I've found that a gallon jug of water in the left saddlebags off sets it nicely, I'm convinced something is out of alinement.with the center of tire being 12 o'clock, I've got harsh wear at 1:30 like someone took wood plane to it
That's the stock answer, everywhere I go road crown and tire pressure. I installed a set of michelin road 3's,it was a world of difference on handling and tracking, but after 7000 miles I'm still getting the wear on the sides. I'm wondering if the rear tire is cocked to the right, would that make the bike pull to the right?
Carry your 12 pk in the left side, tracks beautifully. I'm leaning towards a swingarm issue.
Here in Western Carolina and surrounding states, it is very common for the left sides of the tires to wear faster.
Heya all...
Long time no see. Hope you are all well.
I had 2 st1300's. Present one is a 2014.
BOTH lean left when riding straight, and need a slight pull on the right handle to keep it going straight.
And with no hands (I NEVER go fully no hands, just open fingers around the grips), the Bike clearly veers right.
I VERY carefully read all this OLD continuing thread. Here's my experience/observations and a question...
1. If the left pinch bolts are tightened after "flushing" the end of the axle with the outer edge of the left fork, then the right axle nut/bolt is tightened, then right pinch bolts tightened, then the left pinch bolts loosened, then the bike is bounced, finally tightening the left axle bolts, the result is that the forks open up a bit and the axle is no longer flush with the edge of the left fork. This results in the fact that the front wheel can shift left and right on the axle between the forks by 2 to 3 mm. It was disconcerting when I first experienced this.
So, the Honda procedure seems WRONG WRONG WRONG!!! Doesn't make sense. Can't work. Doomed to failure. (Honda staff are humans and make mistakes!! Some people on this forum have expressed their belief of infallibity by Honda staff... This is a WRONG assertion.)
Andrew Shadow touched on this concept.
2. So, I flushed up the left side, tightened the axle, then left the right pinch bolts loose, then bounced the bike. Now, it goes a LOT better needing less correction to hold a straight path. But it is still leaning left hands-on, and pulling right no-hands. This is irregardless of the crown of the road. (Ie: On divided highways, I try the same thing on the left lane with the crown of the road sloping downwards to the left.)
3. Again, as Andrew Shadow hinted at, I also played with the fork alignment to see if slight adjustments would yield different results. I have, so far, not got a definitive result. Presently, the front forks are set SLIGHTLY left bottom (axle) ahead of the right bottom (axle)... Only by about 1mm. You can test this with a flat straight stiff piece of wood (someone suggested glass, I used true flat bamboo laminate flooring cut offs). Put the flat piece on the male portion of the forks, just above the fork seals. Then try to rock it diagonally in both directions. You will then find if they are true to each other or not. This present setting is exactly opposite of before I adjusted it. Seemingly no difference.
4. I even tried changing the anchored length of each fork tube clamped into the triple trees... This yielded no positive result at all, with either side a centimeter protruding at a single time. No difference in tracking.
So, here's the million dollar question...
Is there a definitive fix for this issue...??
It seems that the issue is REAL and COMMON. Some people say it isn't a big deal, but for some of us who are blessed and cursed with acute senses, this makes riding the bike less enjoyable... Like an itch that will never go away no matter how much you scratch it or use anti-itch skin creme.
Putting extra weight in one side or the other is a stop gap measure that doesn't correct for the problem, and can only compensate for the problem. Plus, it didn't do much at all to help in my circumstance.
And I tried over and over to shift my weight from one butt cheek to the other, from one foot to the other, from one hand to the other. The problem is persistent...
Thoughts...?? Is there anything I''m missing...??
(Addendum... I'm using Shinko 999's now... 130-70 on the front, and 160-70 on the back. Great tires!! Great sizes!! If I get a chance I'll write some detailed observations in a different post.)
Long time no see. Hope you are all well.
I had 2 st1300's. Present one is a 2014.
BOTH lean left when riding straight, and need a slight pull on the right handle to keep it going straight.
And with no hands (I NEVER go fully no hands, just open fingers around the grips), the Bike clearly veers right.
I VERY carefully read all this OLD continuing thread. Here's my experience/observations and a question...
1. If the left pinch bolts are tightened after "flushing" the end of the axle with the outer edge of the left fork, then the right axle nut/bolt is tightened, then right pinch bolts tightened, then the left pinch bolts loosened, then the bike is bounced, finally tightening the left axle bolts, the result is that the forks open up a bit and the axle is no longer flush with the edge of the left fork. This results in the fact that the front wheel can shift left and right on the axle between the forks by 2 to 3 mm. It was disconcerting when I first experienced this.
So, the Honda procedure seems WRONG WRONG WRONG!!! Doesn't make sense. Can't work. Doomed to failure. (Honda staff are humans and make mistakes!! Some people on this forum have expressed their belief of infallibity by Honda staff... This is a WRONG assertion.)
Andrew Shadow touched on this concept.
2. So, I flushed up the left side, tightened the axle, then left the right pinch bolts loose, then bounced the bike. Now, it goes a LOT better needing less correction to hold a straight path. But it is still leaning left hands-on, and pulling right no-hands. This is irregardless of the crown of the road. (Ie: On divided highways, I try the same thing on the left lane with the crown of the road sloping downwards to the left.)
3. Again, as Andrew Shadow hinted at, I also played with the fork alignment to see if slight adjustments would yield different results. I have, so far, not got a definitive result. Presently, the front forks are set SLIGHTLY left bottom (axle) ahead of the right bottom (axle)... Only by about 1mm. You can test this with a flat straight stiff piece of wood (someone suggested glass, I used true flat bamboo laminate flooring cut offs). Put the flat piece on the male portion of the forks, just above the fork seals. Then try to rock it diagonally in both directions. You will then find if they are true to each other or not. This present setting is exactly opposite of before I adjusted it. Seemingly no difference.
4. I even tried changing the anchored length of each fork tube clamped into the triple trees... This yielded no positive result at all, with either side a centimeter protruding at a single time. No difference in tracking.
So, here's the million dollar question...
Is there a definitive fix for this issue...??
It seems that the issue is REAL and COMMON. Some people say it isn't a big deal, but for some of us who are blessed and cursed with acute senses, this makes riding the bike less enjoyable... Like an itch that will never go away no matter how much you scratch it or use anti-itch skin creme.
Putting extra weight in one side or the other is a stop gap measure that doesn't correct for the problem, and can only compensate for the problem. Plus, it didn't do much at all to help in my circumstance.
And I tried over and over to shift my weight from one butt cheek to the other, from one foot to the other, from one hand to the other. The problem is persistent...
Thoughts...?? Is there anything I''m missing...??
(Addendum... I'm using Shinko 999's now... 130-70 on the front, and 160-70 on the back. Great tires!! Great sizes!! If I get a chance I'll write some detailed observations in a different post.)
yes. no positive result yet. see my post immediately above this...
The procedure in the Honda manual is correct. If it doesn’t work, something else is wrong.
If everything is aligned as it should be, then with the axle bolt tight, left (clutch lever) side pinch bolts loose - then the forks should naturally come to rest with the left hand fork leg flush with the axle bolt.
If it doesn’t then something is not right.
Some suggestions.
1. The spacing collars have been put into the wheel incorrectly. See link here. It includes the picture below and an animated sequence.
The photo shows approx measurements Theoretically, there are 8 different ways to put those 2 spacers onto the axle. Only one of them is correct.
The photo is taken as if looking from the front of the bike. The shiny bands on the 10.1mm sides are polished by the dust seal in the wheel hub.
2. With the front wheel removed, the lightly greased axle should push through the holes in the fork legs with very little effort.
3. The bearings in the wheels have been installed incorrectly. They have to be replaced in a specific order. If they are replaced in the wrong order then this affects how the wheel sits between the forks. The order for replacing bearing is different for the two wheels. For the front wheel, the right hand bearing must be installed first. If this has been done incorrectly, then the front wheel will not be central or in line with the rear. It’s marginal and I don’t know if it causes this issue, but it is a lesser known fact and it certainly isn’t going to help.
Link here will provide more info. Download pdf in post#1
4. If you get the order of tightening incorrect, it is possible to have a tight axle, but a wheel that has room to slide left to right on the axle.
5. Worn / collapsed bearings
6. Worn tyres, incorrect pressures, tyres not specifically stated as suitable for heavier bikes, BT023s all suspect from my experience. The BT023 showed odd, uneven cupped wear either side of the centreline. In the Uk we spend more time leaning right than left. Right hand bends are longer as we drive on the left. In the USA you cover more distance on leaning to the left. No such issues with the T series eg T30 GT spec and later. The T33 is suitable for bikes of all weights. I never got to try it.
If everything is aligned as it should be, then with the axle bolt tight, left (clutch lever) side pinch bolts loose - then the forks should naturally come to rest with the left hand fork leg flush with the axle bolt.
If it doesn’t then something is not right.
Some suggestions.
1. The spacing collars have been put into the wheel incorrectly. See link here. It includes the picture below and an animated sequence.
The photo shows approx measurements Theoretically, there are 8 different ways to put those 2 spacers onto the axle. Only one of them is correct.
The photo is taken as if looking from the front of the bike. The shiny bands on the 10.1mm sides are polished by the dust seal in the wheel hub.
2. With the front wheel removed, the lightly greased axle should push through the holes in the fork legs with very little effort.
3. The bearings in the wheels have been installed incorrectly. They have to be replaced in a specific order. If they are replaced in the wrong order then this affects how the wheel sits between the forks. The order for replacing bearing is different for the two wheels. For the front wheel, the right hand bearing must be installed first. If this has been done incorrectly, then the front wheel will not be central or in line with the rear. It’s marginal and I don’t know if it causes this issue, but it is a lesser known fact and it certainly isn’t going to help.
Link here will provide more info. Download pdf in post#1
4. If you get the order of tightening incorrect, it is possible to have a tight axle, but a wheel that has room to slide left to right on the axle.
5. Worn / collapsed bearings
6. Worn tyres, incorrect pressures, tyres not specifically stated as suitable for heavier bikes, BT023s all suspect from my experience. The BT023 showed odd, uneven cupped wear either side of the centreline. In the Uk we spend more time leaning right than left. Right hand bends are longer as we drive on the left. In the USA you cover more distance on leaning to the left. No such issues with the T series eg T30 GT spec and later. The T33 is suitable for bikes of all weights. I never got to try it.
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Check in with Igofar (Larry) if he is still on here. He had some great alignment advice when we were going over my smc issue.