New head bearings, still swapping???

[mx916]

Hey Guys, I changed my steering head bearings because my bars would swap when I let go. Bearings went in fine and steering is much smoother, but I still have the swapping when I let go of the bars. Any ideas? Wheel bearings? Front wheel out of balance? Anyone else ever run into this ? Thanks for any help.

[92xjunker]

You Just answered your own question.. Add warped rotors, dragging brakes and bad tire. Ohh and misaligned rear tire and worn rear bearings.

[mx916]

Thanks, I didn't think about brakes or rotors.

[shpielers]

I'd guess your front tire is cupped. How old (age and miles) is it?

Rotors are easy to check - pop the bike up on the centerstand, drop some weight on the rear seat to lift the front end, and spin the front wheel. Look at the rotor/brake pads head on, you'll easily be able to see warping if it's there.

[mx916]

Front tire is fairly new. I will check rotors next. thanks for the input.

[shpielers]

New as in low miles, or new as in manufactured recently? Old tire with low miles and lots of tread will turn really hard and won't handle correctly. So even though it's 'new'...its still crap.
Also, check your tire pressur if you haven't already, low pressure definitely can make things wobbly. I was able to notice it the one time my front got down to 25 psi.

Just thought of this, if you see wobble on the rotors when you spin the wheel, it could be wheel bearings also. A straight edge across the rotors will also tell you if they're warped. If you try a straight edge across the rotors in several places, and there is wobble, its likely your wheel bearings are needing replacing. Not hard to do, and new bearings arent too expensive.