Motorcycle tilts to the right?

hellmet · 12th July 2013, 08:06

Well, is it possible that improper filling of oil in the forks (say one fork has more oil than the other) could screw up the balance of the bike such way? I can't think of anything else but suspension right now, given that so many mechanics have looked at it.

ebonho · 12th July 2013, 10:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by hellmet

Well, is it possible that improper filling of oil in the forks (say one fork has more oil than the other) could screw up the balance of the bike such way? I can't think of anything else but suspension right now, given that so many mechanics have looked at it.

Did you get your down tube checked?

hellmet · 12th July 2013, 11:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebonho

Did you get your down tube checked?

I took my bike to a place that fixes and trues forks and frame bends. That guy said he's looked and finds the frame just alright. I asked him more than once and specifically asked "down tube ok?" to be sure. I'm not sure if one can actually tell by looking, but he's a guy with quite a reputation in this part of the city so I'm assuming he knows his stuff.

Is there a way I can check the down tube myself?

ebonho · 12th July 2013, 13:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by hellmet

I took my bike to a place that fixes and trues forks and frame bends. That guy said he's looked and finds the frame just alright. I asked him more than once and specifically asked "down tube ok?" to be sure. I'm not sure if one can actually tell by looking, but he's a guy with quite a reputation in this part of the city so I'm assuming he knows his stuff.

Is there a way I can check the down tube myself?

There is no way even an expert can make out a minor frame out unless he strips your bike's front end first.

(Alok) · 12th July 2013, 15:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by hellmet

I had the wheel truing done for both wheels and the side wobble is gone.

What is wheel truing? Kindly elaborate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hellmet

Will be getting the rear wheel aligned somewhere. I really don't have the inclination to DIY this job.

Is it possible to DIY?

a4anurag · 12th July 2013, 15:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by (Alok)

What is wheel truing? Kindly elaborate

Found an interesting link. A Good Read.

http://ftp.cyclingnews.com/tech/fix/?id=howfix_truing

Wheel truing in layman terms is tension the spokes on the rims.

Cheers,
Anurag.

highway_star · 12th July 2013, 23:45

I have had a similar problem, both on my current and previous bike.

Bike hit a large pothole/ditch at speed, after which it started pulling to one side if the handlebar is released. Not noticeable during normal hands-on riding. I took it to a service center where they did some work on the fork but no improvement. The story was exactly the same both times with two different bikes from different manufacturers.

Seeing that the service centers have no clue about what is wrong, I have just decided to live with it. I would like to get it corrected, but don't want to spend money on random work without results.

guha_2001 · 13th August 2013, 09:41

I have a similar problem with my bike. It slipped from my hands once, and fell in the parking lot. The handlebar or the fork seem to have got twisted.

If I release the handlebar when driving, the bike steers to the left. Long rides are a pain, because of the uneven force my arms have to exert.

The Honda service centre I go to says that the entire handle bar has to be replaced. They don't have a clue. Is there a specialist shop in Bangalore that deals with such issues?

chotu_r · 14th August 2013, 20:02

I had crashed my bike when it was fairly new and did not observe the tendency to turn slightly to the right until more than 10k km later.

I observed it only when i was wondering whether my balancing skills were good enough to ride hands-free and a friend later confirmed it. My mech came up with an unorthodox method to deal with this, he changed the rear wheel nut which was towards the chain side and fixed it on the other side of the frame. He claimed that it was originally fixed in the wrong way but on observing different UCE bullets i think he is wrong. Anyway my bike now steers neutral and the issue is solved. It may be noted that shortly after this my front wheel bearing started making screeching noise and had to be replaced. I am not sure how the issue was fixed by changing a nut the other way round but the issue may have been caused due to a bend in the front forks (it was a minor accident and bike slided for a few metres only).

12th July 2013, 08:06	#16
hellmet BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: GTA \| GHMC Posts: 887 Thanked: 1,032 Times	Re: Motorcycle tilts to the right? Well, is it possible that improper filling of oil in the forks (say one fork has more oil than the other) could screw up the balance of the bike such way? I can't think of anything else but suspension right now, given that so many mechanics have looked at it.
	() Thanks

12th July 2013, 23:45	#22
highway_star BHPian Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Mumbai Posts: 121 Thanked: 128 Times	Re: Motorcycle tilts to the right? I have had a similar problem, both on my current and previous bike. Bike hit a large pothole/ditch at speed, after which it started pulling to one side if the handlebar is released. Not noticeable during normal hands-on riding. I took it to a service center where they did some work on the fork but no improvement. The story was exactly the same both times with two different bikes from different manufacturers. Seeing that the service centers have no clue about what is wrong, I have just decided to live with it. I would like to get it corrected, but don't want to spend money on random work without results.
	() Thanks

13th August 2013, 09:41	#23
guha_2001 BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Austin TX Posts: 58 Thanked: 70 Times View My Garage	Re: Motorcycle tilts to the right? I have a similar problem with my bike. It slipped from my hands once, and fell in the parking lot. The handlebar or the fork seem to have got twisted. If I release the handlebar when driving, the bike steers to the left. Long rides are a pain, because of the uneven force my arms have to exert. The Honda service centre I go to says that the entire handle bar has to be replaced. They don't have a clue. Is there a specialist shop in Bangalore that deals with such issues?
	() Thanks

14th August 2013, 20:02	#24
chotu_r BHPian Join Date: May 2013 Location: Secunderabad Posts: 39 Thanked: 9 Times	Re: Motorcycle tilts to the right? I had crashed my bike when it was fairly new and did not observe the tendency to turn slightly to the right until more than 10k km later. I observed it only when i was wondering whether my balancing skills were good enough to ride hands-free and a friend later confirmed it. My mech came up with an unorthodox method to deal with this, he changed the rear wheel nut which was towards the chain side and fixed it on the other side of the frame. He claimed that it was originally fixed in the wrong way but on observing different UCE bullets i think he is wrong. Anyway my bike now steers neutral and the issue is solved. It may be noted that shortly after this my front wheel bearing started making screeching noise and had to be replaced. I am not sure how the issue was fixed by changing a nut the other way round but the issue may have been caused due to a bend in the front forks (it was a minor accident and bike slided for a few metres only).
	() Thanks