Suspension help please

[Tim Horton]

Hi, I have a big old bus (CBR1000F); I have been trying to sort the suspnsion out but still have a problem with the front wheel feeling like it is going to wash out from under me.

Can anyone assist with what might be causing this?

Thanks
TH

[y2blade]

it is a big old bus and the front will wash out on you if you push it to hard


hth




check pressure and condition of front tire, look for odd wear pattern

[hornetrider]

How old is the bike? You might want to have the forks looked at by a suspension specialist - new seals/oil/springs etc

[Tim Horton]

Thanks y2blade! The tyre pressures are okay and as far as I can tell there is nothing wrong with the tyres or wear.

It is a 1999 model with 21K on the clock. It has never had the fork oil changed as far as I know......

Cheers

[y2blade]

Tim Horton said:

Thanks y2blade! The tyre pressures are okay and as far as I can tell there is nothing wrong with the tyres or wear.

It is a 1999 model with 21K on the clock. It has never had the fork oil changed as far as I know......

Cheers

i'd drop the old oil out then put fresh oil in them then or even better still drop the forks out and get them serviced somewhere

let us know how you get on

[castrolcraig]

i take it by cbr1000f you mean the big old tourer thing thats know discontinued, if it is then it will have an early version of honda's combined braking system, in that casse just check the pivot on the front arm as they do clog up if not serviced or cleaned regularly, causing symptoms you mentioned....

[slim_boy_fat]

I dont think there is much adjustability in the front end of the CBR1000F.

Does it have PReload/compression/rebound adjustment.

Probably could do with a re build, make sure the front wheel bearings are ok.

May be a change of tyre to something like Pilot power 2CT

[y2blade]

castrolcraig said:

i take it by cbr1000f you mean the big old tourer thing thats know discontinued, if it is then it will have an early version of honda's combined braking system, in that casse just check the pivot on the front arm as they do clog up if not serviced or cleaned regularly, causing symptoms you mentioned....

you're not just a pretty face craig

[castrolcraig]

y2blade said:

castrolcraig said:

i take it by cbr1000f you mean the big old tourer thing thats know discontinued, if it is then it will have an early version of honda's combined braking system, in that casse just check the pivot on the front arm as they do clog up if not serviced or cleaned regularly, causing symptoms you mentioned....

you're not just a pretty face craig

why thank you, expect some nice photos tommorrow night, another perk of the job............

[Rubin215]

Make sure both tyres are reasonably recent (less than 3 years old preferably) so they are still soft and grippy; tyres go "off" with age and the rubber starts to harden.
Make sure they are a matching pair (both from the same manufacturer and meant to be on the same bike together) and make sure they are a recommended fitment for the bike (Mr Honda knows much better than "Joe Spanners" at your local National Tyres).
Check the owners manual or local Honda dealer for correct sizes and pressures (too wide at the rear can make the front feel very weird due to the different curvature of the tyre).
Treadwear; don't wait for the legal limit. A big old bus like that will wear the rear in the middle of the tyre and square off horribly if you do lots of dual carriageway/motorway miles, and the front will get scalloped and end up with a triangular profile anyway. Most punctures happen in the last 10% of tyre wear so you're probably better changing them around the 2mm mark at the very least!

One other thing from a riding point of view is to be positive with the throttle while cornering; bikes naturally want to slow down when you lean them over, so if you have the throttle closed it will feel like the bike is trying to fall over the front tyre. Keep just enough throttle that your speed stays more or less the same until you have enough vision through the bend to start accelerating again.
If the problem is tight maneouvres like mini-roundabouts use a bit of counter-lean by keeping your body more upright and actually pushing the bike away from you and down into the turn; this you can practise in an empty car park by doing slow control figure eights while you climb from one side of the bike to the other. Once saw a copper practising this on a Pan-european and he was scraping bits of the bike off the tarmac he was leaning it so much; all at less than 10 mph!

[catso]

Tim Horton said:

It is a 1999 model with 21K on the clock. It has never had the fork oil changed as far as I know......

Well then at the very least the forks need servicing, they also may need springing/valving for your weight/riding style etc.

Unless you're a suspension expert (doubtful given the initial question & above statetment) then get them to somewhere that knows, I recommend; http://www.k-tech.uk.com/

[Tim Horton]

Thanks everyone. I will work through the suggestions and if necessary get the bike to a specialist for a fork rebuild. The tyres are recent (pilot road 2s).

Thanks for all your help
TH

[Chilli]

Tim Horton said:

Thanks everyone. I will work through the suggestions and if necessary get the bike to a specialist for a fork rebuild. The tyres are recent (pilot road 2s).

Thanks for all your help
TH

Tim,

If you're anywhere near Stowmarket, I can recommend an excellent suspension specialist.

[Busamav]

Stowmarket , home to probably the best suspension gurus out there

[daytona600]

Just seen this - definitely get your suspension sorted. 9 year old fork oil will be like water.

Best money I ever spent was getting my bike set up for me...