Kat handling weird

[XelSS]

Ok, so over the past week or so, ive noticed my Kat has been handling a little....quirky, to say the least.. when i turn, it feels a little precarious....also, maybe its just in my mind but sometimes it also feels like the back end is swinging out behind me...like its a trailor or something(honestly its not as exagerrated as im making it seem, but thats how it feels nonetheless.). I thought it was air pressure and started pushing down on the bars and noticed a little give in the tire. so i hopped off and pressed firmly..it gave a bit. Went to a pump and the pump said about 39 PSI..i gave a little on both tires for good measure, and theyre now up at about 40. still felt the same, though now it seems to want to drift to the right;drift, not pull or lean, when i take my hands off the bars, at about 20mph..went to another pump, still said 40 PSI in both tires..am i crazy or something? any ideas or is it perhaps only in my head? It was feeling so squirrely that I was implored to come and post as i felt it wasnt stable enough to make my 10 mile journey to work.

[IndyGunner]

Post up some pictures of your front and rear tires. Maybe they are scalloped or cupping...

Also check that your rear tire is aligned correctly.... other than that I have no idea.


Good luck.

[zcphoto]

tire pressure should be checked cold

[Trackerrrr]

Check front axle nut for proper torque and steering head bearings too.

[hardlydangerous]

Might be time to change the fork oil/springs...Sounds more like a weight transfer issue throwing the bike off.
if the bike is diving into the corners and or the suspension is slow reacting due to bad fluids, water, weak springs etc or not coming back up to level it will want to push through turns and will make the front end feel heavy and lazy and the back end light.
I would also check the front brakes for dragging as well as the front wheel bearings

[scottynoface]

I would also check the front brakes for dragging

+1, my bike did this over the winter and it was an interesting riding situation to say the least

[Black_peter]

Might be time for a new tire.. Regardless of wear, they get old..

[steves]

The suspension could be set up incorrectly as well... but it's more likely that the tires are worn out.

[ADyingBreed]

Ok, so over the past week or so, ive noticed my Kat has been handling a little....quirky, to say the least.. when i turn, it feels a little precarious....also, maybe its just in my mind but sometimes it also feels like the back end is swinging out behind me...like its a trailor or something(honestly its not as exagerrated as im making it seem, but thats how it feels nonetheless.). I thought it was air pressure and started pushing down on the bars and noticed a little give in the tire. so i hopped off and pressed firmly..it gave a bit. Went to a pump and the pump said about 39 PSI..i gave a little on both tires for good measure, and theyre now up at about 40. still felt the same, though now it seems to want to drift to the right;drift, not pull or lean, when i take my hands off the bars, at about 20mph..went to another pump, still said 40 PSI in both tires..am i crazy or something? any ideas or is it perhaps only in my head? It was feeling so squirrely that I was implored to come and post as i felt it wasnt stable enough to make my 10 mile journey to work.

Tires, Brakes, Axle, bearings. all places you should check to see are within spec.

Also the rear end trailing behind me, I've had that a lot when I am messing around in empty parking lots at night just leaning to my hearts desire. Tires and pavement are cold (and slick for the pavement) so my rear tire keeps sliding, but i've gotten to the point i know exactly how much slide i can have before i crash.

[The CyberPoet]

Ok, so over the past week or so, ive noticed my Kat has been handling a little....quirky, to say the least.. when i turn, it feels a little precarious....also, maybe its just in my mind but

Say, is that about the same amount of time since you last adjusted the chain? Or the first time you started riding this year since you adjusted the chain late last year? Hmmmm....

As the others have noted, there are a lot of factors that could be involved.
We can rule some out fairly quickly, others will take a bit more investigation:

1. Headstock/bar-ends/forks relationship. Stand in front of the bike with the front wheel between your knees and hold the handlebars -- are the bars straight to your wheel, or is one side closer to you (or to the ground) compared to the other? Uneven bars makes for uneven force being applied and can cause you to unintentionally be adding input that's causing it to drift right (especially suspect if the bike was dropped or knocked over).

2. Rear wheel alignment (the one I'm suspecting). Totally ignoring the rear wheel adjuster plates, look at both the bolts coming out of the adjusters at the very rear of the swingarm (same number of threads showing on both?), at the end-caps for the swingarm (where those bolts stick out -- are the plates mounted flat, flush, tight?), and at the rear sprocket from behind (do the sprocket teeth pretty much hit the center of the chain from top to bottom, or are they travelling from inside to outside and back to inside between the top & bottom of the rear sprocket?). All of these could imply that the rear wheel is out of alignment.

3. Fork seals (already mentioned above by another poster). wipe off both fork tubes with a clean paper towel. Now press down on the forks from the seated position with all your might and release. Re-examine the fork tubes -- do you see any streaking or rings of oil? If so, seals are shot and the forks definitely need a rebuild.

4. Brakes dragging (already mentioned above). For the rear, slap the bike on the centerstand and spin the wheel -- any dragging noises coming from the rear brake? For the front, get the front off the ground (have someone else push down on the rear while the bike is on the centerstand), then spin the front wheel -- any dragging noises from the front?

5. Tire pressures -- drop the front tire down to 36. Try it again. Over-pressurizing the front will tend to make it run on a very small contact patch, and may cause it to want to "fall" to the side very readily (although in left-driver countries like the us, the tendency is to fall to the left because of higher rubber wear on the left side of the tire from road-crowning; the reverse is true for right-drive countries).

6. Oscillation test. Using a very empty, very straight and very smooth road, get up to about 40 mph, then loosen your hands on the handlebars, forming a large O with each hand around the bar (so it's free to move a little without you giving up all control). Do the bars start to shake or sway? Fast shaking (more than 4 times a second) typically indicate problems with the front end, while a slow slalom weave (less than 3 oscilallations per second) typically indicate the rear end is misaligned or uneven in some sense.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

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[Robgsxf750]

My guess would be the steering head bearing

http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=92942

[XelSS]

thanks for the tips guys, i'll check it out and conclude with my observations

[kycycles]

be sure to check the bearings, alignment and tire wear