Long time no speak…err, make that type. Noticed on a few occasions on some peach roads near me the bike shaking its head coming out of a few bends under power. Not really had a prob with it before, but in saying that only had it just under a year to date.
Its been rock solid. Never had the need for a damper and the tryes are new’ish with proper pressures. Theres no play in the head race and the suspension was set up by a pro(!) in that field. General check over gives the bike a clean bill of health.
Tyres are showing slight scrubbing/scuffing on the edges but nothing more than you would expect from a bit of spirited road riding. The bike is a '00 Firestorm in bog basic trim with a smidge over 15k on the clock. Tyres are Sportec M1’s and seem to suit the bike/my riding perfectly.
Thoughts!..am I overlooking something glaringly obvious??
I am no expert and some one here may have a better idea, but sounds to me like a possible gammy bearing, may be to much play. If you have a paddock stand get the front up and try wobbling the front wheel in every direction.
Its difficult to say whats wrong, but id check the tyre pressures again with another guage and if thats ok id look at the suspension. Theres a lot of so called pros out there, im no expert but ive seen bad suspension set up cause all sorts of problems. Make a note of the settings at the moment then put the settings back to std as in the owners handbook. Give it a try and if that does not work then you can go back to the previous set up and try something else. Too much compression damping can have this effect. You can check if the compression damping is stiff by pressing down on the pillion seat to compress the rear of the bike, try the same with the front as well. But without actually looking at the bike myself thats all i can do.
For me its either a headrace bearing, wheel bearing, dodgy tyres or at incorrect pressures or suspension. Having had the same issues on the ZX7, it was the rear shock that was at fault. It felt fine on usual testing but under very spirited riding caused the beast to shake its head real violently. New Penske shock sorted the problem, must admit to fitting a steering damper at the same time but having ridden hard with that turned off there was no shake.
And its good to hear from you Barry, wondered where you had gone.
I’ve checked what most people have mentioned. General health of the bike is in good fettle. I’ll get it booked in somehwere and have the springy stuff looked at to be on the safe side.
Chuff, been reading about your exploits in the mini twins, sterling stuff chap. Well done in the last few, seem to be a real fighter, jolly fine results taking everything into account. I must get my life sorted and make the effort to attend.
Don’t really help setting up the stock stuff on a Firestorm, sort of like a misnomer in terms, and dial-ing in a stocker and charging for it is something I would avoid putting my name to!!!: It needs fork springs, period. However, as soon as the proper rate is stuck in there, the valving will be well out, and unable to cope with the change…
There isn’t (external) compression adjustment front or rear; so sometimes when the sag is set correctly on a shock like this, the very fact that the spring rates are mismatched will cause all manner of troubles that might not have come along if it had been left alone as not set up, per se… (ironic huh?) …and perhaps you are noticing it now due to simple wear n tear, or accelerated oil degradation in the fork… (which is like saying the same thing btw)
Sort the fork out, of this I am surer than sure - as stock it will not work for anything much more than m’way cruising… BUT, sorting the fork out will only bring u into shock territory, as by doing the front, the rear will become like poo… and of course all this will only sound like a tuner’s ploy to get someone to spend money - but hey, take my advise (if u like - it is free after all) and go elsewhere… I have only been here 6 mths; so I would not expect trust quite yet!! LOL
So, why would I care? Well, aside from loving bikes… I have watched many a person get injured and even killed in front of me on these bikes - so, plz sort it out!
Barry, have you had the wheel balance checked. A bit of an obvious one but you would be suprised how people overlook it. Balance can alter as the tyre wears. Also, have a look to make sure none of the weights (if any) have fallen off.
