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Posted by Troll
- July 15, 2016, 18:59:19 PMWhat brand of tire? Could be out of round. Bad wheel bearings do not cause this problem..Just because a tire is new doesn't mean it's good....
Posted by HurtSoMuch
- July 15, 2016, 16:03:38 PMhi there..new here..i have a 2000 model ,and after new tyres put on..i got this stupid bounce too..i can see the rims/tyres are balanced(leadstrips on the rim)...i think it has to be with the tyre..or the rim(maybe the bearings are shot?)..i too feel the bounce in the handlebar..mine only does this bounce in the front end..and its not constant..its like a second or two when its smooth..then the bounce starts again..going crazyover this
Posted by greenbarn
- July 07, 2016, 19:50:13 PMOne of the keys to trouble shoot a ride problem is the frequency of your "bounce".
If you watch any vehicle in motion - the tires will constantly move up an down within the wheel well. This is just the suspension working to absorb road un-evenness. With the Drifter, the fender is attached hard to the tire (through the swing arm, of course) so when ever the tire moves up or down (or conversely YOU move up or down with the sprung suspension) the fender has no other alternative than to move up and down (with respect to the seat).
So moving up and down (bouncing) is not abnormal and cannot be avoided. The "frequency" of this "bounce" would appear random - depending on the smoothness of the road. What would be abnormal is for the fender/tire "bounce" to be with the same FREQUENCY as the tire speed, or engine speed. It's abnormal to be just as bad or worse on a smooth road than a rough one. Abnormal if it goes away or changes significantly when you coast with the clutch in.
Posted by Zoar
- July 07, 2016, 11:26:33 AMQuote from: Fink on October 12, 2015, 15:31:54 PMThe KEY clues you provided----"It is not a wobble but a bounce I can feel in the seat and handlebars. I can see and feel with my hand the front and rear fenders bouncing when going down ANY road. I took the bike on some fresh paved blacktop and I could still feel it. The problem really starts up after 50mph but you can still feel it before. "So I hope I am not repeating myself or posting two times but I was unable to find my previous question. Sorry if I am. I picked up a 2002 drifter 800 and it only had 4200miles when I bought it. It must have sat for a while. The front and rear fenders shake up and down. I had the fluids changed, new metzler tires, heavier fork oil with restricters put in to the front forks, I also had a rear progressive shock put in the rear. I have had it to the dealer and another shop. They told me it is the nature of the beast. It is not a wobble but a bounce I can feel in the seat and handlebars. I can see and feel with my hand the front and rear fenders bouncing when going down ANY road. I took the bike on some fresh paved blacktop and I could still feel it. The problem really starts up after 50mph but you can still feel it before. I had them spin balance the tires 3 times and "check" the bearings. I always wanted a drifter but I am regretting buying one. I have had a couple shops tell me "Its the nature of the beast" I think hogwash as they would not release a bike to the public that bounced like this. The problem still seems the same after all the work. The brakes do not seem to be sticking. Tires are both fully beaded. Tire pressure seems to not change anything. I have been riding for 12 years. Everything from a V-max to a c90. I have had front wobble problems with my c90. I smack the handle bars on this bike and it balances the wobble out fine. I am pretty desperate as I got this for 3k and have sunk a little over 2k in to it already
. Thanks for all the help.
BOUNCE is vital. And BOTH front and rear are sources and it from what you wrote it has nothing to do with your motor or your chain.
It sound to me like your rims, and since you replaced the tires that makes it even more apparent.
My 2 cents.
Posted by kw-retrorider
- July 04, 2016, 09:30:10 AMThe fender doesn't bounce, the suspension does....continuously....as you confirmed by holding your hand on it while riding. That is normal and in my experience does not translate to bouncing handlebars or other vibration anomaly.
Posted by KEN.
- July 04, 2016, 00:26:01 AMSounds to me like you don't realize the rear fender is bolted to the swing arm not to the frame of this bike...same as the front fender is bolted to the lower tubes...Question for you,
what kind of bike have you been riding previous to the Drifter? I had a BMW GS and the front fender was bolted to the lower triple tree and did NOT move, same with the rear bolted to the frame...KEN.
Posted by CDNRatMan
- June 12, 2016, 18:57:53 PMThat was really good the pipes seemed to be steady and not move but the fender was in constant motion.
Fink get someone to ride your bike for you and follow them and see how much that fender really moves.....might change your mind.
Posted by Troll
- June 12, 2016, 18:42:21 PMQuote from: Fink on June 12, 2016, 11:23:42 AMYes, But does it continuously moves up and down going down the road? I put my hand on the back fender and it is always moving my hand up and down no matter what road I am on. I did not think tire moved that much inside a stagnant fender bike?
The answer to that question is YES!...you don't know just how much they move until you watch someone else' bike. Here's a test vid I took of mine a couple of years ago.... https://goo.gl/photos/FVtksyZa4VnK7Dsq6 that should answer your questions!
Posted by Tfrank59
- June 12, 2016, 16:40:40 PMyeah that is kind of a unique feature of our bikes where the fender being attached to the swing arm moves with the swingarm and rear tire. I actually have a solo rack on the fender and on top of that I have a tail bag, and I can feel it touching my back on bumps and for a while it took a lot of getting used to but now I expect to feel it back there, it's normal
Posted by CDNRatMan
- June 12, 2016, 11:38:04 AMAt this point I would really like to ride behind and then ride the bike. To see and feel what you are experiencing.
Fink to expand on what PC is saying I was somewhat awed the first time I followed my bike, I could not get over how much the rear fender did actually move up and down.
Before you do something drastic like sell the bike you might want to find a Drifter 800 close by and get together for a ride and compare bikes.
Posted by mittico68
- June 12, 2016, 11:36:22 AMMaybe it depends on the road itself: I never saw one with a perfect floor.
Anyway, if that bouncin' doesn't interfere with driving, I wouldn't worry at all...
I'm glad that the rear fender keeps bouncin': that's one of those things that I like, because it reminds me of early Indians!
Posted by Fink
- June 12, 2016, 11:23:42 AMYes, But does it continuously moves up and down going down the road? I put my hand on the back fender and it is always moving my hand up and down no matter what road I am on. I did not think tire moved that much inside a stagnant fender bike?
Posted by pcarrell
- June 12, 2016, 08:38:13 AMYou know that the rear fender on these bikes moves with the suspension, right?
Posted by Fink
- June 11, 2016, 22:55:52 PMLast year had the tires replaced with Metzlers. Had the tires spin balanced 3 times by two different shops. Took it to a Kawasaki dealer where I had the front forks re-done with rear progressive shock. This year I had the chain and two sprockets done at a 3rd different shop and the rear fender still continues do bounce up and down. I told them to check everything out. My fenders and handlebars bounce up and down. Especially my rear fender bounces going down the road. Love the looks of the bike but I am in to it more than I paid for it. It has had this bounce from day one. Its for sale if anyone is interested.
Posted by CDNRatMan
- November 16, 2015, 15:25:10 PM I don't want to get off the topic here, but I used Counter balance beads last year and found them to be really good. After reading about the moisture I sent the company an email and here is their response.
Hi Andy, Dyna Beads and Counteract are similar yet different products. Dyna Beads has caused a wide range of issues inside tires, mainly because they are ceramic beads and free flowing, meaning they constantly have to rebalance when you come to a stop and start again, causing Dyna Beads to bang off the rim constantly breaking the beads into pieces. The ceramic beads tend to break apart inside the tire and actually start to deteriorate the inside of the tire.
Counteract, we are a tempered glass bead and due to our patents our product does not need to re-balance when starting and stopping. Once it find the original out-of-balance position they stay there and only move when they experience vibrations and need too. In over 20 million applications we have never cause an issue inside a tire and have never voided a tire warranty. You do not have to worry too much about moisture and Counteract. Our beads are coated in a special coating that resists moisture (every tire accumulates moisture inside) the special coating we apply to them allows Counteract to not be affected by moisture inside tires, therefore they will not clump, although it is a good idea to clear your air line of moisture regardless. The only reason they could clump is if there is a ton of bead lube dropped into the tire while they are being mounted, although this rarely happens.
We are not the same as Dyna Beads. You will not have these issues using Counteract.
Hope this clears up one issue. Now to figure out why the fenders are bouncing around......