| Author | Message | ||
     Chrisrogers3 |
So I am riding around on the Uly today (with full bags) and I notice I have a pretty bad head shake at low speeds (below 20 mph) to the point if I let the bars go it would turn into a tank slapper. Now I am assuming this somehow has to do with the bags and the suspension. I usually never ride with the bags on and I have never experienced the head shake without the bags on it. So I am thinking about playing with the suspension a bit (I had it set PERFECT for riding without the bags). Anyone have any ideas maybe decrease the compression and damper? Or should I increase it in the front? Anyone have any ideas if it is not bag related? The bags are all empty but I am sure the wind resistance could mess with it since the suspension is pretty soft right now. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
If not bag related, I would check cupping of the tires, and steering head bearings. In that order. Increasing preload in the front might help a bit too. | ||
| Darthane |
WARNING, WARNING - DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER I'm not even close to being a suspension guru, so take the following with a big grain of salt until corroborated by someone with more knowledge than me. If you didn't change the suspension at all, but added full bags, this would lighten up the front end, which might cause the behavior you're noting. I would definitely start with adjusting the suspension. Thus far I've found that the settings straight out of the owner's manual are spot-on for me, both solo, solo with bags, and two-up. Pay particular attention to the notes concerning weight distribution. I missed them the first time my g/f and I went for a ride and the bike didn't feel 'right'. Put them where the book says to based on the weight distribution and bam, nice, predictable suspension/steering again. | ||
| Froggy |
What tires? Also check your pressure. | ||
| Etennuly |
Have you ever re-torqued your steering head bearings? I would start there. | ||
| Buelldualsport |
Great Suggestions all Too much rear bias (weight) will indeed lighten the front and could possibly result in what you are experiencing. Let us know what turns out YRMV Buells to Alaska ALCAN 5000 2010 | ||
| Chrisrogers3 |
Ok, an update to my situation. Tires I am running-D616's tires have 5200 miles on them (yes rear also). I "reset" the suspension to the factory specs for my weight. (210 lbs) I also checked the tire pressures (been about a month since I have done that) I was 30 front and 32 rear. A little low so I put them at 36/38. I STILL have the problem. The bike only has 5200 miles on it, I just did the 5K service (myself) and the resistance test passed with flying colors. It only seems to happen at about 35 mph when I put a load on the front end (accelerate then let off the throttle and take my hands off the bars). The headshake gets pretty bad at 25-30 mph and then always straightens itself out at about 20 mph. So now what do I need to look at because I am at the end of my knowledge. I know there are a lot of guys out there that hate the D616s but I havent had too much of an issue with them other than in the corners. The front doesnt seem to be cupped at all (obviously the rear is pretty well shot-but I dont think that would be causing the front end issue). So I am officially lost! | ||
| Hughlysses |
Why is a headshake that only happens when you take your hands off the bars a problem? Patient- "Doctor, it hurts when I do this." Doctor- "Well, don't DO that!"  Seriously, if it worries you that much, weigh your bags and increase the rear pre-load and damping settings by the book. If it doesn't go away after that, buy new tires. The Pirelli on the front of my Uly had plenty of tread left at ~8500 miles, but would develop a shimmy similar to what you describe. A new tire completely eliminated it. | ||
| Chrisrogers3 |
Why is a headshake that only happens when you take your hands off the bars a problem? Because its not normal, and it allows me to complain about how horrible my Ulysses is (I dont get to do that often lol}.  | ||
| Ratbuell |
Look in your manual, and make rear preload changes with the nifty knob under your left cheek for the added weight. That's all I do when the wife goes with me - add rear preload - and it handles just fine. I will admit, my steering head capnut was under-torqued when I first checked it (just before my 1k service). Retorquing per the manual made a difference for me. I've also got an 06, with 616s, and love the tires. No cupping or other issues, around 3k miles on the bike. | ||
| Etennuly |
When my '06 had about 6,000 on the front D616 it did the same kind of wobble thing. I would sit up and relax my hands on the bars and as it would slow down it would wobble a bit. I re-torqued the steering head, mine was a little loose, and just rode it through that period, accepting that it was likely the tire. It stopped doing it in a couple thousand miles as the tire wore into another facet of its life. I finally took that tire off at 15,000 miles and put on the Scorpion Sync. All of those kind of issues totally disappeared and have never come back. Now at 31,000 miles I moved on to Michelin Road Pilot II's, and am happier yet. | ||
| Scottykrein |
I also had the same symptoms until I changed the front tire and put a Sync on. | ||
| Longdog_cymru |
Are there known issues with Uly steering head bearings? I've started to get a chattering under braking. I can't really detect any free play at the headstock, but I notice in the manual that it should be checked at 5000 miles, (mine has done 6000 miles). I tend to run with higher preload, compression and rebound settings, so this could possibly be exaggerating any free play(???), but I'm going to re-torque the bearings in the morning. | ||
| Greenman44 |
Mr. Rogers, I too had this issue with accelerating and then letting off the throttle on deceleration between 40-30 I would get the pre-stages of what I guess is head shake. I just got my front 616 replaced and that resolved the issue. I bought the bike and it had 8400 miles, when I replaced it, it had over 13000 miles and I am fairly certain this was the original front. Hope this helps. The rest of you guys I have another question. When I decelerate from 80 I get what I would call head shake, but it drops off to front break pulsation at about 60. Any thoughts to what might be causing this? Thanks for your help Greenman   |
