After yesterday ride (8 hrs straight) few question (Hard start when hot, Vibration till hand numb, lean toward left)

pilleway

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 18, 2019
Messages
747
Location
Mexico
Hi to all!
Regarding track straight I have noticed that balance can be an issue, but looking you from the back how vertical are you when your are riding for sure can tell you if there is any issue, will be good to see if there are some findings!
Have a great day and good riding!
 

The Mountain

Active Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2017
Messages
230
Location
MassiveTwoS#hits
FWIW, after a short off-road adventure recently, I tweaked the forks on my S10, and afterwards it had a noticeable lean to the left when riding. It might be worth getting a front-end alignment next time you take it in for service, or if you've got the tools and are handy, the process is fairly simple, just a matter of loosening the right bolts on the front end, bouncing it to get everything sorted, and retightening.
 

blitz11

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2014
Messages
312
Location
SW Montana
3. As for the leaning of the bike, that is very normal and expected for this bike because the drive shaft is on the left side of the swing arm. The driveshaft is actually pulling the rear wheel slightly to the left, causing the bike to track slightly left. You can try to weigh the right side of your bike down to counter act it but it usually doesn't work, its just something you will have to put up with. This one of the areas where a chain drive bike has advantage because you can easily adjust the rear wheel to track perfectly straight.

I would love to see a free body diagram of this. How does the driveshaft "pull" the wheel to the left? The forces/moments generated by the gearing are opposed by the bearings in the final drive, and those forces react against the swing arm/swing arm bearings through the final drive pumpkin. There might be a miniscule amount of deflection in the bearing supports/swing arm, but we're talking thousandths of an inch. The majority of the force (which generates the wheel torque) between the pinion and the gear is in the vertical axis, with a bit of front/back due to the hypoid gear. It's the vertical force which BMW, Guzzi, and Kawasaki (Concurs) ground with their 2-piece drive shafts. The S-10 just has a super-long driveshaft.

I just don't see how this claim is manifest. Looking down from above on the bike, if you wanted to force the bike to steer left, you would have to rotate the wheel in the vertical axis CW. How is that force generated?
 

Sierra1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2016
Messages
14,812
Location
Joshua TX
Mine has always had a slight pull to the left.
If that many bikes are pulling to the left. . . . I'm still thinking "environment" issues. I can't find a level road, without any wind to see if it pulls one way or the other. What about you guys from the UK? Which direction do y'alls pull. :)
 

Travex

Lost is my destination.
Joined
May 7, 2012
Messages
832
Location
Western New York State
Late to this party and can say that the 2012, '14, and '21 each leaned to the left identically and must be offset by a slight counter-lean when hands are off the bars. Having ridden since early youth I'm certain that my mass is always centered on a bike. Also, every year or two I'll crack the bolts on the front end and cozy everything up nice and straight. Never changed a thing in terms of the lean.

I like Sierra1's idea although I've tested that theory and unfortunately hadn't lost the lean. If it were drive-side torque as previous suggested I'd think that would reveal itself in uneven tire wear.

As to why they lean I dunno.
 

cyclemike4

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2016
Messages
815
Location
ky
OK call me crazy but this is my issue with the bike going left. First i have had tires that caused issues but my real issue is the left foot peg is almost a half inch further out from the center line of the bike than the right peg. I use my feet and legs more than my hands for steering. That means i try to clamp the bike with my legs and knees. I never have the same pressure on the tank on the left side as i do on the right because of the foot peg. If i have the same pressure on the foot pegs no pressure on the tank with good tires and road it actually goes straight. As far as the bars and vibration goes im not sure. My bike is not that vibey. If you are of average hight and reach like me the bars are too much of a reach for long rides. I wound up leaning on the bars that made my hands go numb because i had weight on them. Bad to do on a bike. I narrowed my bars and moved them a bit to help with the reach issue. But like i said my bars really dont shake bad.
 
Top