HELP! Squirrely - Fixed - Bouncy

[davidsuserid]

Ok, here is my story, bear with me cause I tend to go into more detail than needed.

The last couple of weeks the bike had been feeling a little squirrely. When I would come out of a left hand turn, the bike would correct itself beyond what I was doing and it would almost feel like it was going to push me back over to the right. Also, at start-up the front end seemed to twitch a little too much, at least, more than it used to. I talked to some people I know and they mentioned the front tire and/or the bearings. I really needed a new front tire anyway, so i bought the tire, tube, and bearings and had a local shop mount and balance the tire and tube, i put in the bearings myself.

Now the squirrely-ness is gone, but the front end bounces like a low-rider. I remember on the old tire i could look down on either side and i could see the tire wobbling. But now, when i look down on the left side, it looks straight as an arrow, but when i look at the right side, it wobbles worse than before.

When the shop balanced the wheel & tire they put sticky weights on the wheel, on the right side.

My first inclination is that they messed up the balancing and if i just take off the weights it will all be ok, but i don't want to take them off and it be worse, then have to go back and ask them to redo it.

My next guess is the wheel, maybe it is not true anymore. Maybe the old tire had just adapted itself to the out-of-roundness of the wheel, and the new tire is making it more prevalent.

My final guess is the forks, maybe the oil needs to be changed ( i don't know much about the forks, is that all that needs to be done to "refurb" the forks?)

I will mention that just rolling the bike, you don't see any out-of-roundness on either side. When i get between 25 and 40 the bouncing is almost scary ridiculous, but once i get past 40 or 45, the bouncing becomes manageable, although still recognizable.

Any other guesses from you guys? Anything you could mention to try i will try, as long as it doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I think i am going to convince myself to buy a new wheel, but i would like to maybe try some other stuff first to see if i don't have to do that. Thanks in advance.

[jonathan180iq]

If you are seeing wheel wobble like an old bicycle, then you are describing the wheels being out of true.
I agree. It sounds like it needs to be re-balanced and trued. I don't know how to true wheels. As for balancing, I would take it back to the place that installed the tires and ask them to balance it again. They shouldn't charge you anything for it, since they messed it up to begin with. They can probably true the wheel too.

To test the forks, just hold the brake and push them up and down. Unless they stick somewhere in their travel or you see some oil leaking from somewhere, they are probably fine. These are simple forks and likely will never need to be replaced.

[Sarris]

Have you checked for a flat spot in the tire or a tread separation? Also, have any weights been flung off?. I'd suggest getting the wheel off the ground and check to see if you can visually see any run-out or wobble in the rim. If so, you need to have the rim trued (spokes tightened and/or loosened). If thats not the problem, you may a bad balance job, bent rim, or a bad tire. More than likely it's not the forks. If it happened all of a sudden, you probably flung off some weights.

I'd suggest have the Suzuki dealer check it out to be sure.

Good luck.

[davidsuserid]

I don't really notice the wheel wobbling, I try not to look at the wheel too long while going 45 mph, but i do see the tire wobbling. Like i said, at low speed, just rolling the bike you don't really notice anything. I used to do work on bicycles, so i know how to true the wheels, but i don't have right equipment for it. I think i can probably make something up with a big c-clamp to at least see if it is out-of-balance though. I will try that when i get home, and if i don't notice anything, i will take the wheel and tire back in tomorrow.

[davidsuserid]

Oh yeah, no weights flung off, that i know off. And it wasn't really all of the sudden. I put the new tire/tube on the wheel and when i put it all back on the back, it was immediate. I think i will take the weights off today before i head home and see if that helps, if not, or if it gets worse, i will take the whole wheel off and take it back tomorrow.

[Sarris]

Sounds like you may have an out of round (defective) tire.

:cuss:

[davidsuserid]

I hope not. But i took it to the shop at lunch and told them my ordeal and they caught something i didn't even think about. They replaced the tire and balanced the wheel on what MAY have been the original faulty bearing. I didn't replace the bearing until after i got it all back from the shop. So they looked at it, said it was out of balance now, whether that is all, we'll have to see when i pick it up after work. They also checked the new bearings and said everything looked good with them, they were seated correctly. So hopefully i don't have an out-of-round tire and it was just that little balancing hickup. I will let you all know when i get home tonight how the ride went. [cross your fingers]

[davtnn]

Might want to have the shop chec the spokes ....

[davidsuserid]

I was sick yesterday so i wasn't on the computer much. But i got it back from the shop tuesday afternoon and they said it was about an ounce off on the balance machine. I don't know how much that is in terms of balancing, but they took ALL the weights off the right side, so now there are none. It does ride much better now, so i am not too worried about it. Thanks for all the input guys!