Topic: Wavey Turns?

[igraul]

Hello SOHC4 Friends, I took a two day trip from Portland, OR to Redding, CA and back earlier this week, and thanks to the great advice I've received on this board, had an awesome time. I experienced two things while riding that were new to me, and if you have any idea about either one, your experience and advice is deeply appreciated.

1. I think the gear shift side cover started to leak oil really bad on the mountain passes. I've read a few posts on here about that gasket, so I'm going to try the pressure-wash/apply-foot-powder/ride-and-trace-the-leak-origin thing and make sure my diagnosis is correct. If I am correct, then how long would you guess it would take me to do this repair if I had all of the parts? I'm leaving for a BIG trip on Thursday, and I'm wondering if it's worth trying to fix before I go or if I should just carry extra oil with me.

2. On the curves coming over Mt. Hood (what a beautiful place to ride!) I started to get a funny feel in the front end as I leaned into the corners; a feeling as if there were waves in the in pavement. Like the front end of the bike was surging up and down at medium speed. This was not a jarring/shaking feeling, but it was still pretty unnerving. I immediately thought of 3 possibilities: low front tire pressure, wheel is out of alignment, front suspension has issues. Do any of those sound right? Is it something that I haven't thought of?

I did some searching for these issues. I found some stuff on the gear shifter cover, but wasn't sure how to search for #2. I apologize if this has been well-discussed.

Thanks again.

i

[KingCustomCycles.com]

That cover is a 1 hour job tops.  You will probably need nothing more than a dab of silicone sealant.  The cover doesn't actually have any seals, it is along the rear face of the stator cover that leaks.  Or the shift shaft seal.  You'll know when you get in there.  On the wobble/hunting thing it can be forks needing serviced, loose stem bearings, tire out of round or cupped, or maybe front wheel bearings.  Raise the front of the bike and look for anything loose or not right.  I hope this helps.

[KB02]

Could also be a warped front disk. I've seen those cause issues as well.

Low preasure or a wheel being, like King said, are the first two things that came to my mind.

[eldar]

Did you look at the road surface itself? You did not state if this happened anywhere else so I have to ask. I know in my area we have what is called "rain grooves". These are grooves in the concrete that run parallel to traffic. Supposedly to help with traction when the road is wet. It can cause your tires to wander.  So I guess the Q is, does it happen all the time or just there?

[igraul]

Hadn't thought about the rain groove thing. It was only on that road, and that is definitely a possibility. The roads are recently redone, and we definitely get a lot of rain.

i

[eldar]

Very possible then. They redid some of our roads a bit and added those damn things and it really makes things squirmy.

[sparty]

Hadn't thought about the rain groove thing. It was only on that road, and that is definitely a possibility. The roads are recently redone, and we definitely get a lot of rain.

i

I experience the same thing when I ride on the "rain" grooved roads where I live.  I thought I had an issue until I got off that road and onto regular paved surfaces.

Sparty

[pdxPope]

+1 on the road.
There was a big flood up on the mountain a couple of years ago, and when they re-paved the roads it was a pretty quick & dirty job. So it may not be the best quality.

But just in case, here is an easy way to check front wheel bearings:
Put the bike on the center stand, have a buddy sit as far back on the seat as possible (lift the front wheel up in the air) and hold on the the handlebars as tight as possible.
Now you kneel down parallel to the front wheel and grab it at the top & bottom (12 o'clock and 6 o'clock) of the rim. Now wiggle it back & forth. There should be no movement.
Do the same for the 3 and 9 o'clock positions.

If you get any slop, it's time to replace the bearings.


-JP

[cadaver]

i cant wait till i get my bike all sorted and on the road this spring ....that Mt hood has some nice roads ...or the drive up to the damn, on the washington side.

[chrislib]

ck your s/a bushings for x/s play

[igraul]

Yikes, I think it might be the swingarm bushings. How long does THAT take?

i