Loose steering wheel

[endleesss]

Sup guys, I'm a new katana owner, and i feel that the steering wheel is kind of loose at low speeds. My freind and I tried to do some low speed swerving, but everytime we push down on the handle bar, the wheel turns right away. Is this how this bike should be? Or do I need to tighten the big 30mm steering nut? Any ideas? Thank you!

edit: by steering wheel, i mean handle bar =)

[Newbie2it]

Give a little better of an idea of what you mean when you say "push down on the bar" Do you mean while riding and literally pushing straight down? Or do you mean while leaning and pushing basically the end of the bar down towards the ground in a hard turn? Anyhow, below are a few ideas if you think theres a issue with the steering itsself.

You can check the steering out easily, If you lift the front off the ground, turn the wheel left/right, do you feel any spots where it feels like the steerings going into a notch? If so, you might need head bearings.

Also, with it slightly off the ground, put a pry under the tire and press up/down, look at the neck while doing this, Do you see up/down movement? If so, you could try tightening the nut.

While looking at the front, make sure the front tire bolt is also tight and check for play side to side in the tire itsself on the axle.

[Black_peter]

Any action of "pushing" will turn the bike.
At lower speeds the gyro effect is lessened so the action is more exaggerated.
For example:
You can steer the bike by pushing on the foot pegs. This not only shifts your weight but also adding weight to that side of the bike. It strikes me that your use of "steering wheel" in the post indicates you are newish to bikes. If so thats cool, don't feel bad if you're un-used to the way a sport bike steers.
Also the Kat is a bit high in the center of gravity. So slow turn-ins might seem unstable. If you take a quick look at the front end. With the bike on the center stand:
Wiggle the bars (to see if they are loose) Wiggle the forks, wiggle the front wheel etc. If nothing feels really loose maybe get someone who knows sport bikes to try it out (a shop etc) they might say something dismissive about it being a Katana but if there is something really strange they will feel it.

[thetable]

Where are you, there might be someone on here local that wouldn't mind giving you a hand. There are really a bunch of good people on here.

[Black_peter]

Where are you, there might be someone on here local that wouldn't mind giving you a hand. There are really a bunch of good people on here.

Very good point!!

[arsenic]

ok, since no one else has said it, I will. The problem is your bike has a steering wheel

[endleesss]

ok, since no one else has said it, I will. The problem is your bike has a steering wheel

lol... handle bar.
First of all thanks for the responses, and yes i'm new to bikes, but my friend isn't. He rode my bike yesterday and told me that he can't swerve the bike. Basically, hes trying to swerve at low speeds and leaning or pushing on the handle bar to lean the bike while keeping the handle bar straight. And the handle bar keeps turning. Same thing happened to me.
I'm going to check all the stuff above.
I'm in Pomona, CA 91768

[arsenic]

I would have to guess here, mind you this is only a guess, replace the steering head bearing. That should solve your problems.

[Black_peter]

Turning like the front wheel turns too?
Or turning like the bar turns and the wheel doesn't..

Then I'm going to guess and say you have a 600cc Kat and you're missing the clip-on screws..
Part 8 on this picture:

http://www.bikebandit.com/assets/schematics/Suzuki/SU0322_063.gif

[endleesss]

I would have to guess here, mind you this is only a guess, replace the steering head bearing. That should solve your problems.

I thought about that.

Turning like the front wheel turns too?
Or turning like the bar turns and the wheel doesn't..
Then I'm going to guess and say you have a 600cc Kat and you're missing the clip-on screws..
Part 8 on this picture:
http://www.bikebandit.com/assets/sch...SU0322_063.gif

I have that part.
I might not be describing the problem correctly.
I think the correct term is weaving... making little S in between cones and leaning the bike while keeping the handle bars straight.

[The CyberPoet]

(A) This is a big, heavy bike. You're not likely to be able to run it through S-pattern cones at low speeds without using the handlebars, especially if your own weight isn't particularly heavy. We're talking about a 515 lb bike you're trying to push around -- it will react, but it will react quite slowly. The less you weigh, the less it's going to react to shifting (and the further you need to shift off-center to make it do it). Don't sweat it -- just use the handlebars -- they are there for a reason.

(B) Check your tire pressure and tire wear levels. If the tires are squared off or the tire pressure is low, the steering responsiveness is going to be way-down (post up the brand, model and your weight and we'll give you recommendations for the best tire pressure). This is even more noticeable if you are trying to steer using only your body mass and not the handlebars.

(C) You may want to check your steering head bearings (All-Balls brand replacements are preferred if you need to replace them) and the torque setting on the steering nut. These bearings should be repacked every couple years (same time as the fork rebuild), and if it's been ignored, they could be quite dry, as the grease can drain out to the ground via the opening in the bottom of the steering column. The other common issue with these bearings is that they tend to get "notched" if the previous owner often rode over curbs, and then due to the notch, it doesn't want to turn as freely as it should (repair is to replace the bearings and races). Easy way to test for notchiness is to place the bike on the center stand, have someone press down on the tail (to lift the front tire off the ground) and rotate the handlebar all the way from one side to the other & back several times -- it should be a smooth motion with no change in resistance and no clicking.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[Black_peter]

I think CP nailed it with A & B.

[endleesss]

Yeah that makes alot of sense. Thank you for the explanation