Hope I'm not bothering anyone! I bought an 83' 650 in May and am thinking
about upgrading the suspension. The nearly 40 year old shocks don't feel
like they do much and the front fork has leaky seals that I need to fix
anyways. I'm looking into EMGO Shocks and Progressive springs. It seemed
Yay! Relief!
When my head bearings were way loose I would get that at low speeds, and
then it got worse until I fixed them. (`83 NH 550)
I think someone mentioned this already.
I put in those wheel bearing style replacements from a company called
(ironically) "All Balls".
These tapered bearing
I've been riding the PC800 every day. I'm thinking now that what I'm
feeling is the reaction of the full fairing to the wind. There were times
on Ol' Yeller that I thought the engine had become erratic; that was just
the wind holding me back and then letting me go ahead. I don't feel that on
So I think I have my wander figured out. I had my rear axle nut torqued on
wayy too tight. Like 80+ ft lbs. it's rated at 50. Also, my final drive
case nuts were loose. I torqued those to the 50 ft lbs that the manual called
for. As far as I can tell it's gone. *fingers crossed*. Anyway,
...@gmail.com
Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2015 9:16 PM
To: Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!
Subject: Re: [Nighthawk Lovers] Re: Emgo Classic Shocks Review
Yea if I remember correctly they tell you the difference in spacer length and
fork oil volume. It is in a chart that comes in the box.
Allen Thomas
I only remember seeing a spacer length chart. Which mine is cut correctly.
Anyway, I picked up some speed around a corner and pulled a Tyler Durden and
the bike stayed tipped and followed the line I set. Maybe 25 was just too slow
to keep it on line. I'm beginning to think this is just the way
Is it possible my fork oil is overfilled? I guess progressive springs displace
more oil than the oem so they say to do this that and this to make it work?
I'm sure my rear shocks changed the geometry a bit when I put them on. Maybe I
need to drop some fork oil. The leak started happening just
Yea if I remember correctly they tell you the difference in spacer length
and fork oil volume. It is in a chart that comes in the box.
Allen Thomas
On Aug 26, 2015 12:33 PM, Alexander Press apress...@gmail.com wrote:
Is it possible my fork oil is overfilled? I guess progressive springs
I think you are back to tires now. Because the 85 in my garage doesn't do
that at all.
Allen Thomas
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You're probably right. It's so sad this is happening. I really do love the old
girl. Really hate to spend 300 bucks on tires if that won't fix the issue. I'm
in Kansas City and our vintage niche is extremely lacking. There's only a
couple of shops that'll even take a look at the bike.
Couple
Ditto what he said. I did mention the K505 Dunlop likes to follow the road
way back at the beginning of this saga.
I think at this point you could really benefit from a second opinion before
you do something drastic like seeing a bike you've poured effort into.
Kurt
On Aug 26, 2015 7:04 AM,
Sure. Move your wallet to your other pants pocket.
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Ha! That's exactly it, with no hands you're mostly steering with your hips,
just slide over slightly on the seat or lean more the other way. Also, if
the road is cambered to allow for rain runoff the bike is going to follow
that downhill.
-Kyle
On Tue, Aug 25, 2015 at 9:17 AM, EGrider
So my bike is now doing this really slow oscillation. At basically any speed.
Really slowly it banks itself left and then comes back to the right and the
left and then back right speeding with the oscillation speeding up each time.
It was doing this at neighborhood speeds. Think 20 mph. I
I think this left to right oscillation is what I've always been feeling. I just
never realized what it was until I just let the bike do what it wanted and I
noticed it basically steering itself into a extremely low speed tank slapper.
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Oh! Thanks. I will try that.
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If the bike stands up then the forks have too much preload or the triple
clamp can be lowered on the fork if static sag is right and you want to get
the bike balanced. 28 psi is low for most MC tires I usually run around 38
psi. Those static sag numbers are good.
Allen Thomas
On Aug 24, 2015 9:35
I was playing with the pressure this morning. 32front 40rear seems to have
cleaned up the wander as far as I can tell. Hopefully that was the issue.
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I have been riding for over 30 years and y'all are making me feel like a newbie
with this discussion. I have never noticed any issues or ride qualities like
you are discussing.
Only thing I have to ask, though, is with hands off, if the bike slowly drifts
to one side, is this adjustable?
Ok, so the washer removed all the free play. And I've got it torqued on. It
might be a smidge over tightened. The bars will fall to either side after two
inches or so but its a hair slower than it was with my ball bearings. I had a
deceleration wobble from about 45-35 mph that would happen when
The brake fluid burning off won't hurt anything but might leave a stain on
the head.
If you cut down the preload spacer you will make the bike react more
responsively not less. Also there needs to be some preload on the springs
so you can only cut them down so much. How it works is the longer
I'll look into the more exp rider deal. Problem is, all the bikers I know are
all Harley guys who do none of their own work. When I say none I mean not even
oil changes. So I don't know that if trust them to even know what I'm asking.
So a longer preload spacer would make the bike a tad less
Ahh yea, unless your HD friends have been riding for a really long time
(have ridden smaller Japanese bikes), then they probably wouldn't be able
to tell, since they would most likely be overwhelmed by how light the bike
is in comparison.
From the factory the triple clamps should be all the way
I may be repeating myself but it feels like there's a hinge between the front
and back of the bike sometimes. It's really wild. Where does one get swingarm
bearings? I can only find the oem ones from partzilla and they're 40 bucks a
piece!
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Sorry I haven't done a 650 yet so I can't speak about any extra washers in
the kit. But what I would do is set it as tight as you can with no binding
and then take it for a ride. You can always pop off the top clamp to make
adjustments.
Allen Thomas
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So I've come to the conclusion that my steering feels loose. Like the bike
wants to fall over during Lange changes and it flicks very easily. I got over
my fears of doing the neck bearings and went for it. A little nervous about all
the electrical connection but I at least marked the ones that
The trick is getting the right tension on the new bearings as you can't
crank the tension nut to where there is resistance to turning, but you want
it just before that point. If you have them too loose it will clunk when
braking, and drive like you stated.
Allen Thomas
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Nope. The only symptom I had was high speed wander and the occasional low
speed wobble in a left hand curve.
The other side was still good, but I replaced both without hesitation.
Kurt
On Aug 20, 2015 4:35 PM, Allen Thomas althomas...@gmail.com wrote:
Kurt, wasn't that thing squeeling like a
Yea they are cheap and come in sets anyway.
On Thu, Aug 20, 2015 at 4:43 PM, Kurt Nolte vturbine.po...@gmail.com
wrote:
Nope. The only symptom I had was high speed wander and the occasional low
speed wobble in a left hand curve.
The other side was still good, but I replaced both without
Kurt, wasn't that thing squeeling like a stuck pig?
Glenn, whew, I'm glad you like it! I know what you mean about tags and
title, here in MD it is about a $300 grab in your wallet.
On Thu, Aug 20, 2015 at 3:25 PM, Kurt Nolte vturbine.po...@gmail.com
wrote:
Could be. The originals are just
No wander issues that I remember on the PC I had, Graham
Sent from my iPad
On Aug 20, 2015, at 10:52, Allen Thomas althomas...@gmail.com wrote:
Alexander, Checking tire pressure is something i do weekly, and if a bike has
been sitting it is the first thing I do before riding it.
Alexander, Checking tire pressure is something i do weekly, and if a bike
has been sitting it is the first thing I do before riding it.
Excellent advice Kurt, to have an experienced rider check it out.
Glenn, I feel bad for so highly endorsing a bike you seem to less than
enamored with. I
Could be. The originals are just shielded, not sealed, so if they've never
been greased, or sat with old grease...
Kurt
On Aug 20, 2015 3:00 PM, EGrider gevan...@gmail.com wrote:
Allen, don't get me wrong. I like the PC800 a lot. In fact, last week I
put tags and insurance on it, the vehicular
I replaced steering bearings with a set that had rollers instead of balls. Any
for this application like that? Are they better? Mine seemed so.
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One thing. I totally overlooked the idea that any bike could just be
responding to normal wake vortex action at high speeds.
(Like what makes the wind curl a flag trailing the flagpole; they don't
just stick out straight because of the wake vortex behind a cylinder.)
In fact, DUH! how could it not
I used to run the pilot powers but they got to be too expensive (short
lifespan) , and their wet traction feels less to me than the BT023 I have
on the VFR now. I guess the stickier rubber makes a difference at a track
but I only recently had the Bridgestone kick out on me. Now that tire is 3
I want to edit this I think the 3rd spacer Kurt was talking about goes
behind the sprocket carrier where the cush drives are.
Allen Thomas
On Aug 19, 2015 7:24 AM, Allen Thomas althomas...@gmail.com wrote:
Alexander, the 3rd wheel spacer is inside the wheel between the bearings.
Look at a
Mark, my 79 GS used to feel like it swayed back and forth slightly at any
speed. Since I swapped the front end out that has gone away. I attribute it
to either different geometry, or new head bearings. So maybe on the old
bikes the just didn't know the math required to make a stable bike at
speed.
Alexander, the 3rd wheel spacer is inside the wheel between the bearings.
Look at a parts fiche and just verify your not missing anything.
I run about 40 psi up front and around 38 in back and my tires never get
choppy. The bike tucks in faster with the higher pressure.
Allen Thomas
On Aug 19,
Allen, he's talking about a 650, and I can't remember if there is a spacer
in the final drive or not, so...
Kurt
On Aug 19, 2015 7:40 AM, Allen Thomas althomas...@gmail.com wrote:
I want to edit this I think the 3rd spacer Kurt was talking about goes
behind the sprocket carrier where the cush
When my ST1100 was new to me it came with a after market windshield. I
affectionately called it the Kite because it was like having a huge kite
on the front of my bike in cross winds. I was riding on the north coast on
the island of Hawaii. It's an area known for strong winds - which I
As far as I can tell I'm not missing any spacers or anything on the rear wheel.
I'm going to jack the pressure up a little bit and see how that goes. It
started right towards the end of my commute today. It feels like there's a
hinge underneath my seat. There's zero play anywhere that I can
Alexander, please don't take this the wrong way, but how much street bike
experience do you have? Is this your first bike?
I ask this because all bikes will move around underneath you for various
reasons. Grooves in the road, wind, tire condition/tread/pressure, frame
weakness, suspension
Hawaii Sean, I don't want to hijack the thread, but my PC800 has the stock,
too darn low in my opinion, windshield on it. I rode the bike to work and
back this morning and it is fine at 55 on the back roads. At 75 on the
Interstate, I look at the mounting screw on the top of the dashboard
First bike, maybe 4000 miles. I never noticed anything like this before. I
understand an 80+ mph wobble/weave but something at 25 mph just seems wrong.
Maybe not and in just noticing it but I'm in Kansas City.
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I'll try that. I've been up to 70 on straight back road, side streets and it
definitely doesn't try to toss me off. I just checked my tire pressure. Front
was at 28 and rear at 32. I pumped them both up to 36 and went for a ride.
Everything honestly felt a lot better.
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If you're visibly weaving at 25 mph then you're either overthinking (and
unconsciously wobbling yourself, it happens) or something is very much out
of whack with your front or rear bearings, and if that were the case then
80mph would be trying to throw you off the bike.
Get someone more
I'm convinced fully faired bikes are more affected by cross winds, also
I've never heard anything good about Dunlop street tires. Other than using
Shinko when I need a cheap tire I run Bridgestone exclusively.
Allen Thomas
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Funny timing for this thread. I finally put tags on the PC800, so I'm
finding out what I bought. I find it wanders, or at least tilts back and
forth, at Interstate speeds, and it's kind of unsettling. At first I
wondered if it was highway grooves, but I just took the Magna down the same
I'm a Michelin man, myself. I have Pilot Activs on the VFR, and previously
had a set on the Nighthawk. The Dunlop tire was a short on cash, what's on
sale decision. Not doing that again.
Kurt
On Aug 18, 2015 8:33 AM, Allen Thomas althomas...@gmail.com wrote:
I'm convinced fully faired bikes are
This whole Wandering discussion is fascinating to me. I mean, I grew up
hearing stories from old men about when they first achieved great speed on
the highway and discovered this phenomenon. One such story included the
person telling the story concluding that all bikes will do this at high
Is everyone with the wondering bikes at speed (or low speed) checking their
tire pressures and adjusting to see if that makes a difference?
Sent from my iPad
On Aug 18, 2015, at 08:20, EGrider gevan...@gmail.com wrote:
Funny timing for this thread. I finally put tags on the PC800, so I'm
the shits of mine is it had now begun happening at low speed i.e 40 mph.
me thinks my leaking fork seals have leaked enough oil to make a
noticeable affect on the handling. I could be wrong but this wasnt
happening two days ago and thats really the only thing that has changed
On Sunday,
Try higher in the rear. Im saying just vary the pressures and see if it makes a
difference. But first try what is recommended on the tire.
On Aug 18, 2015, at 4:03 PM, Alexander Press wrote:
So I checked my front and rear pressure two days ago. Both are at 32. Would
you rec lower or higher
So I checked my front and rear pressure two days ago. Both are at 32. Would you
rec lower or higher psi?
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Yeah, three spacers for chain drive.
On Aug 18, 2015 11:28 AM, Alexander Press apress...@gmail.com wrote:
Kurt, you said I should have three spacers in the rear? Is that only on
the chain drive bikes? Because I definitely only have two that interact
with the axle any way. It's never wandered
Kurt, you said I should have three spacers in the rear? Is that only on the
chain drive bikes? Because I definitely only have two that interact with the
axle any way. It's never wandered before.
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What tires did you put on your big? I had a similar wondering experience
a few years ago. On recommendation from my mechanic I sent with a tire
that was supposed to be as good as a Battlax but less expensive. Made in
the same factory we've all heard similar stories. The tire was fine
I've got Dunlop D404s on Abigail at the moment.
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I think all tires wander a bit on grooved pavement, I've read that if they
have a line that goes around the circumference it makes it worse, and that
is why sport bike tires just have cross hatches.
Allen Thomas
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