Like a snake..

[Hoevding]

Hello folks, it`s been a while. I still have my old 11, had it since 2011 and it has run about 120000km- Maybe i have mentioned it before - do not remember, and i haven`t read all threads either. My bike can do a lot of things, it starts, brakes and so on, but it can go strait ahead. It goes more like a snake, it goes from side to side. Getting worse when the tires are warmed up. Yes, i have tried all kind of tires, Dunlops, Pirellis, Metzeler.. now i have Michelin in both ends, got them on yesterday. The Mich. feels ok so far, just finish a 200 km tour. But what causes the instability?? I have changed steering bearings, and frontforks are straigt and in good condition. I have also new swingarm bearings - changed them some years ago, and some new bearings in the full floater linkages. I have read some tests, and listen to some roumors, and it seems like the GSX1100F has always had stability issues?. Any suggestions?

[92xjunker]

Miss alignment of the wheels, bad bearings, loose head stock, bent wheel, warped rotor, out of balance wheel.....

[katanarider]

I had the same problem. Even though I've only put less than 10 miles (less than 16 kilometers ) on mine, the very first time I took my bike around the neighborhood I almost vomited with disgust. I'm still working on my carbs if you must know. Anyway, I think I may have figured out the problem. Let me tell you what I did and you can decide if you want to put the effort into your bike or not. My bike is a '88, thats supposed to be the worst year for the suspension/steering geometery on these old kat-1100s. It has to do with the fork/stem angle. Suzuki change the geometery on 89+ models. However, I also noticed my rear suspension was sagging/low compared to other big kats I've seen here on katriders. I think the rear suspension just settled over the years or something else happened because the bike only has 2,400 kilometers. What I decided to do is lower my front forks. You could take the chance of rebuilding your back shock in hopes that it will raise it up, but I personally like the lowered look better myself. After I lowered my front 3.175 cms (1.25 inches) , I immediately noticed it felt more stable and I only made a few passes back and forth in front of my house. I can't explain the exact science behind it, but I sure like it better. If you lower your forks, you'll need to by 41mm clip-on handle bars and you can't go any lower than 3.175cm (31.75mm) (1.25 inches) because the fender will contact the horn on large bumps. Read my 17 inch wheel swap in my signature for more details.
EDIT: That means the clip-ons shouldn't be more than 32mm high (thick/tall) because thats the amount of mounting surface you'll have on the fork stems when they are raised up through the triple tree.

[92xjunker]

Over 1" will not be advisable.

[katanarider]

Over 1 inch lower ? Why not ?
This isn't your typical bike here, especially if its a '88 model.
Have you looked at my signature picture ? Mine sits perfect !
EDIT: Just noticed photo-fuck it (as Krey calls it ) isn't working.
Go figure, piece of shit host they are !
2nd EDIT: I thinks its working.
After lowered


Before lowered
http://imgur.com/NvBDA6J

[Hoevding]

Tnx for the answers .. "katanarider"; i will try the fork mod (someday).. And to 92xjunker- i will also look in to the things you mentioned. Steeringangels, or steering geometry are crucial when it comes to stability. The sweedish truck Scania had a model from 1980 to 1986. Those trucs was terrible to drive. The cause of the problem was wrong angle on the kingpins. Tnx again..

"Katriarder".. you are still working on your carbs... the best solution is to get a set of GSX-R carbs. When i bought mine it had the R carbs. But by some unknown reasons (don`t ask) i bought a set of used stock carbs. I`ve changed the needles, floatvalves and mainjets (standard). The bike is easy to start, idles lovely, but between 5-6000 rpm it kinda "hangs", do not respons proparly to the trottle... I don`t know why this phenomena occurs, nobody knows maybe. Anyway; i`m planning to overhaul the R carbs and put them back again.

[katanarider]

Hanging throttle usually means a vacuum leak.

[92xjunker]

Over 1 inch lower ? Why not ?
This isn't your typical bike here, especially if its a '88 model.
Have you looked at my signature picture ? Mine sits perfect !
EDIT: Just noticed photo-fuck it (as Krey calls it ) isn't working.
Go figure, piece of shit host they are !
2nd EDIT: I thinks its working.
After lowered


Before lowered
http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/u...at/Before1.jpg

The front suspension will hit or bottom out during hard bumps.