before. New fork oil and new steering head bearings seem to have nothing to do with this drift, it's the same like with the old parts. I know I have to adjust those bearings after couple oh hundreds miles. I will try then to adjust also triple clamp, I have no idea what else could be the problem. When I'm not holding the steering bars bike is pulling to the side (actually to the left not right as I mentioned in title of thread) and I have to lean my body to the right as a counter to keep it going straight. Earlier, with the front cowling and fender removed I had a feeling that the front wheel is not straight, like a bit twisted to the left.

What should I do then? Maybe the best solution is to put my bike to some service where guys clever then I am will have a go?

 

[FinalImpact]

How about this:
Measure with tape from the bar end to the clamp on each side. Is it the same? If not, move to center so it is.
Point the bars straight ahead. Measure from each bar end to the rear of the bike like the V on the tail light. Move bars until each measured distance is the same. Stand in front of the bike and sight down each side of the front tire.
You should see an equal amount of rear tire showing. Do you? If the front wheels are turned, maybe your bars or bent or the forks are still twisted....

Find someone else to ride this bike and consider doing the string alignment of the rear....

Hopefully the tail section isn't pushed over for some reason as that or bent bars would through off measurements.
[MENTION=27899]Luk77[/MENTION]

 

[FinalImpact]

Solved or Unresolved [MENTION=27899]Luk77[/MENTION] ??