[akshayhonda]

A quick update on my tail tidy DIY.

Filled the empty and hollow tail area firstly with perfectly cut thermocole and later covered it with a quite thick layer of m-seal. Now the tail section looks neat and sealed from probable water entering entering inside during rains.

Also have attached along the pic of the modified numberplate holder plate.

Cheers

[nitninja]

Hi meheul.Im facing the exact handling issue you are facing.my bike had a fall at around 70 kmph and from then i have been facing this issue.my steering was not sharp at high speeds and at slow speeds,it was difficult to handle.I have replaced the entire fork set and suspecting cone set to be the issue.It would be great if you can put up the cone set setting pictures,so that i can also try out this.thanks.

P.s.im having sleepless nights and reduced my biking because of this issue.so please upload it soon mate

[mehuel]

Originally Posted by nitninja

Hi meheul.Im facing the exact handling issue you are facing.my bike had a fall at around 70 kmph and from then i have been facing this issue.my steering was not sharp at high speeds and at slow speeds,it was difficult to handle.I have replaced the entire fork set and suspecting cone set to be the issue.It would be great if you can put up the cone set setting pictures,so that i can also try out this.thanks.

P.s.im having sleepless nights and reduced my biking because of this issue.so please upload it soon mate

See, I can't be sure if your issue can be resolved with the same setting. But its worth a shot tempering and slightly losening the the t hub bolt. The best solution would be to get access of torque wrench and tighten it to the manufacturer recommendation. Service centers do have torque wrenches and might use it if you insist. I can only take a guess here that as usual they have over tightened both the nuts in your case too.

I would recommend you to take it back to them but if you want to DIY .
Just some pointers.

I ended up using a pipe wrench for upper one and even scratched the t clamp a bit.

The 2 nuts I am referring to are in the pics at the end.
--Losen the upper first
--than the lower one. For lower one you can use screwdriver and hammer, anticlockwise to loosen and clockwise to thigten, only with slight increments. Remember if you loosen the lower nut too much it will make noise while going over potholes, speedbreaker et all.

--Key is to check steering smoothness by rotating it from left to right, and visa versa after every increment. For that the upper tyre needs to be in the air. It's easy. Tilt the bike on the side stand and rest the bike on rear wheel. Rotate the steering from one end to another and just make sure it is smooth and not to tight.

-- repeat the process till you find the sweet spot, neither too free nor too tight. And turn clockwise to tighten.

-- once you are done leave the lower nut where ever you found that sweet spot and just come back to tighten the top nut that's on the top of t clamp. This is where the torque wrench will come in handy. If there isn't one. Key is just to tighten it enough so it doesn't come loose. I know that's easier said than done and that is where my marking came as a rescue. I can't advise you to go by touch and feel way of tightening. That is why I insist again to get this bit tightened at the svc to manufacturers recommendation which is mentioned on the service manual

P.S: I luckily had cbr's rear shocker adjuster and used it to turn the lower nut. But hammer anvil method works just fine.

[nitninja]

Originally Posted by mehuel

See, I can't be sure if your issue can be resolved with the same setting. But its worth a shot tempering and slightly losening the the t hub bolt. The
I endehtening. That is why I insist again to get this bit tightened at the svc to manufacturers recommendation which is mention on the service manual

Thanks meheul.The problem is my svc is 60 kms away,so it is tough for me to visit them.The coneset has to be tightened in increments to a point where steering doesn't feel tight or does it have any torque specifications for tightening ?.Tight in the sense,will the steering be jamming if tightened too much ?

Sorry mate for bombing you with doubts.I just want to get my bike back in shape.

[barcalad]

Originally Posted by nitninja

Tight in the sense,will the steering be jamming if tightened too much ?

The steering won't jam or anything, but it will be very heavy to turn and will cause handling issues once you pick up speed. Same applies if it's too loose.

I'm not aware of any torque figures as such, but usually, it should be tightened as to the level of the rider's comfort, where it turns and does it's job without any drama.

A point I would like to add here is that if you get your bike pressure washed too often, there is a high chance that the interior of the front part of the chassis has rusted and thus, even after replacing the necessary parts completely, the issue is still persisting. I'd advise you to speak to your SVC manager about this point and see if there is any way that the entire cone set/forks can be dismantled and the interiors inspected.

Does the bike's front part wobble or shows signs of instability during hard front braking?

[nitninja]

Originally Posted by barcalad

The steering won't jam or anything, but it will be very heavy to turn and will cause handling issues once you pick up speed. Same applies if it's too loose.

No meheul.It is perfect while braking but when i try to change my lane while riding,there is some kind of stiffness felt.I feel the stiffness right in the place where cone set sits.It is perfectly alright when i lift up the front wheel and check for cone set problem.

[mehuel]

Originally Posted by nitninja

Thanks meheul.The problem is my svc is 60 kms away,so it is tough for me to visit them.The coneset has to be tightened in increments to a point where steering doesn't feel tight or does it have any torque specifications for tightening ?.Tight in the sense,will the steering be jamming if tightened too much ?

Sorry mate for bombing you with doubts.I just want to get my bike back in shape.

No probs

As barcalad said rust can be other issue. Do have it checked.

As for torque it's 52 nm for the top nut. And for the lower nut no torque figure for that. Just ask a friend to tilt the bike on side stand resting on rear tyre. Than go to the front and hold the fork from bottom and move them to and fro, there should not be any play. If there is play you would have to tighten the lower nut slightly. I forgot this in the above DIY so it's good that you pointed it out again. This step need to be performed just before finally tightening the top nut.

Cheers

[nitninja]

Originally Posted by mehuel

No probs

As barcalad said rust can be other issue. Do have it checked.

As for torque it's 52 nm for the top nut. And for the lower nut no torque figure for that. Just ask a friend to tilt the bike on side stand resting on rear tyre. Than go to the front and hold the fork from bottom and move them to and fro, there should not be any play. If there is play you would have to tighten the lower nut slightly. I forgot this in the above DIY so it's good that you pointed it out again. This step need to be performed just before finally tightening the top nut.

Cheers

This is going to be my first activity tomorrow morning meheul .will update after it's done.

[barcalad]

Originally Posted by nitninja

No meheul.It is perfect while braking but when i try to change my lane while riding,there is some kind of stiffness felt.I feel the stiffness right in the place where cone set sits.It is perfectly alright when i lift up the front wheel and check for cone set problem.

*No barcalad.

Well, that settles it. Check the interiors of your front chassis for rust as well as on the nuts and bolts of the front wheel.

Do inform us as to what the SVC manager says.

[nitninja]

So finally got my lazy self to work on the bike,bought ring spanner,hammer and a flat screw driver.Firstly loosened the top nut(centre nut),tightened the cone set to the maximum limit possible and slowly loosening it in increments.After loosening every step,used to ride to check the tightness of the steering as i couldn't find any difference while turning the handlebars left and right(front wheel up in air).so finally after some loosening, found the sweet spot and now the bike handling is spot on.

My findings:
Cone set was loose but not too loose to cause any sounds or discomfort.It took me a quarter circle to tighten the cone set to maximum initially,so i think it was loose.After tightening the steering feels sharp as it used to be.

Thanks Mehuel and barclad.I noticed the handlebar to go slightly left and right at around 20 to 30 kmph.The same issue was noticed in my friend's duke 390.

[mehuel]

@nitninja : Kudos bro. good to know the issue is resolved. Sometimes it's worth taking tools into your own hands. SVC guys just don't understand or entertain the thought that there is such a thing as 'feel' while riding.

Bike has done almost 4 k on the odo and i am itching to change the engine oil and oil filter. This will be done at home now most likely this weekend itself. Engine oil motul 300v 15w 50. I am just curious to see how the bike behave (high expectations )

[nitninja]

Originally Posted by mehuel

@nitninja : Kudos bro. good to know the issue is resolved. Sometimes it's worth taking tools into your own hands. SVC guys just don't understand or entertain the thought that there is such a thing as 'feel' while riding.

I did 4 trips to the svc but they convinced me saying everything is fine,so i decided no point in hitting on a wall.I must admit working on bike gives an immense satisfaction.I wanted to try motul 300v but stayed away because of cost and availability.Please let us know about your experiences after using the oil.Does your bike sways slightly left right at around 30 kmph ?o

[mehuel]

Nope, bike is not swaying anymore. Or atleast not too much. Seems ok.

But new problem today. Radiator fan stopped working. Temperature soared to the highest point and bike finally stopped with ' high coolant temperature ' showing on the speedo. I was at the red light near pragati maidan, so dragged the bike to the other side. I waited for 10 mins or so and kept turning the ignition on and off. But the fan still didn't show any sign of life.

Got some water from the road side vendor. And started spashing it on the radiator and engine. 2 liters down and voila temp bar came down and bike started. I loaded up 2 bottles filled to the brim in the bag and started off with the hope of reaching svc(Vaishali metro) thats about 12 kms, before 7 pm.

Soon after the fan did start, but not as violently as it used to, it was lot quiter, calmer. I could barely hear any noise at all. Temperature gauge stayed 2 levels below but fan speed got weaker and by the time I reached svc the fan had stopped again and temperature started to rise.

All's well that ends well they say. It was 10 minutes to 7 and the shutters were being shut. But these guys were helpful. They booked the bike in. Let's see what else is in store.

[nitninja]

Originally Posted by mehuel

Nope, bike is not swaying anymore. Or atleast not too much. Seems ok.

Looks like your bike is going through a bad phase.They will be replacing the whole radiator assembly i guess.Just the thought of all these issues cropping up after warranty period scares me

[mehuel]

Originally Posted by nitninja

Looks like your bike is going through a bad phase.They will be replacing the whole radiator assembly i guess.Just the thought of all these issues cropping up after warranty period scares me

Indeed.

The fan has been replaced under warranty. I must mention here that the bike though is a bag of surprises, no qualms or regrets, but its the after sale service that is quite satisfactory

I left the bike there yesterday at 10 mins to 7 pm. And mentioned that I need the bike back today as have to reach office by 11:30. Service advisor the bike would be ready by 10:30 AM. I reached there at around 10:20 and to my surprise the bike was up on the ramp with the old fan out and new fan already in, testing was done aswell and bike was just missing the fairing bits which took another 5-10 mins to be put on the bike.

no additional cost, no labour or part cost. Just 70 bucks for a chain thightening and one rivet for the fairing. Not bad I say. I just hope the new fan would last longer.