The bike likes to go left

[FJRAust]

Guys and gals

This is an odd question and one I hope isn't responded to with "SOUNDS BENT". (but maybe it is)

Riding my 2002 non ABS FJR with no paniers (saddlebags)

If I let the bars go (no hands mum) the bike heads left. I only have to lean slightly right or just touch the left hand grip and it steers nice and straight.

I've only owned the bike for a few months and have put near 2000km on it. At this stage there's no abnormal tire wear. The bike doesn't appear to have ever been down, it has the expected scratches etc of a 5 year old bike with 60 000 KM on the clock. But no nasty marke on the exaust cans, damaged fairing etc that you's expect from a significant accident.

It corners fine and stops in a straight line as far as I can tell.

I had wondered if it not having the ABS gear might put the bikes balance off?

Oh it's not camber of the road.

Is this typical of an FJR???

Any suggestions!!

Thank you

 

[worldbound4now]

hmmmmmmmmm.... sounds fishy.

Look closely at the front fork. At the top of the triple clamp is the fork cap at the same height on both sides? Is the steering head bearing tight (raise the front end and see if there's any front/back play in the front wheel). Are your front wheel bearings bad (any lateral play in the front tire when the front end is raised or any rough feel when the front wheel is rolled without weight on it)? Also check out the rear. If the swing arm has play in it you could wax and wane one way or the other depending on the wear.

Be safe!

 

[twowheelnut]

1. Don't let go the bars.

2. You ride on the left side of the road. The roads are crowned, in your case, slopping to the left, which the bike (edit: why didn't I finish this comment?) follows.

3. It's YOUR natural tendency to steer the bike that way. You could be steering it that way with body english and not even know it.

Mine will tend to go left, too, but I favor the left subconsciously and that's where the bike goes until I right myself. Simple really.

 

[donaldb]

............Mine will tend to go left, too, but I favor the left subconsciously and that's where the bike goes until I right myself. Simple really.

Mine to! it's the nature of the thing...................as they say "it's the angle of the dangle".

 

[dpleogs]

My 06 loves to go left also if I let go of the bars. Have to use body english to make it go straight when I'm not hangin' on!

 

[John_Dumke]

What about the rotaing mass of the engine and drive train (more the shaft than engine) slowing down, this will have an effect on the bike wanting to turn. I guess to truly evaluate the straightness of the steering, it should be at steady speed.

Which way would a decelerating shaft make the bike want to steer?

 

[Scab]

Precession.

 

[Silent]

When I let go of the bars....

I hit things :blink:

 

[HaulinAshe]

Switch the drive shaft to the other side, and it will tend to go right instead of left.

 

[twowheelnut]

Precession.

****. Scab makes TWN look it up. Precession, indeed. :blink:

 

[Windjammer]

but I favor the left subconsciously

But of course. You DO live in Cali, after all. It's to be expected.

I had a Concours that liked to go left, back when I lived in Minneapolis (AKA Little SanFran). But then I moved to the WI countryside and bought my FJR. Now that I live in a Red region, all the left steering tendencies seem to have gone away.

All joking aside, my '05 seems to steer perfectly straight. But then WI seems to use lots of road camber, which leans right (sorry) and this could offset precession.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Tires?

--G

 

[CAJW]

Try changing your windscreen. I went from my Cal-Sci back to stock and that fixed it. That was after checking tires, steering head bearings, triple clamp etc.. Seems the airflow that the Cal-Sci tall windscreen puts up was just enough to influence a slight pull to the left. When I put my hands on the tank with the stock screen, I can steer with body english equally either direction, but with the Cal-Sci I've got to get my body out in the wind blast on the right side in order to get it to track straight. Don't try this on anything but an extremely smooth and deserted road, one bad pothole with your hands on the tank could ruin your whole day!

 

[weekend rider]

That bike is a N A S C A R bike they always go left :yahoo: :clapping:

weekend rider

 

[FJRAust]

Seems there's some with helpful suggestions Thanks and keep em comin.

To the others thanks for the giggles...keep em comin too.

Yes I've been at this bike thing for about 25 years so I'm reasonable familiar with just what happens when you don't hang on and hit something like a pot hole, cat, dog. (The cat, now there's a story hit it at about 80Km/h through a left hander on my Z1000J, I did better than the cat. Poor bugger)

Anyway

The forks were out when I bought her. The right leg was about 4 mm higher on the top tripple clamp than the left so maybe someone else had tried to sort this ??? I've since adjusted them to the same height. But no change.

Tires are fine, no noticeable uneven wear.

On the centre stand this evening I felt the rear wheel for lateral movement and swing arm. No movement I can feel. (but there's a nasty bearing in the final drive train somewhere or the bevel gears are noisy)

I havn't checked the front wheel bearings or steering head yet..

On the way to work this moring I while on a quiet back street (we still have them in Sydney) with very little camber and sloping down hill, at about 50KM/H I bumped her into neutral and tried the no hands mum "NHM".

Same situation just slightly headed off to the left.

I don't think this is me as I can do this on the old retired XT600e..

Over the weekend I'll check the front end.

Silent. Hmm what can i say. Stop letting go..

Scab. Precession. I do think of the FJR as huge but not quite worldly. I do how ever see the validity in your point but at 50KM/H with an idling engine in neutral. and the same heading left experience..!

Mark

 

[Geezer]

Take a look at the front brakes. If one is dragging a bit more than the other it could cause the bike to favor that side.

 

[FJRAust]

Funny you say that I reckon the front discs do drag.

I stop the bike in front of the garage each evening open the olf manual door and push it in. I can hear the drag and feel the resistance, I've checked the pads and therefore manually pushed the pistons back in to alow me to refit the caliper.. they move smoothly.

interesting thought Geezer.

 

[DocDanDC]

My '05 does this also. Very slightly though. When I installed a throttle lock and could keep the enging pulling the drift was gone. This leads me to think that the rotating mass of the engine and drive shaft during compression breaking is the normal cause of this. Has anyone else tried this?

I think that it could be similar to watching a top fuel car torque to the side during a burn out or race start.

 

[Bluebullet]

Put your fat *** wallet in your other back pocket. Then it will go the other way.