| Author | Message | ||
     Lenb |
I went to take my bike (XB12R) for a ride and when pushing it out the shed I noticed that I only had 2/3 of my normal steering lock on the right side. On closer examination I found that a sticky bit of bitumen had lodged against the steering stop. I removed it and my steering is back to normal - or is it? I never noticed before, but there is a larger gap to the grip on the RH lock than LH lock. The difference equates to 1 finger width gap between the LH grip and the frame puck and 3 fingers between the RH grip and the frame puck.  I checked 2 firebolts at the dealer and they only had a negligible difference. Is this something I should complain about (my bike is under warranty) and can anything be done? (Message edited by lenb on June 17, 2006) | ||
| Wahmbush |
I would check to make sure your clipons on one side is not bent. Is the bike new? Might have been dropped. My clipons are bent slightly and you can notice by where they go into the top of the triple trees...... | ||
| Lenb |
Now that you mention it - the bike did fall off the stand once onto the LH side. Damage was minimal and it didn't occur to me that the bars might bend. Looking closely at it I'd say that some (but not all) of the problem is due to a bent clip-on. The rest must be manufacturing tolerance. Now, that makes me think... What if I was to rotate the clip-on to negate the difference in lock from left to right? I know I can rotate the clutch lever on the bar to keep it in the same relative position but what about the switchblock? I loosened it to check but it wouldn't rotate on the bar. Does it have a locating pin that slots into a hole in the clip-on? | ||
| M1combat |
It would then be pointing up or down though... | ||
| Lenb |
Not if I turned it through 180 degrees... (the bend in the clip-on contributes only about 1/2 of the difference between left and right steering lock). | ||
| Lenb |
Update: My bar was bent but as they say "the eye doesn't lie" and this was only part of the steering lock problem. The rest is in the location of the steering stop. I rotated the bent bar through 180 degrees and, lo and behold, the steering lock is now the same on both sides! The downside is that when the bars are straight ahead, if you look closely, you can tell the left bar is further forward than the right. I particularly notice it as I had got used to it being the other way. If I can get used to the way it is now I'll have to drill another locating hole in the clip-on for the switchblock as it's only been tightened up temporarily. Do you think it will be safe to drill a second hole on the other side of the bar? Either way I'll price up a new bar tomorrow. |
