Now that the bike has been on the road awhile, I want all the final bugs out of it.  Most importantly is the front end.  The bike was hit hard in the front, and basically had to be redone from the tank forward. The handlbars, front wheel and tire,  and triple clamp is all that was reused.

It seems to go down the road fine, besides the handlbars being slighty crooked. Basically pointing about a 1/4 inch to the right if the wheel is perfectly straight.  If I take a hand off the bars, it begins to wobble a bit, with both hands barely resting on the bars, there is a slight wobble, which turns pretty nasty as you go over a bump.  Not a huge issue, as I rarely would let go, but Im worried if I hit a very large bump it could get out of hand quick.

My Thoughts.... Front tire may not be balanced... rim looks straight though. I DO NOT HAVE the bar ends on, I know that will cause vibration, but wobbling?  Also, with things being slightly crooked, could that just be causing the tire to track funny? But if it was tracking funny, I would think it would be wobbly all the time.

OR... is this just a GS thing? This is my 7th bike and the first one I have noticed it on.

Bent axle maybe? 

Quote from: 02GS5 on May 18, 2008, 02:20:08 AM

1) It seems to go down the road fine, besides the handlbars being slighty crooked.
2) If I take a hand off the bars, it begins to wobble a bit, with both hands barely resting on the bars, there is a slight wobble, which turns pretty nasty as you go over a bump.  Not a huge issue, as I rarely would let go, but Im worried if I hit a very large bump it could get out of hand quick.

My Thoughts.... Front tire may not be balanced... rim looks straight though.

3) I DO NOT HAVE the bar ends on, I know that will cause vibration, but wobbling?  Also, with things being slightly crooked,

4) could that just be causing the tire to track funny? But if it was tracking funny, I would think it would be wobbly all the time.

5) OR... is this just a GS thing? This is my 7th bike and the first one I have noticed it on.

1 - a little crooked is prolly the triples needing a loosen up. loosen em, wiggle stuff, tighten again. maybe they're still a little tweaked. dont ride with it loose

2 - tire balanced ? rim bent ? bent axle ? worse over a bump ? that makes me think something is gone (bearings?) or going soon (headstock bearings ? aka steering tube)

3 - vibration from not having bar ends = numb hands, not hands wobbling around with the bars

4 - if something like a bearing is going/gone it can seem fine till you change the DIRECTION of the load, then it goes to hell

5 - nope. my gs tracks straight, doesn't buzz (lead in the handlebars), and doesn't normally crunch, hop, wobble, or wiggle over bumps. this is a sign something is wrong.



I'd start with pulling the wheel, looking at bearings, axle, fork sliders, triples, head tube welds, bearings, etc.

Possible bad balanced wheel i know that will be mentioned.....but i dont think i saw anybody mention bad neck bearings.. this could cause your problem also

My friend has a GS that has neck bearings that are shot.
It seems to be very tight and if you even move the adjusting nut a shade, it is very very loose.
That is the symptom IMHO of a neck bearing set that is on its last legs.
Cool.
Buddha.

The bike only has 4300 miles on it, but sat for several years in a garage... Is it still possible that the neck bearinga are bad? Are they hard to replace?

Maybe ... is it sorta notchy and grainy feeling ? I know of another one that sat - but in the open - however I have split junkyard bikes that have layed on their side outside for years and years, only to find a perfect set of neck bearings. They are very well insulated from the elements because the dust seals suzuki designed are really really good ... but anyway, it can go bad from sitting, it can also go bad from being adjusted too tight or too loose ... even a short time can kill it.
Replacing it is 1/2 way between a nightmare and a PITA.
Remove the FE (ironically you can just take off most things and let them sit there by virtue of ... like that wont go anywhere if you're gentle).
K Its like this - support the thing on the centerstand and a crate under the engine cradle. Then take off front wheel, unbolt the guage cluster and let it sit there, remove the handle bar and sit it on the tank, then remove the top triples, then the steering neck nut, then the FE should drop out. Remove the lower triple from the legs and knock its lower bearing out, and knock outer races out from the frame, press in the new outers, and install new lower bearing and you can re assemble. Yea nothing to it ...  ... OK screw that sheite ... I am doing this on a this dude's bike in a week or so ... I'll get pics.
Cool.
Buddha.

It is not notchy or grainy at all...  know what a bad bearing would feel like and that doesnt seem to be the case. Maybe it is adjusted wrong. Whats the procedure for that as I just took a ratchet to it on re-assembly and torqued it down till I couldnt anymore. 

All above comments sound fair for problem solving and here is another.

Tire damage that you can't see?  I am assuming the stick on weights are not there anymore (wheel balance).

A hard impact can damage the internal of the tire although the outside looks fine.  Only my opinion but after a bad front ender I would play it safe and replace the front tire no matter how good it looks.

Treat it the same as a helmet impact.  The helmet "May" look good on the outside with only a few scatches but the inside foam compound will be compressed rendering the helmet unsafe.

Good idea. I am saving up for tires anyway... Back is bald. I think I will do the roadriders, and get them balanced. But yes, you are correct the front wheel is missing the weights, and it was a hard front end hit, so both ideas sound logical.