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OK, here's one for ya to ponder....

  • Thread starter Thread starter slyone
  • Start date Start date
S

slyone

Guest
I just got this bike and started riding 2 weeks...been about 25 yrs. since:eek:
when I'm going maybe 30-40mph It feels like the front tire is out of round and the front end is bouncing? The tire appears to be round and the front end tubes were just resealed and gone thru at a dealership within the past year.
any ideas? 79'GS850...the front is a Dunlop Goldseal F11 at 30psi and the rear is some cheng somebody at 35psi.
 
front is 402 and rear is 395. It almost seems like the outer portion of both sides of front tire is chopped? could that be possible?
 
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Your bike came stock with air adjustable front forks. Have you checked to see what the pressure is? can't exactly remember what the manual says but it's somewhere between 10-17. If the air pressure is ok it could be that some of your fork oil has leaked out or needs changing. Or..just the simple fact your fork springs are 33 years old and need replacing.
 
azr said:
Your bike came stock with air adjustable front forks. Have you checked to see what the pressure is? can't exactly remember what the manual says but it's somewhere between 10-17. If the air pressure is ok it could be that some of your fork oil has leaked out or needs changing. Or..just the simple fact your fork springs are 33 years old and need replacing.
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wow that is so funny...I was going to ask that question of air in forks cause I thought I read it somewhere but then thought..naw..impossible!lol.. front end just gone thru so maybe the air pressure is wrong?
 
slyone said:
front is 402 and rear is 395. It almost seems like the outer portion of both sides of front tire is chopped? could that be possible?
Click to expand...

Looks like the newest it could be would be the 40 week of 2012 for the front, but more likely the 40 week of 2002.
And for the rear, the newest it could be would be the 39th week of 2005.
I think you need new tires, ever have a blow-out? I have at 70mph on the rear of Honda 450 with a passenger on the back. I thought for sure I was a gonner.
 
Those tires were unsafe a decade ago. They were made in 1992 and 1995.
 
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azr said:
What exactly was 'gone through' on the front end?
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They put new seals and those rubber cups, not sure what else? Bill was just over $400.00. Oh great, so now I should get new tires too!:( I don't see any cracking or dry rot...
 
uummmm....."they"?? Just for your info, a new set of OEM seals are around $15 and the caps are worth about the same. So that's $30, takes maybe an hour to put them in. A brand new pair of Progressive fork springs (which is what the high majority of us GS guys put in) cost about $70. Putting those in would be included in the hour, maybe and hour and a half labor at the most. New fork seals and dust covers with new Progressive fork springs and you have a newly rebuilt front suspension that doesn't require air in the forks (the progressive are stiff enough to eliminate the need for air). If it were me I would want to know 'exactly' what they did for my $400, but that's me. About your tires, there may be no cracks but from the date numbers you put up the front tire was made in the 40 week of the year 1972, 1982 or 1992. The rear tire was made in the 39 week of the year 1975, 1985 or 1995. That makes, at best, those tires are over 17 years old...YIKES.
 
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For tires I would start with searching tire threads to determine the type of tire you want then mabye ask around on forum who bought that type recent from where at what price.

You will find some posts on price, tire life, handling, and other factors that will help you choose the tire for the type of riding you plan on doing.

You do need new tires no doubt about that, but I would put the bike on the center stand or a bike jack if you have one and rotate and look/feel if that is what is causing your problem.

If the brake is catching you may have a warped disk, Remove from bike and lay on flat glass and check shape.( A large glass mirror works well for this)

While rotating rear tire is there a catch? You will have to determine if coming from break, a kinked chain, misaligned chain,(bounce when hopping on edge of sprocket)

Have seen pictures of bad steering bearings think that might cause problems too, try turning bars with front on the ground and off.

Might also try bouncing front suspension up and down while sitting on bike with front brake pulled in, are there areas in travel that don,t move smooth? Maybe they made a mistake while changing seals.

I hope it is just the tires as they need to be replaced regardless, but here are some more ideas to check to help determine if that is what is causing the jumping. Something more to do while waiting for new rubber.

Don't know what the cost to mount rubber runs near you, or if you will do it yourself?

My local shop charges twice as much if the tires are still attached to bike.

I bought a bike jack and it was within $15. of paying for itself the on the savings for two rubber mounts.

And if you decide to mount them yourself you might save what you paid for jack depending on what your local shops charge.

Well worth looking into.

I bought my jack at sears, they had two models. Wish i had spent the extra $20. and bought the yellow one as it would have been a lot lighter to move around and has a better design for kickstands.

I
 
Motorcycle Superstore has a good reputation and always seems to have decent prices and free shipping. Did you figure out what 'exactly' was done to your front end?
 
azr said:
Motorcycle Superstore has a good reputation and always seems to have decent prices and free shipping. Did you figure out what 'exactly' was done to your front end?
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no doubt po got ripped...what else is new! I haven't read invoice mtself but new seals, boots, upper tree clamp bolts and some kinda "bushings" but no springs.
Checked front end and tire/wheel runout which seems great. Guess I'll let that one go for now since it is sooo slight. heck, I bet most wouldn't even notice it...
 
OK, here's one for ya to ponder.

OK, here's one for ya to ponder.

I had similar problem when I first picked up Roadkill. Turned out tube was full of one of those liquid puncture sealers that had perhaps solidified after sitting in same position. New tube solved that problem. For what it's worth.

CH
 
slyone said:
no doubt po got ripped...what else is new! I haven't read invoice mtself but new seals, boots, upper tree clamp bolts and some kinda "bushings" but no springs.
Checked front end and tire/wheel runout which seems great. Guess I'll let that one go for now since it is sooo slight. heck, I bet most wouldn't even notice it...
Click to expand...

Well good deal for you. Nice to know the seals are new and won't be leaking. Not sure why they would have had to replace those triple tree bolts but what ever, and the "bushings" they're referring to are probably your steering head bearings. (if you're lucky). Would be nice if those were done. Just so you know these old bikes do have some innate movements in them that are just "GS stuff". If it doesn't feel life threatening ride it.
 
OK, here's one for ya to ponder....

I reread your post & see you have a GS850 as I do. Can't imagine a better tire than the Bridgestone S11 Spitfire. I just put the 2nd front one on mine & 3rd rear. Got 18.5K on the front but it should have been done sooner. Rears I usually get 12k & more. I do not ride hard so cannot speak for some of the sportier tires but I think from personal experience this is a perfect tire for a shafty like the 850. Got the recommend from postings on this site. Glad I listened.
Also you may have thrown a balance weight on the front tire. That will get it bouncing around like you described.
DH
 
Spitfires should be called Slipfires.

Not a lot of traction, although they are better than the 1980s tires these bikes came with.
 
tkent02 said:
Spitfires should be called Slipfires.

Not a lot of traction, although they are better than the 1980s tires these bikes came with.
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tkent02 What bike did you have these on? What is your riding style? Realize I ride like a geezer. Nonetheless even when I stuffed my overloaded GS850G into a turn going too fast etc I might have scared meself but the bike never did anything but grip & act reliably. That was when the tires were really worn past good sense. So not questioning your opinion on these but curious why we see them so different.
I sold many sets when I worked at a shop but only recommended them to heavier bikes of the 70s thru 90s which I believe is how the sales pitch described them.
Anyway just wondering how we end up so far apart on opinion.
Lemme know please.
Thanks
DH
 
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