5 Things That Will Ruin Your Motorcycle’s Handling | The Shop Manual
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Want to keep your motorcycle handling its best? Then look out for these five issues that creep in over time and can really screw up the way a bike steers and follows the road.
Read Ari’s Article if you want a deep dive into motorcycle suspension! rvz.la/3DdxQvO - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
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Want to learn more about optimizing your bike’s handling? Start with some suspension basics! rvz.la/3d5ZH6f
Hey Ari when I let go of the handle at 60 kmph then the bike goes to left slightly previously it used to go straight what could this be
Great info! I see a lot of people mentioning alignment in the comments. Maybe you can address that in a future Shop Manual?
@@anshu0809 front tire is most likely culprit. Also, is this on crowned road? Regular riding on well-crowned roads will wear your tires unevenly. Excess wear on the left for right-hand countries, and on the right for left-hand countries.
Another tire wear issue: uneven turns. Not joking. We're creatures of habit, and we favor turning in certain directions, or we have a favorite speed run with more turns in certain directions. Can add up over time to uneven wear.
Third tire issue: cupping or bulging tread. Cupping is normal, but can be more noticeable in an unbalanced tire. Bulging is a far rarer, but very dangerous condition that can result in steering input from the ground up, and risk of blow outs. This is more common on some brands/models of tires, especially after running hot or a curb or pothole strike.
Next most likely: rear wheel alignment changed on your last chain tensioning. Even a millimeter or two can lead to rear tire steering. Easy fix.
Dozens of other possible issues, but the list above should hit 90% or better odds of a solution. Presumes of course that the bike hasn't been in an accident or dropped hard.
Honorable mention: rear wheel alignment.
Spent waaay too much time realigning the rear after dropping the wrench adjusting the chain. May have been overkill, but it better not be wrong
I swear!! I wonder how did Ari miss on this one. I have almost crashed once due to poor rear wheel alignment.
Heh, especially when he had to ride that bike with the completely twisted alignment on ctxp.
Well, it will still hand really well in one direction at least lol. I wonder if they intentionally misalign the rear tire on flat track bikes kind of like oval cars?
@@forrest225 racers will do ANYTHING for an advantage!
0:14, "Most motorcycles start off handling well". Harley Davidson would like a word with you.
"character" ;)
@@Croth4r Weird. My 20 year old FZ1 doesn't have this sort of "character" ;)
@@Croth4r takes a REAL MAN to ride a stallion. 🤣
"cuz this V twin chunk of iron has a lat mo character and soul than those imports."
@@joeyg29jgjg Also to not know good from bad so he buys bad handling and never knows it.
Honda VFR 750/800 the insurance company hired for me for a week after someone damaged my bike. It wouldn't turn properly. I tried to go around the roundabout and as I was leaning and turning the bike wasn't turning enough for the amount that I was leaning and turning. The bike was trying to go wide in the corner, to take less of a turning action than I needed. It was dangerous.
I rode the bike straight home.
Checked the tire pressures, and then I started to check the suspension settings and I set them according to the manual.
I went for another ride and the bike felt perfect.
Another time a "suspension expert" at Silverstone race track set my Fireblade up to handle better. At the end of hangar Street I was taking the right hand there at about 70 miles an hour and accelerating hard through the right hander when the rear tire broke traction and then gripped again and the bike went to high side and throw me over the bike but luckily I only went half off the bike and landed back down with the bike still going okay!
The guy I had been riding with, he rode alongside and shook his head and was laughing I shook mine back!
Suspension Expert? Mmm.
The bike had always been predictable before this but that time I didn't feel the rear start to slip before it had slipped.
Hope this helps someone or entertains, or both :-)
Ari Henning is the absolute best motorcycle content creator. Nothing makes me watch a video more than him doing it.
#1 worn tires
#2 stearing-head bearings
#3 loose throttle handle
#4 worn chain
#5 worn suspension
Thanks for saving 7 minutes of my life
@@normand30 You would have had to watch the video to know that was the 5 things mentioned. So did he really save 7 minutes of life if so how?
I rode on leaky forks for a couple months and then swapped springs and valves for racetech when replacing the seals…it actually felt like a different motorcycle. Suspension is overlooked way too often!
The first time I got on the freeway on my first bike the front end shook horribly. It was scary but I just thought "eh I didn't fall over so it must be fine". I rode like that for 3 months before I was reading an article that mentioned tire pressure, I checked and it was at 8 psi. Ah to be young and dumb.
I was about to purchase a bike. Never rode that model before. On the test ride i noticed it wanna throw me off even in the smallest turns. Thought at that moment it can not be that sceved up geometry... Took me a few minutes to realize that it had a front puncture. I could push in the tire with 1 finger, barely had any air. Flintstoned it back to the owner, lucky i didnt crash it...
I had a gsr600 and would make a horrible noise at the front, especially when going over bumps, 3 months later I checked and had a massive crack across the bottom of the fork leg
I told my friend to get all these things fixed, but he refused to do so. I then bought the bike from him cheap, got it fixed and let him ride it and boy did he notice haha. One risk of the head bearing and oil-less shock is that it can increase the risk of head shake/death wobble at speed
All good points ! I'm always amazed at the amount of time and money people will put into engines for more power before suspension / handling upgrades .
Rather buy good suspension than a engine upgrade👍
I've seen this way too many times. I just rebuilt my suspension, did some upgrades so it matches my weight better. Feels so much better, I'd even go so far too say it makes me look like a better rider then I am simply because I'm on better equipment.
Or even before just basic maintenance...
Gotta turbo the Busa ... ;-)
Same with cars….used to autocross Miata’s and too many were about more power and bigger brakes instead of setting up suspension, better brake pads (not bigger rotors) and working on the self: what is the driver/rider doing? That’ll make the most difference first.
If Ari tells me something about motorcycles, I accept it as true
Regarding the headset bearings, that's "brinelling" or "indexing" in common parlance.
2:32 I love that you guys took the mirrors off the Versys seemingly so that Ari could lean casually against the handlebars, haha
1)Tires
2)Steering head bearings
3)Throttle play
4)Drivetrain - Chain
5)Suspension
I will always be suprised by the level of quality of theses productions. Not only the information is useful but is presented in a clear, concise way with pristine editing and cinematography. Amazing content.
On the subject of chain tension, a lot of people actually run their chains too tight which will effect the action of the rear suspension in a pretty negative way.
All basic maintenance, tire pressures. Brakes, suspension. All of upmost importance.
Great video as always! Your mention of getting used to the wear or deteriorating performance is very accurate. Happening slow makes it hard to notice for sure. I should probably change my front tire on my KLR lol.
Is it bad if I can feel the knobs on my shinko flexing and ripping...
While the front end is up grab the fork legs from the front push and pull looking for play in stearing head bearings and while you're at it from the side grab the top and bottom of the wheel look for wheel bearing play, don't forget to check the rear too
Also to add, handlbar alignment and wheel alignment and wheel balance.
i score almost full marks on these !
Ari seriously is an absolute legend in the motorcycling community.
Also check your clutch lever free play. If the locking nut comes loose, then the clutch lever may become very floppy, and that can make gear changes rough because the clutch doesn't disengage fully, and it can also cause stalling. I know that from experience because it happened to me.
I really appreciate the shop manual videos. Please keep them coming 👍👍
Great stuff, thanks Ari!
Amazing production Shop Manual team! The graphics and b-roll was sick. For such a small studio to work in, seeing new perspectives and angles episode after episode is so cool.
As always, so informative. Cheers Ari!
Always top videos and easy going explanations! 👍👏
I bought my zx-6r off some guy who had a very interesting suspension set up to say the least lol. He also ran the tires at weird psis lol. front tire was scalped and everytime I hit a bump it felt like I was going to be bucked off. Set everything to stock and my God it road like a dream.
Head bearings can make the bike handle really weird at slow speeds around town. It was night and day difference replacing these on my new-to-me Transalp and first ever adv bike. Started feeling like a brand new bike. Before that, very slow traffic filtering was tough, as even the tiniest input at this speed carried some inertia into a progressively more actual steering than I wanted.
Another good one!
Thanks a lot, keep on with the great work.
Cheers from New Zealand and Kia Kaha!
Excellent video, Ari. Thanks a million. I've had that exact problem with a front tire.
Ive started putting new tires on every bike I buy, its amazing how much better a bike feels with good tires
Great idea!
Excellent info. Thank you!
Great video, Ari!!!😎
Top quality stuff as always!
Great points that I'll remember if my ride gets funky. Always a fantastic education video from this guy for years.
One of the best on YT, thank you.
One thing to note; manufacturers do introduce slack on throttle cables for safety. One of my GSXRs had zero slack and came back from service with it. When queried I was told Suzuki set specs they have to abide by. Bit of reading later and seems many do this. Thankfully as Ari showed it’s easy to dial out
Several years ago, I had my 1994 HD Heritage Softail Classic in the shop for routine maintenance. While in for service the repair technician indicated that my bike needed the head bearing slack adjusted. They performed this maintenance, and I was blown away at how it affected my steering! It was a very nice improvement, but it took me a couple of days to adjust to it. The steering became very "touchy" needing very little input from the driver. I would recommend getting this checked at every service. Great video Ari!!!!
So now on the once a week 10 mile trip to the barroom it rides smooth.
@@mike-uh8rk Pretty much.
Adjusting head bearings is something that all riders should be able to do themselves.
@@johndavidwolf4239 I agree. However, as a Disabled American Veteran (100%), this is not always possible.
Ridiculous, that's like saying all home owners should be able to sheet rock a ceiling properly. There are carpenters and mechanics. Many of those don't know how to ride a motorcycle
Knew all these, but all great stuff! Highly recommend paying close attention to all these!
Excellent points, and all too easy to get complacent about as they creep up on you gradually.
Thank you I'm downloading this video
Nice to see Ari back
Sage advice👍nothing like regular maintenance, especially to show subtle changes
Excellent advice👏
Love the Versys. So comfy and fun.
That is pretty spot on !
Thanks, Ari
Great video. Thanks! 😀
Looking Forward to Zachs Review On New/Updated V-Strom1000, & Gas to Drop To $225.
Another great video as usual from Ari. Good information for any rider.
Anyone else notice that Ari is getting some seriously ripped arms. Must have upped the workout game.
the rear shock on my tuono 660 sprung a leak. i thought it was motor oil at first, but i was bringing it to the dealer because i couldn't figure out where it was coming from. on the way, it became abundantly clear because i lost all damping in the rear. i've heard stories about people not noticing, and that's... insane. almost unbelievable. that was the most dangerous ride of my life, because... i'm me and i couldn't bring myself to go slow. ;)
Biggest changes i feel is tightening the chain after a 2 week tour. Also i started changing tyres myself every year. Instead of riding 5 year old odd shaped touring tyres makes riding bad and cost a fortune from tyreshop + mounting. Such a big difference riding on fresh new rubber. Its like riding a new bike from the shop. Pirelli always have huge discounts in EU on the Diablo Rosso 2,3,4 and they are half price of a premium touring tyre.
Wow thank you so very much. No one ever told me this stuff. Ari you present it in such a clear and helpful way and the video editing is top notch. Love your stuff. And again thank you 😊
You're welcome Joel, glad you found the video helpful.
I recently had the tires replaced on my 06 FJR. What a difference that made. Definitely worth the $$$ for the Michelin road 5. I picked up a cotter pin in the rear tire and the front tire had “cupping”. It rides a lot better now. A few years ago I replaced the head bearings and rear shock (previous owner had the front shock done).
When replacing fork fluid, I like to follow DMT’s dump and run method; on a new to me bike, I did just that; measure how much came out, then put in the same. I should have but forgot to check air gap though, after a few weeks of riding I tool the legs out to check, and found that both legs had exactly 80mm too much air in them. Topped them up, huge improvement.
Thank you, Ari.
Thanks Ari. I definitely think I blew a fork seal on my most recent cross country trip. Near the end of riding season in Indiana. I'm on it.
Thanks. Something to consider.....
Good points. Especially front tire wear. The changing profile can really mess with the steering feel. Of course a squared off rear tire doesn't help either - I don't know how people can go Darkside and then say that it feels fine with a straight face.
@Potassium Syndicate for the ones I'm familiar with it's usually more of a tire life issue - car tires return much longer life than typical motorcycle tires. Still a bad idea IMO.
@Potassium Syndicate Oh, I agree, but these guys insist car tires are great. They mostly run them on touring and sport touring bikes, and even adventure bikes, for long distance riding. Long lasting and grippy, they say. Never mind that they handle like shit (which they also deny). I think they think it's a conspiracy by the tire companies to sell us more tires. Personally I'll keep ponying up for quality motorcycle tires.
Flat rear never bothered me, but the V shaped front tyre is totally different matter.
Can we get an honourable mention for the extended swingarms you American folk seem to love? 👍🏻
Lol…those folks drive in straight lines with squared-off rear tires…”handling” means being able to keep the front tire down.
Tires wheel alignment all bearings steering and swingarm. Also bags especially high mounted bads like tank and tail bags, raises center of gravity.
Honourable mentions to: wheel and chain alignment, rear suspension linkage, and if you have a carby bike fueling
thanks for the tips. you could add to your list proper suspension settings and also weight distribution that can result from travelling 2 up or additional luggage amd/or accessories.
Alao certain windshields anchored to the steering group can change the Dynamics.
wheel bearings and alignment of wheels too.
thanks for the tips
I used Michelin Pilot Roads for years on my 2005 FJR1300 partly because of threads. Looking around for something cheaper, I got a set of Conti Motions. The handling is so much better I am amazed and also annoyed that I didn't try something else before.
Thanks for the reminder. I might need a new front tyre soon.
This video is far more important than 99% of MC videos out there
Also basic setup will have an effect too, such as raisimg or owering your forks in the triple clamps and where your rear axle is located in its adjustment slots.
Baisic stuff for dirt bikes..
Question: I know this asks for an obvious answer, but I just want to know what do you think of motorcycle lowering kits? I mean, I already know that it greatly affects the bike's handling. But most of mid range big bikes are usually "too tall" for us asian riders and thus a lot of local mechanics recommending lowering kits as an option. But other experienced riders say it's not as ideal as it sounds and that it might cause more danger than rider benefits.Thoughts? I hope I get genuine opinions since my height is kind of discouraging me from riding big bikes. Thanks!
New Tyres are risky until you get that slippery wax off them. I dropped a new bike pulling out of a low speed T junction. The rear spun up like the road was slippy. I went home and got a green plastic type kitchen scourer and scrubbed the wax off the tyres.
Took a few minutes on each tyre.
Oh that's cool to know about, since my bike have all more than 15years😅
One of the front firk suspension seals were full of dust and were leaking on the front brake👍💪
I rode Anakee II on that same bike and they had about 16000km when i thought about how old they where...
Turns out, i adapted to well, so that the new metzler tourance next, i have now, are really strange and turn to easy to me... but i have also to ask my garage if they put the tubeless tyres on tubes or not...😬
When i did my steering head bearings on my bike the difference in riding was insane.
I have had an FZ10/MT10 for a couple of years, just had the steering head bearing replace because it was shot! Rusted and feel apart when being removed. Suspension was leaking at the front (had just started) and the rear was pretty much seized. I’d already changed the tyres. Oh and the brake all needed replacing BAD. I nearly sold it and bought an Tuono (what a bike) but I did and got these basic things sorted! And oh wow! It cost the better part of a thousand bucks, but it save me me dropping thousands on a new bike. Moral of the story, make sure all your stuff is checked/changed before you blame/change your bike.
Thanks
More great info!
A word of warning; NEVER over tighten your chain. The owners' manual will give you the minimum slack for your chain, so don't be tempted to tighten it a little bit more "just for luck".
Having an over-tight chain will significantly increase chain wear, but the worst thing about it is that it can actually destroy your engine. This is because an over-tight chain then puts extra pressure on the gearbox components and that can. feed all the way back to other parts of the engine, and that really can destroy it.
Don't do it.
The engine will be fine, but it will wear the gearbox.
@@XtreeM_FaiL if i was an engineer here, i would rather engineer the output gear shaft, the one with front sprocket, to break off first if there was too much tightening in the chain link. That way the expensive gearbox system can be spared and the output shaft is, relatively speaking, cheaper than entire engine system if needed to be replaced
Yes, if you err either way on chain tension, make sure it's on the loose side.
@@calvinnyala9580that output shaft carries all the torque from the engine, it needs to be strong, not weak
@@countryjoe3551you are given a range so don't err at all
Versys 650 again the gorgeous model stealing the show 🤩
Great video! And so often overlooked issues, especially with new riders who don't know what it should feel like in the first place. Important to maintain all of these areas, they will cause a crash if you ignore them.
That's because most new riders buy second hand bikes for fear of dumping a new bike (as if it will ruin them financially for the rest of their life 🙄).
However, when you buy a new bike, you can definitely learn what good handling feels like and can notice changes for the worse. Not to mention having confidence in structural and mechanical integrity, warranty, etc.
I bought a new Versys 650 and when it was time to commute with it ~200 miles (one way) to work in a neighboring country every 2 weeks, I had peace of mind that it will not leave me stranded on the motorway in the middle of the night. That, regular service intervals and changing the chain & sprockets every 12000-13000 miles, made these 5+ years of ownership a trouble-free experience. Penny pinching on cheap stuff on a motorcycle can only lead to more serious & expensive problems down the road.
As a side note, I also use Motul 300V in it because 2-3 liters of premium engine oil once a year is the least I can do to keep the engine happy. I mean, for such a measly cost - why risk it with anything less?
Race Tyre on the road. I got a puncture at the end of a track day day just as I was leaving the circuit. Another guy give me his worn front tyre to replace mine. The profile at the front was completely different to a road tile, much sharper point in the centre. This made the bike want to lean over every time I entered the corner. It was so corner happy!
degrading shock and fork oil making necessary to adjust rebound should get a mention too :)
I spent +$200 on a Kershaw knife about ten years ago. 8 years later the "thumb stud" broke and so I called Kershaw to see if they could help me out. They were rude, dismissive and I had to practically pull the words out of the guys mouth. In a nutshell, they didn't even give me a suggestion as to how to fix this problem. All the dude said was "You might as well get a new knife, your knife is out of production". So I got to work and made my own thumb stud, no thanks to Kershaw. I used to be a big fan, not anymore. At $200 a knife, I expect you to have extra parts for said knives until my great grandchildren die. McMaster-Carr to the rescue, now that's a real company.
Solid video.
Ari- I think you could probably go on a comedy club tour for gearheads with this topic! You've seen lots of real life material.
1. Tyre wear
2. Steering head bearings
3. Throttle slack
4. Chain/sprocket wear, loose & dirty
5. Suspension
6:02 Just a thought, I bought a 4K mile 8 year old bike that had a slight film of fork seal fluid on the dampers for the first few rides, but after that they were dry as a bone, and I watched it religiously so I know. There is nuances to things.
I mess with my handlebars all the time, and the last time I did it I completely forget to set the slack before I went off to ride. I was shocked at how jerky the bike was with too much throttle slack.
just changing out old fork oil even 5 years old makes a big difference in handling...most people never bother to change it. It's well worth it to me though.
Spoked wheel truing and rear wheel / chain alignment.
Forgot to mention, worn out front/rear axle bearing also play a big role on how bikes handle. Got my mates that issues, where his bike front wheel steer left/right whenever he brake hard enough. It turns out his front axle bearing severly damaged due to intensity on pavement he rode daily. And I also got my problem with my rear axle bearing, lucky I found it out when I adjust my chain. My rear wheel wiggle/play just a little every time I tightened the lug. And on the same day my bearing poped off, lucky enough I were able to ride it to the nearest shop to get it replaced. Not amazed that happened to me, because I add rear rack and top box that are probably bit heavy for my bike.
I have a 2020 zx10r and I’m sure there is more slack in my throttle then should be. I’ll have to find that other video. 👍🏾
Good gouge as usual. In addition to suspension seal leakage, it's also worth mentioning the age of the oil. After 17 years of riding, I swear I'm the only one who actually replaces suspension oil on a somewhat regular basis.
Every 2 years for all of my bikes, just like Dave Moss taught me 😁
AND : rear wheel alignment
Question regarding the throttle slop. I picked up a Kawi Z400 last month as my first bike, and while I know that I need to adjust the throttle, I noticed that there seems to be two points where there is play. There is an initial lose bit of slop where it's obvious that the throttle cable is just completely free, then there is a couple mm of free play after that before it feels like the cables are moving. It almost feels like there is a spring before it starts to open the throttle, and then there is slop beyond the full extension of that spring.
I'm not sure whether I should just take up the lose free play, or if I should tighten it up past that, closer to where it's actually opening the throttle.
My last new bike, a 2018 Z900RS, had some absolute moron at the dealership do the suspension setup. A couple of hours of adjusting it with the help of a bro turned it from a good bike into a dream.
That same idiot tech also set up the chain and clutch and throttle cables with zero slack.
Roller bearing head-sets, new chain and sprockets (along with a gearing change) new fork seals, shimmed fork bearings and fresh fork oil. Sounds like what I used to do with every new-to-me motorcycle. Ah yes and align the rear wheel with the front wheel too. Made a big difference.
I too love to change spockets willy nilly. Fuck honda what do they know
@@user-co6ww2cm9k Given the new-to-me deal I can't blame Honda for the gear-set I was looking at. I prefer the biggest front sprocket that will fit and work from there for better mileage / cruising range.
Not to do with wear and tear or improper adjustment of parts on the bike itself but adding phone mounts has been known to sometimes induce a slight wobble at freeway speeds.
Whenever I've seen posts on facebook bike pages about random high speed wobbles, most of the time, it started after installing a phone mount.
Fork mounted bikini fairings are notorious for this as well.
I have been riding around with leaking forks for months now. Although my theory is that my crash actually twisted my Fork, causing the leak.
To be clear: yes, my Fork IS twisted/(bent?) and I have been driving around with it for months now. Ofc the twisted fork (which I parly twisted back by now) does affect the handling by a lot, but since that bike is only used to get from A to B, it doesn't really matter that much.
1. Rider
2. Rider
3. Rider
4. Tires
5. Suspension
Wrong. Rider doesn't affect the handling of a bike. Rider is affected BY the handling of a bike. And if you're referring to maintenance for your first 3 points, then you still need to know how to maintain the bike, which is the purpose of this video and other sources of info.
Vibration on handlebar.: Check fork/handlebar bolts torque specs.