| Author | Message | ||
     Cygnus_x1 |
Driving the Uly down the freeway the other night, it was a wobblin'! Around 80-85 it was bad, then if I speed up, or slow down it would go away. Hate to nag, but hopefully the higher powers will take note for future models! I still love the bike and no regrets getting it! | ||
| Cygnus_x1 |
Oh yeah, I got the tires up to 36 and 38psi (they had been around 25 with no real noticeable wobbling) checked with 2 different gauges? | ||
| Lowflyer |
Cyg, I don't think it's "normal" for the Uly to wobble. Mine is rock solid at those speeds. Have you tried to troubleshoot it yet? | ||
| Javadog |
Yeah, mine has shaking, swimming, vibrating and wobbling. I am very tense riding at highway speeds, especially over rain grooves as the bike feels like it is going to fall over. If there is wind it feels so unstable I am unable to ride at safe speeds. I had another experienced rider take my Ulysses out and she said I should get rid of it ASAP before the damn thing causes an accident. I am going to change front tires, recheck the inflation pressures, recheck the suspension settings and probably buy another windshield(my third) before I get really depressed and sell it. Please, no jokes about taking it off my hands for nothing. I have never had this much trouble with any vehicle before. Oh, and now I have the dreaded glowing red spot on the dash(check engine light). As much as I don't want to do this it will probably have to go back to the dealer to have the light turned off. | ||
| Lowflyer |
Java, Wow, sorry to hear about that. My experience has been the exact opposite. My only complaint so far is the rusty muffler. | ||
| Rkc00 |
My dealer is replacing my rusty muffler. Mike Long Island, NY 06 XB12X Black of course | ||
| Bosh |
javadog, Man that SUCKS! Shouldn't all that stuff be covered under warranty? I'd take that sucker back to the dealer in a flash. Make them sort it out. | ||
| Charlieboy6649 |
Yes, make the dealer sort it out till it's solid, cuz I've rarely heard of your conditions... | ||
| Javadog |
As soon as I get a day off and can borrow a trailer I'll take it back. I also want to try some bar end weights and find someone who is good at setting up suspension settings. I have a low mileage Dunlop Sportmax front tire in my storage unit that I will pick up this weekend. | ||
| Lowflyer |
Java, if it doesn't ride right with the stock tires and the suspension set per the Owner's Manual, I would avoid making a lot of changes. You might inadvertently cover up something that could be dangerous. Good luck! | ||
| Jlnance |
Java - What lowflyer said. Make the thing as stock as you can. It shouldn't behave badly stock. If it does, something needs to be fixed. In particular, you might want to put the stock windscreen back on. | ||
| Dr_greg |
There has been lots of discussion about this. When I test rode mine (I bought the same demo bike I test rode, BTW) I noticed the low-frequency "swimming" effect but it has completely vanished (either due to the bike or me). In any event, not a problem at all. Sometimes while decelerating at 30-40 mph if I release the bars there will be a slight oscillation which gives no signs of increasing in amplitude. The Ulysses has impressed me as being fundamentally very stable. And this is coming from a guy who went down at 80 mph from a REAL tankslapper in August 2003 (bike not to be named, but certainly not an XB of any type).} My Ulysses is stock w/all bags and I'm using the Laminar Lip. | ||
| Fubar |
I have seen what little "swimming" I had disappear when I installed the Laminar Lip. I had always suspected that it was wind related because I make a mighty big sail. YMMV, fubar | ||
| M2nc |
I notice the bike swimming just the slightest bit, but not just at high speed. It is not bad, it just feels like the bike pitches ever so slightly from side to side. I have noticed some curling in the thread of the front D616. I know the wind buffets me around a bit at speeds, but I think the swimming is either the tire or the long handlebars. These bikes have radical geometry, add a long lever like these handlebars and you may have the best imitation of a '79 Ford Mustang power steering. If any of you ever drove one of the first Fox platform Mustangs with power steering, they were a fast ratio (2.5 turns lock to lock) fully powered and very numb. If the V-8 wasn't bad enough on keeping the car straight, the steering had to be handled with kit gloves. The same with the Uly, the long bars give you more force on a bike that doesn't take much to make it turn. A slight input due to wind buffeting and the bike will react. As far as for the tires, I'm going to the Syncs just as soon as the front wears out. Though the D616 do great off road, in the rain, on gravel and such, they so far have not impressed me on the road. I am by no means unhappy with the bike though. It has proven to be a great commuter, tourer, two-up bike, corner carver and explorer. Anyone that has changed to different tires have any experience with this swimming feeling? | ||
| Cygnus_x1 |
The more I read about the swimming effect, I'm thinking it could be just that. I was wearing my big winter jacket, and pants, making me a big sail I guess? Look forward to swapping out front tire. | ||
| Bosh |
There's a guy over on Advrider (Danger_Dave) that has a Sync on the rear. I think he said he couldn't tell much difference on road and likes the 616 better because of the more dirt oriented tread and harder carcass. Most of the handling issues would be related to the front tire though (I think). He still had the stock front tire. Anyone else have the Syncs on front and rear? I'm not having any handling problems at all with the 616's, just curious. | ||
| Blake |
Cyg, Same thing happened to me once right after I bought a way too big (built for a fat man) leather jacket. Darn thing would get to catching wind and cause the bike to wobble. Very irritating. A set of new more form fitting gear solved the problem. | ||
| Anonymous |
Syncs front and rear are a revelation in improved handling on a Ulysses. The Dunlops just feel queasy, and the more tense and tight you get the more it is magnified. Not dangerous, but unnerving, and well worth changing away from. Betcha Pirellis fix it. | ||
| Bosh |
Anonymous, Not trying to be a wise guy, but it isn't clear from your post. Have you actually ridden a 12X with Syncs? If so can you give us some details, how do they turn in, feel in corners, better or worse in dirt / highway etc.. If you could that would be fantastic! | ||
| Anonymous |
Yes, I have ridden a Ulysses with both stock tires and Syncs. Everything is much better with the Pirellis, including off road. Better cornering, no high speed floatiness, more predictable grip, no wierd behaviors at all. Anything odd handling wise you may have read about on Ulysses is gone with the Syncs. Why they weren't used on the Ulysses when Buell already had them on the CityX is certainly a question. Trust me on this and try them, you will be thrilled. | ||
| Eor |
I'm calling to make the 5K service appointment tomorrow. My second D616 is toast and I'm going to have them mount Syncs. I have some experience with the Syncs [on a CityX] and was pleased. I'm primarily looking for longer tread life, but it improved handling comes with it....well...that's even better! | ||
| Bosh |
Thanks, I've heard a lot of good things about them on other bikes too. I'll probably give them a try. | ||
| Spike |
This may or may not be related, but my '99 M2 would develop a wobble if I took my hands off the bars between 30-60mph. I was about halfway through the stock D205s at that point and the front had worn unevenly and had quite a bit of cupping. When I replaced the front tire the wobble went away completely. I have zero experience with the Ulysses or the D616, but tire pressure and tire wear should be the first things to check when presented with a wobble. | ||
| Birdmanrh |
"Driving the Uly down the freeway the other night, it was a wobblin'! Around 80-85 it was bad, then if I speed up, or slow down it would go away." Roll off the throttle a little and the wheel with regain contact with the ground.  | ||
| Cygnus_x1 |
But the weird thing is, I've done 105 through the twisties, no problem, I've done 120 with no problem. But last time I went down the freeway at normal speeds is when it was a wobbling. | ||
| Grimace308 |
man alive. since i had lost my owners manual earlier, i was running my suspension at the atock setting off the showroom floor (200lbs too light). i just checked my tire pressure the second time and i was 8lbs low. ive grabbed the bars and shook them from side to side to try and INDUCE oscillations, while traveling at speeds 10-80mph. the only thing ive come up with is...if i stand on my seat, while doing an iron cross, at close to 130mph, with one pannier filled with 30lbs of liquid that will slosh and a guy in an escalade bumping me, while trying to run me off the road will the uly shake. :P sorry guys, but i wish i knew what yall were talking about. (Message edited by grimace308 on March 12, 2006) | ||
| Lowflyer |
I'm with you, Grimace, but I am glad I have no earthly idea what they are talking about. Mine is solid. | ||
| Stevenknapp |
Everything is much better with the Pirellis, including off road. Um, then why did they develop the 616s? I might try the syncs after the 616s and the diablo stradas. | ||
| Adrian_8 |
When I demo'd one I got it to wobble at the 60-40mph decel with no hands on the bars. So I know what you are talking about; hands on bar..wobble went away. I bought one ( not the wobbler) anyway and I have not been able to get it to wobble in 1800 miles. I installed the three set of Buell bags two days ago and rode it over 200 miles with them on and tried every which way to get it to wobble..no such luck even at 100. My thoughts are that the wobble is in the suspension setup. The demo bike was setup real soft to lower it some and give a real good ride, this would take weight off the front and make it light. Then if a guy set up the suspension correct to his weight and liked to ride way back on the seat it could make the front light enough to wobble.... this assumes the steering head bearings are tight... My worthless .02. | ||
| Chadhargis |
Allow me to be frank....the Dunlops just plain stink! I can't put my finger on it, but they just don't inspire confidence. it's not the bike...it's fine. Chassis is nice, suspension is going it's job, but the tires just don't "feel" right. Can't explain it. I hop on my Ducati shod with Pirelli Diablos, and I feel like I can carve my initials in any corner with them. The front Dunlop has already let go on me once causing a low side, and I've read a few other accounts of professional test riders going down. The Dunlops just don't seem to give good feedback. The rear is down to the wear bar at 1700 miles. It's also cupped pretty badly. The front seems to be fine...and that's a problem. It's not showing much wear at all, leaving me to believe it's hard as a rock. I don't know how to explain it. I can toss the bike around just fine, but the Dunlops don't give me a warm fuzzy. Diablo Stradas are on the way. | ||
| Jim_sb |
Hi Chad, On my Buell S2 I ran Dunlop 204/205's, Metzeler M-1 Sportecs (twice), Bridgestone BT-010's, BT-020's and Dunlop D-220's. On the Uly I've only run the 616's so far. Additionally (and contrary to conventional wisdom) I mix & match tires often (e.g., M-1 front and BT-010 rear, etc.). Disclaimer - this is not recommended, please don't try it at home, etc. I have noticed a teeny, tiny bit of "swimming" on the 616's on the freeway at say 75mph. Really not a problem. While I haven't drug the pegs yet on my Ulysses I've been close enough that my boot has been dragging. I've also noticed the 'decel wobble' thingy or whatever we're calling that, also really not a big deal, very repeatable and only occurring in a very specific set of circumstances. I guess I'm trying to say that I've tried a lot of the modern tire combinations - in both "approved" and "unapproved" sets, and have uniformly found all of them to be pretty good. None of the sets I've tried so far had wear characteristics that I liked. I pretty much ruin a rear tire in 3k miles, I can stretch them to 3500 if I don't mind having steel threads showing (again, not recommended, please don't try this at home). With the front tires I routinely see something in the 5k range. If I were to venture a guess I'd say that the "swimming" is probably due to the larger tread pattern on the 616 which aids off pavement traction. I will gladly take that trade-off because I will continue to ride my Uly off-pavement. The 616 grips very well on the pavement, wet or dry. In a recent ride with some friends (two ex-racers, one riding a new GS and another riding an FJR1300) the Uly literally walked away from both of the other bikes on a narrow, dirty (dried mud and sand and debris from recent rains) backroad. They were both sliding, I wasn't. Which is why they slowed down and I didn't. I am not naive enough to think that my riding ability is anywhere near theirs; it isn't. But if your tires are gripping the road and the bike feels good you just keep riding, right? I credit the 616's. The Scorpion Sync's or other tires may be equally good in those circumstances, I don't know. But I have been very impressed with how the 616's handle wet, dry and dirty pavement. I sure wish they could find a way to make a rear tire last 5k though! Just one more data point. Regards, Jim in Santa Barbara | ||
| Eor |
Based on my initial experience today, it APPEARS that switching from the Dunlops to the Scorpion Syncs has eliminated the decel wobble with the bags attached. Other factors could be involved, but that is the only thing I have knowingly changed. |
