2008 road star s wont stay straight above 50mph

[oldschoolchopper]

After changing the stem bearings by a local motorcycle shop the bike wants to steer left or right above 50mph , it's like a fish lol swimming in slow motion LOL ,I have to move my weight left or right to keep it straight.... I have torqued the bearing to 37ft then loosing it then preload 13ft/lbs ,had some play when rocking the forks back and forth so I kept adding preload to it I am at 17ft/lbs now no more play but the handle bars wont fall down to the stopper from the center it need a push half way for it to fall on its own gently to the stopper . the tires are Michelin commander 2 less than 300 miles on them 40psi both balanced with dyna beads never had an issue with bike until they changed the stem bearing , ive checked the alignment on rear wheel its good , checked the front brakes figured maybe the rotors dragging or a sticky pistons causing the issues ! they were fine and cleaned them anyway, changed front wheel bearings too .I am not sure what could be the issue !!! any thoughts would be appreciated ,

[Shores]

Take it back! Have them ride it!

[oldschoolchopper]

I have twice and each time they say its fine !! the first time they had the preload @ 2.2ft/lbs !! second time they rode it I followed him in a car and I can see him all over the highway , left and right , and when back looked me in the eye said its fine !

[oldschoolchopper]

its almost 12 midnight here and the fact I am not going to be able to ride tomorrow is driving me crazy. think I am going to mess with it a bit more hopefully I figure it out

[Littlebull]

When you said the bars wont fall to stop without a push are you on a jack with the front wheel off the ground?

[oldschoolchopper]

yes indeedy

[jd750ace]

This is a classic symptom of over torque on the neck bearings. Is your front wheel stock? Handlebars? Windshield or fairy on the bike?

[oldschoolchopper]

my front wheel is stock , I have 18'' ape hanger ,passing light bar no fairing nor windshield.....I am thinking its over torqued on the bearing but if I do take it down 1ft/lbs and rock the forks back and forth while the tire off the ground I feel some play ,and do the fall test the bars bounces of the stopper not much but it bounce

[SKWEARpeg]

If the front end is off the ground when checking flop and tension.
If the torque is indeed 17ftlbs.
If it will almost fall to the stops after a slight nudge to get it started falling, but needs just another slight nudge to finish its fall.
If the tires are inflated properly.

It should be be pretty close to correct, shouldn’t it?

Was the guy who test road the bike purposely weaving on the bike, or was he really struggling to keep it straight?

[oldschoolchopper]

he was struggling I can tell....and double checked the tire pressure two diff gages 40 psi front and rear ,and the preload torque with two diff torque wrench !

[Doc_V]

When doing the "flop test" with the front wheel off the ground, make sure no cables, wiring, etc. are binding when you tip the bars over. This can cause a false response.

[oldschoolchopper]

I took the cables off to make sure of that

[oldschoolchopper]

maybe is the technic I am using to torque the bearings ?!! when you preload the torque , should the front wheel be off the ground or on the ground ?

[SKWEARpeg]

I would think you’d want it off the ground when doing the original 30# plus torque, then loosening and resetting to around 17ish ftlbs.
You’d certainly need it off the ground for the flop test.

[oldschoolchopper]

skwearpeg , that's what I did

[Txulrich]

The preload torque is only to set new bearings and races. After that, you back it off and torque it to the operating value.

[oldschoolchopper]

I just came back from a short ride after taking some preload off , now the bike wants to pull ''straight left'' its going straight but leaning toward the left , so I try to balance my weight off to the right to keep it up and straight !! should I back it off a bit more ?! since it helped not pulling right and left and only to the left ?

[oldschoolchopper]

I am going to loosing the stem nut a bit more and go for a ride and see how it is , will let you guys updated , thanks for the help and thoughts

[jd750ace]

You need to check your whole front end. Unfortunately it sounds like the shop moron serviced your bike. I believe aside from the bearings being over tightened that your triple clamps are not aligned.

[oldschoolchopper]

that make sense , how do i go about that ? how can you tell if its not aligned ? take it a part ?

[oldschoolchopper]

just did fork/ triple clamps alignment AND WHAT A DIFF it made not pulling left nor right now , only highway speed above 60mph , I get that wiggle in front not a bad one but its annoying I am @ 18 ft/lbs stem bearing wise . the bars fall from center nice and smooth but it does bounce off the stopper , not sure take some preload off or add to it , once again thx JD

[Shores]

You need to talk to the dealer manager! They f..ked things up and they are liable for any injuries you might get. Remind them of that! Then find a new dealer or better yet, do stuff yourself. It’s all pretty easy.

[oldschoolchopper]

that's why i am here , i'd rather work on my motorcycles myself always have , only reason let them work on it cause i had 3 broken ribs and A PINKY LOL at that time .......and honestly i am avoiding going back to that local shop if you know what i mean . , i just did fork /triple clamb alignment . tomorrow will take it for a ride and see how it handle , will keep you guys updated

[Jeaston]

New tires, old tires? ( inflated to x) Is the rear wheel centered? Loosen the front axle bolt then tighten when the bike on the ground (preload) and upright.
I'm just shooting in the dark.

[oldschoolchopper]

brand new tires 40 psi front /rear , just did fork/triple clamps alignment as jd750ace suggested , made huge diff bike runs great @ 60 mph... above that on highway I get a wiggle in front not as bad as it was before the alignment but still annoying .

[jd750ace]

Are there any balance weights on the front wheel?

[oldschoolchopper]

no , using dyna beads

[jd750ace]

Are the tops of the fork tubes the same height above the top triple?

[oldschoolchopper]

yes they are the same height

[Txulrich]

After changing the stem bearings by a local motorcycle shop the bike wants to steer left or right above 50mph , it's like a fish lol swimming in slow motion LOL ,I have to move my weight left or right to keep it straight.... I have torqued the bearing to 37ft then loosing it then preload 13ft/lbs ,had some play when rocking the forks back and forth so I kept adding preload to it I am at 17ft/lbs now no more play but the handle bars wont fall down to the stopper from the center it need a push half way for it to fall on its own gently to the stopper . the tires are Michelin commander 2 less than 300 miles on them 40psi both balanced with dyna beads never had an issue with bike until they changed the stem bearing , ive checked the alignment on rear wheel its good , checked the front brakes figured maybe the rotors dragging or a sticky pistons causing the issues ! they were fine and cleaned them anyway, changed front wheel bearings too .I am not sure what could be the issue !!! any thoughts would be appreciated ,

I had a similar problem with the Commander II. It felt like I was riding on grooved pavement all of the time. After doing everything that you're checking (torque, alignment, tire pressure, balance, etc.), I ended up changing to a Metzler 888. Problem solved (for me).

[HotRod]

Put your torque wrench away. Tighten or loosen the lower stem nut by feel. The Torque is NOT that important when using the "Flop Test," it's more important when seating the races. With your 18" Apes, I would rather have it slightly bounce off the stop than not get there, but if you adjust the nut by "feel" you should be able to dial it in, just my opinion on that.

Rod

[jd750ace]

I agree with Rod. Especially if the vertical on your bars is not parallel with the fork tubes, monkey bars create an overturning moment that makes it hard to set.