TL1000R handling problem

[Driftmonkey]

I know you read that title and thought, ha ha. They all have handling problems, but just want to make sure.. Accelerating, any sort of lift of the front wheel will send the handlebars wobbling. How do I stop this, or, can I stop this?

Any help is appreciated.

[Crasherfromwayback]

I know you read that title and thought, ha ha. They all have handling problems, but just want to make sure.. Accelerating, any sort of lift of the front wheel will send the handlebars wobbling. How do I stop this, or, can I stop this?

Any help is appreciated.

TL1000R's handle quite well actually. Def better than the S. If it's got a steering damper on it (which they all had), then you need to look at the bikes set up. NO way anyone here can tell you what's wrong without seeing the bike.

[Drew]

Many things will cause head shake. A steering damper is a mask, not a fix.

[Laava]

. NO way anyone here can tell you what's wrong without seeing the bike.

Heh! Let's see if you're right!

[Drew]

Heh! Let's see if you're right!

Loads of people will try.

[OddDuck]

Couple of things to try -

Check tyre pressures front and rear

Check head bearings for play

Check front wheel bearings for play

Check fork sliders for play

Check steering damper, both damping action and any play whatever in its mounting bushings

and getting a bit speculative -

Check swingarm bearings for play

Check rear wheel bearings for play

Check fork positions in triple trees, are they getting hammered upward and shortening the steering angle?

Check frame for cracking, especially around steering head (yeah, I know this one's pretty unlikely)

Good luck and let us know how it goes. Pinch of salt, caveat emptor, my $0.02, etc etc

[willytheekid]

Couple of things to try -

Check tyre pressures front and rear

Check head bearings for play

Check front wheel bearings for play

Check fork sliders for play

Check steering damper, both damping action and any play whatever in its mounting bushings

and getting a bit speculative -

Check swingarm bearings for play

Check rear wheel bearings for play

Check fork positions in triple trees, are they getting hammered upward and shortening the steering angle?

Check frame for cracking, especially around steering head (yeah, I know this one's pretty unlikely)

Good luck and let us know how it goes. Pinch of salt, caveat emptor, my $0.02, etc etc

http://cdn.meme.am/instances/400x/56990095.jpg

...cos he friggin nailed it! :niceone:

[HenryDorsetCase]

did the R come with the shithouse rotary damper thing? because they were shit on day 1 and 15 years later will be no better.

Go to your local library and have a look at recent issues of PERFORMANCE BIKES magazine. They have transformed a TL1000R into an absolute weapon. GSXR1000K5 (I thinK maybe LO) front end, TTX36 shock, brembo monoblocks, light wheels, major HP upgrade, and a lot of fripperies like crabon fribe bodywork. Its my favourite project bike ever of theirs and if you own one, you should read about what they did.

[Driftmonkey]

Couple of things to try -

Check tyre pressures front and rear

Check head bearings for play

Check front wheel bearings for play

Check fork sliders for play

Check steering damper, both damping action and any play whatever in its mounting bushings

and getting a bit speculative -

Check swingarm bearings for play

Check rear wheel bearings for play

Check fork positions in triple trees, are they getting hammered upward and shortening the steering angle?

Check frame for cracking, especially around steering head (yeah, I know this one's pretty unlikely)

Good luck and let us know how it goes. Pinch of salt, caveat emptor, my $0.02, etc etc

Absolute legend, got some fiddling to do when I get home. The bike must have been sitting for a while as I had to pull apart and reassemble both front calipers, tighten chain, needs new tires among many other things.. or its just been unloved. Will update when I find any cause for concern

[Crasherfromwayback]

needs new tires among many other things..

Just answered your own question there then eh. They shake their head like a cunt if the rear tyre is worn flat in the centre.

[Crasherfromwayback]

Check steering damper, both damping action and any play whatever in its mounting bushings



As Drew mentioned, the steering damper is the pill, not the cause. Whilst these things won't help when the damper is required to do it's thing, it ain't the problem.

[98tls]

TL1000R's handle quite well actually. Def better than the S. If it's got a steering damper on it (which they all had), then you need to look at the bikes set up. NO way anyone here can tell you what's wrong without seeing the bike.

Only ever ridden 2 Rs for a long enough ride to comment and both wanted to run wide on anything near a tight corner,plenty on the TL site have got them sorted it seems.Fwiw any TL be it R or S bought these days will need plenty of tlc...swingarm bearings got fuck all grease when assembled and it would be rare indeed to find one that someone had bothered to sort out.

[Premature Accelerato]

Go through the list given you by Oddduck and if it still shakes, adjust the rebound damping. My GSXR track bike has given me headshake in the past and suspension adjustment has allways worked for me. Might not for you of course but just my 2 cents worth.

[Drew]

Go through the list given you by Oddduck and if it still shakes, adjust the rebound damping. My GSXR track bike has given me headshake in the past and suspension adjustment has allways worked for me. Might not for you of course but just my 2 cents worth.

Oooooohhhhhhh yeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaah. There's some fucken terrible advice.

If the forks are topping out really hard, ya might get a head shake. Otherwise don't fuck with your suspension settings till the bike is mechanically sound.

[Driftmonkey]

Steering damper doesn't do anything, but as you guys have said the bike shouldn't be doing what it does anyway so I've ignored that.
New tires, brake pads etc flew thru wof with no comments whatsoever, rear is really stiff, front is similar. Every time without fail if the front has any sort of lift it just goes haywire.. not a very encouraging bike to ride when it's like that haha.
40psi rear 38psi front, sounds like the front wheel bearings are getting a tad noisy? When I'm leaning in a corner can hear them making a slight noise with the rotation of the front wheel..

[AllanB]

Steering damper doesn't do anything, but as you guys have said the bike shouldn't be doing what it does anyway so I've ignored that.
New tires, brake pads etc flew thru wof with no comments whatsoever, rear is really stiff, front is similar. Every time without fail if the front has any sort of lift it just goes haywire.. not a very encouraging bike to ride when it's like that haha.
40psi rear 38psi front, sounds like the front wheel bearings are getting a tad noisy? When I'm leaning in a corner can hear them making a slight noise with the rotation of the front wheel..

Tyre pressures are highish - particularly the front, most fronts in the 120 -17 are noted as 36 factory and often riders drop a few psi below that (personal preference)

If you can hear your front wheel bearings while cranked over you need to sort those suckers.

[SVboy]

I believe getting chain tension correct is critical with the S model-too tight and the swing arm cant move! PB magazine had a comprehensive article on TL's a few years ago, including all the common fixes. I agree with HDC, the current PB have been running a great series of articles on bringing the TLR right up to date!

[98tls]

Steering damper doesn't do anything, but as you guys have said the bike shouldn't be doing what it does anyway so I've ignored that.
New tires, brake pads etc flew thru wof with no comments whatsoever, rear is really stiff, front is similar. Every time without fail if the front has any sort of lift it just goes haywire.. not a very encouraging bike to ride when it's like that haha.
40psi rear 38psi front, sounds like the front wheel bearings are getting a tad noisy? When I'm leaning in a corner can hear them making a slight noise with the rotation of the front wheel..

If its the oem rear set up then it no doubt fucked,replaced the rubbish on the back of my S years ago as it was pretty much rock solid,fwiw i run 36 in the rear.Replace rear suspenders and swingarm bearings,as for steering damper it is there for a reason though replaced mine years ago with an adjustable one...TLs are not the only bike ever fitted with a steering damper.Ive owned my TL for a very long time and read much around the supposed terrible handling most of it bullshit,the things didnt win IBOTY back then for no reason,a test in Kiwi rider many many years saw a much respected journo comment "cant see what all the fuss is about ive had more head shake from a GSXR 750" which wasnt a bad handling bike.A few poms planted themselves in hedges and the rest is history.Fwiw a pretty cheap option and a great upgrade is to replace the front end with a later model GSXR set up,bonus is the radial calipers,pic of mine from years back.http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a92/tlme/Newforks007.jpg (http://s9.photobucket.com/user/tlme/media/Newforks007.jpg.html)