Steering

[Simon_88]

Hi,
I'm just wondering if somebody could give me some advice, I'm 23 years old and have been biking for just over a year. My Yamaha FZ6 Fazer S (08) is a cracking bike but when I'm riding it, I get the impression that it's pulling to the left a little, it could be me being paranoid as I've tossed & turned the last few nights and am really tired. I put it on the centre stand tonight and pushed on the back seat, I then grabbed the left handlebar and turned the bars each way and they moved fine, there was a tiny little click but they were turning fine and weren't being prevented by any stiffness. Do you reckon my bike is fine or does it need looking at, I could just be worrying unneccesarily (I hope I am) and it's just had a Winter Service at the dealership where I take my bike so I'm not sure if they would have picked this up (that's if there is an actual problem).
Any information or advice would be cracking.
Cheers,
Simon

[dekker555]

Hi Simon, first of all you need to be certain there is no notchiness in the steering head races (which could have been caused by a bump, or running them adjusted too tight. Secondly, as on a push bike, the wheels need to be in line or it will pull to one side. You need a hand to carefully run a string round them, as the marks on the swing arm may not be accurate. (I take more notice of my piece of string!) Hope it's nothing more serious like a bent frame, good luck with it.

[Grahamm]

Another thing worth looking at is whether the tyres have worn unevenly or are under the required pressure, both of which could cause the "pulling" effect you mention.

If not, check when you're riding that you're not gripping the bars too tightly or leaning forward and using them to support your weight. Squeeze the tank between your thighs (ooo-err missus!) and let your arms relax so your elbows and shoulders drop down and relax your grip to the bare minimum you need.

One other thing you might try on a long, straight empty road is to accelerate up to a reasonable speed, then pull in the clutch and block-shift down to neutral and (carefully!) let go of the bars and see if it starts to drift.

[Slaninar]

One other thing you might try on a long, straight empty road is to accelerate up to a reasonable speed, then pull in the clutch and block-shift down to neutral and (carefully!) let go of the bars and see if it starts to drift.

After checking tyre pressure and play in the steering head, I suggest doing this as well. However, I think it would be a lot safer to accelerate into a higher gear and leave the bike in gear. Just as a precaution, should the bike start turning sharp.

If there is no play, tyres are well inflated and good, but bike starts leaning on its own, do check for wheel alignment (Cord method before mentioned). Perhaps it could be made OK with minor change of rear wheel alignment (with bolts). In case this doesn't help, check for bent (missaligned) forks, then frame. Forks cane be screwed when putting them on, or just when mounting the front wheel badly. That is not a big problem.

[Simon_88]

I put my bike on the centre stand and my uncle told me to push down on the rear of the bike. He then moved the forks up and down and said there was no play and everything felt fine. That clicking is still there though when you bob the bike ack & forth, I might swing by a dealership and see what they say, maybe just to out my mind at rest. My uncle said it was the brake pads making the clicking as I use the bike all year round and they stuck a couple of weeks back. I also took my hands off the handlebars and being honest the bike did go to the left on every occasion, really am stumped

[Nooj]

Is it not just the camber in the road combined with worn/incorrectly inflated tyres?

Do you sit perfectly upright on the bike? If you twist/bend to one side (many riders do without realising it) that will send the bike off to one side or the other.

Are the forks/bars/front wheel all in alignment? It's possible to twist the forks in the yokes so that when the bars are positioned to ride straight, the wheel is actually pointing fractionally off-centre.

Are both the wheels aligned with each other? Check the rear wheel alignment (and chain tension while you're down there).

[flesh]

As Nooj as just pointed out are you sitting straight on the bike. My mate had the same issue with his Blade and after I followed him for a while he was sitting off centre. The cause was him sitting squint and unconsiously putting pressure on one of the handlebars to compensate.