GS700 stability

Well The weather finally cleared and I got some time off of work. I changed the fork oil ( The oil looked fine but was maybe a little low on each side) And changed the front tire to the stock size of 100/90-16. What a difference. The bike is now rock solid stable at any speed and steering is actually a bit lighter. It is now a joy to ride. Hard to believe that such small changes could have such a dramatic effect. Thanks to all who offered advice.

My front tire looks great but it is a 110/90-16 instead of the recommended 100/90-16. Not sure if this is part of the problem.

I am running the 100/90-16 with a 1" spacer and Progressive replacement springs. I did add some air to forks because it seemed a bit spongy after I rebuilt the them. It also brought the front end up a bit which helped me with the seating position, I am 6ft 180 so it is a bit stiff with the added air pressure but it tracks very well.

My front tire looks great but it is a 110/90-16 instead of the recommended 100/90-16. Not sure if this is part of the problem.

[kingofvenus]

I never ran mine with any air in the forks, but i did put a 1.25 inch spacer in on top of the springs to increase the pre-load. (i weigh 225 btw) These bikes are very sensitive to what style of front tire is on it. I had to run a 120 on mine once when i had one go south while on an out of state trip years ago, that made it handle really bad...

What pressure are you running in the forks?

My twitch went away when I replaced my Front cupped/worn Metzler. I have now changed both Front and Rear tires (Shinko's) and she rides on rails.. No unsudden movements. Even with worn out leaking front fork seals.

I had a chance to check the swing arm and rear shock mounts yesterday. No slop was evident at any of these points. I did notice the preload was cranked up as far as it would go. I reset this to midrange along with the damping ( damping was already at mid range). Did not get a chance to ride it as weather was an issue. This bike does not have a fork brace. What weight fork oil is recommended?

Are you running a fork brace? if so, maybe take it off and see if it goes away. Check the air pressure in the forks I believe max is 35 psi. If everything seems tight, I would start from square one as mentioned above.

There are many things that do and can cause issues with how a bike rides. I agree with what has been written. The 700 has a 16 inch front, which doesn't help if other things are old/jacked up enough.

Fork oil. You either changed it or you didn't.

Anyways.

Are there any signs the bike may have been in a crash?

Any pictures of the bike?

[posplayr]

Installing progressive springs and fresh oil in the front, progressive shocks on the rear made a huge difference on my bike. Before it was squirrelly at highway speeds now it feels like its on rails. Change out your old components before drawing any more conclusions.

I agree that is what I did. Unless you have plenty of time on your hands, just change everything.

Well at least the obvious stuff.

Installing progressive springs and fresh oil in the front, progressive shocks on the rear made a huge difference on my bike. Before it was squirrelly at highway speeds now it feels like its on rails. Change out your old components before drawing any more conclusions.

[posplayr]

Not sure what boned up means. The tire was installed and balanced at the local bike shop and I set the presures to the factory recommended.

One think to keep in mind is that the Suzuki recommended tire pressures were for the old tires of that era. They don't always apply to the newer tires. For example the Avon's call for much higher pressures than stock. FWIW I ran a Kenda 130/90-18 on the back of my GS750EX without much problems. I like the Avons better though.

Not sure what boned up means. The tire was installed and balanced at the local bike shop and I set the presures to the factory recommended.

[posplayr]

I believe the front tire is a Bridgestone BT45 110/90-16 and has very little wear. I just replaced the back tire which was a bridgestone BT45 130/70-17 with a Kenda K657 130/90-17. The manual says the original size 100/90-16 for the front and 120/90-17 for the rear. The PO installed the other tires. One thought I had was the factory rear tire is 2.1 inches larger in diameter than the front. The tires the PO had installed were approximatley the same diameter front to back so rake angle would have been affected. With the new rear tire the back is 2.2 inches larger in diameter than the front and is more in line with what the factoy set up would be. The twitch is still there however so it didn't solve the problem

Should not make a lot of difference, but the BT45 130/70-17 will have a stiffer side wall than the K657 130/90-17 just due to side wall height. More flex in the sidewall in the rear gives an uncertain feel. You have them boned up right?

I believe the front tire is a Bridgestone BT45 110/90-16 and has very little wear. I just replaced the back tire which was a bridgestone BT45 130/70-17 with a Kenda K657 130/90-17. The manual says the original size 100/90-16 for the front and 120/90-17 for the rear. The PO installed the other tires. One thought I had was the factory rear tire is 2.1 inches larger in diameter than the front. The tires the PO had installed were approximatley the same diameter front to back so rake angle would have been affected. With the new rear tire the back is 2.2 inches larger in diameter than the front and is more in line with what the factoy set up would be. The twitch is still there however so it didn't solve the problem