OP
OP
Bummer. Seems this is a "hit" or "miss" sort of thing. Oh well. Worth checking anyway. Sorry it didn't work for you.
Article [13] ST1300 - Pulls to the Right
- Thread starter SoloTotoCoyote
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Bummer. Seems this is a "hit" or "miss" sort of thing. Oh well. Worth checking anyway. Sorry it didn't work for you.
My '06 ST was the first bike I've had that pulled to the right when I attempted to briefly ride no-hands. I wrote it off because this is also the first bike I've owned with a longitudinally mounted engine, and figured crankshaft rotation was the culprit. I could keep it going straight no-hands if I applied a lot of body-english towards the left.
Don't BMWs with boxer engines and Motoguzzis also tend to pull towards one side or the other?
Don't BMWs with boxer engines and Motoguzzis also tend to pull towards one side or the other?
My '06 ST was the first bike I've had that pulled to the right when I attempted to briefly ride no-hands. I wrote it off because this is also the first bike I've owned with a longitudinally mounted engine, and figured crankshaft rotation was the culprit. I could keep it going straight no-hands if I applied a lot of body-english towards the left.
Don't BMWs with boxer engines and Motoguzzis also tend to pull towards one side or the other?
My Beemer (1150RT) pulled to the right
OP
OP
.... I wrote it off because this is also the first bike I've owned with a longitudinally mounted engine, and figured crankshaft rotation was the culprit. .....Don't BMWs with boxer engines and Motoguzzis also tend to pull towards one side or the other?
I've been actually wondering about this myself. I worked for a BMW dealership and noticed a pull to the right.
Gonzo
3/4 Century of Trivia
Maybe it's just a phenomenon caused by the coriolis effect. We should check with the lads down under to see if theirs pull to the left.
Don't BMWs with boxer engines and Motoguzzis also tend to pull towards one side or the other?
Yes, but only during accelerations or decelerations; and this is not related to the coriolis effect
Excuse the ignorance here but I am going to assume that I need to snug the axle bolt up (shy of 58ft.lbs.) prior to step one and then step two (tightening the bolt on the right side, NOT the axle)? To exagerate greatly, if I left the the axle out from the left fork 1/8" of an inch and then perform step one and two, never retightening the axle bolt, the axle bolt would be far from tight wouldn't she?
Thanks!
Thanks!
OP
OP
No worries on asking. Better to ask than not.
The axle will be tight because you are torquing it down in step 2. I think the directions are assuming that you have the axle run down to finger tight. Use your best judgement here. If you feel that the axle isn't tight, double check everything before riding.
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Dinkie Diesel
------------Jeff------------
This phenomenon keeps poking its head out. The 2007 ST1300 I rented in Kodak, TN pulled severely to the right. Taking your hands off the bars would create a brown stripe immediately! My 2006 doesn't pull at all. There has got to be an answer. I'm having a hard time being convinced that torque sequence can cause such a drastic effect. Assuming Honda has some very good/tight machining tolerances on those front end parts, I would think it would take more than a few .0001" to make the difference. Can anyone with a sharp, geometric mind tell me if the rear tire being out of alignment could cause the problem? I remember reading about a change to the rear swingarm pivot bearing. Or how about the welded aluminum backbone. Aluminum does some pretty crazy things when it's welded? I don't have the problem but dog-gone-it if I did I would not rest until it was fixed. Does anyone have access to a brand new model Hunter alignment machine they could adapt to fit on the wheels of the ST?
Took my 07 to the dealer yesterday for this, 2100 miles on the bike. Bought it new a month ago, Put an O-ring on the throttle grip last week and got the whole "Right turn Clyde" effect. They are supposed to be looking at it today. I will update as I get updates. If they dont do the re-torque sequence as described I'll do it myself.
My dealership is all over this. They have adjusted tire pressure, went through the disassembly/re-assembly of the front axle and pinch bolts, re-torqued the hardware at the head of the triple tree which they said was over-torqued. The mechanic working on it said its not safe as it is and is going to contact Honda on Monday about what to do next. There was even a mention of replacing forks today when they told me they wanted to keep the bike and didn't think it was safe. Honestly I didn't think it was all that big of an issue as I couldn't tell there was an issue at all until I slid an O-ring over the grip and let go of the handle bars. It does head off toward the right and I can't lean far left enough to make it track straight but its not darting away from me. The mechanic says he can feel it without letting go of the handle bars. Yes, it should track straight and we'll see what Honda says on Monday. Oh theres just one more thing that I should mention and it may cause some heat in this thread.... According to the service writer, The service manual instructions that have been posted on this forum for the axle and pinch bolt torque sequence are only applicable to "sport bikes with a steering damper". We don't have a damper on our bikes that I have noticed... I keep you updated..
OP
OP
No heat....but, the instructions that I posted were retrieved directly from the OEM Honda assembly manual for the ST1300. Not sure where the service writer understands it to only apply to the sportbikes with steering damper. The instructions may be identical.
Definitely keep us posted as to what they find. Specifically the "trouble" part.
Heres the latest. As of yesterday they have ordered both lower fork cases, wheel bearings, seals, and collars. Two mechanics and someone at Honda has suggested this a a fix for my bike. All parts are on order at this time with a tentative completion of next Teusday. I keep the updates coming as I get them....
WOW! talk about going the extra mile for the customer! Great dealer, needs to be posted in the good dealer section.
Will be interesting to see if this does it.
Talked to the serv dept Monday and they were waiting for all the parts to come in and still saying Tuesday. Today they said that Honda sent 2 lower left forks and no right and were shipping the right overnight. So now it looks like tomorrow for completion.
I also asked the service writer while on the phone today if they were reasonably sure that we will have a fix after all this and he said he was because they had determined the axle assembly to have been overtorqued and that they had also found a spacer that had gotten cocked somehow. I'm not familiar with the front end of this bike as I have not been into it myself so I cant tell you anything more than this as of right now, but I did ask them to save this part for me so I can post a pic for all of you. If we are real lucky maybe we can identfy it in a parts breakdown.
I told them again that I was not the only one having this problem and that it needs to be noted with Honda. He said that he would make a note of it. Also told them of the issues that some of you are experiencing with your dealers and them not being very cooperative and he said to send you to them. I realize that this may or may not be feasible for some but here's the link: http://www.desotohonda.net/
If all goes well I'll get my bike back tomorrow and it will track straight. This dealership has been very helpful to me and seemingly answered all my Q's. I do trust them to the farthest extent that I have ever trusted any dealer and I hope that I'll be posting tomorrow night with good news......
I also asked the service writer while on the phone today if they were reasonably sure that we will have a fix after all this and he said he was because they had determined the axle assembly to have been overtorqued and that they had also found a spacer that had gotten cocked somehow. I'm not familiar with the front end of this bike as I have not been into it myself so I cant tell you anything more than this as of right now, but I did ask them to save this part for me so I can post a pic for all of you. If we are real lucky maybe we can identfy it in a parts breakdown.
I told them again that I was not the only one having this problem and that it needs to be noted with Honda. He said that he would make a note of it. Also told them of the issues that some of you are experiencing with your dealers and them not being very cooperative and he said to send you to them. I realize that this may or may not be feasible for some but here's the link: http://www.desotohonda.net/
If all goes well I'll get my bike back tomorrow and it will track straight. This dealership has been very helpful to me and seemingly answered all my Q's. I do trust them to the farthest extent that I have ever trusted any dealer and I hope that I'll be posting tomorrow night with good news......
OP
OP
Thanks for the update, sir. Depending on how yours goes, I may try running the same thing through my dealership with mine.
Tankereng
Site Supporter
Wouldn't it be great to be able to nap while my STeed tracks straight? I mean not have to worry about it pulling to the right anymore? LOL Looking forward to the update for sure!!
Update: Woke up at 1:30 this afternoon (Daysleeper, I work at night) and had no messages so I called and was told the bike wasn't ready. The guy I was talking to was not the one I usually talk to and it sounded like he was beating around the bush a little. So I figured I would stop by on my way in to work and see for myself.
When I walked in at around 5:30 the guy I usually talk to intercepted me right away and told me that it still pulls to the right, My heart sank. They rebuilt the entire front end of the bike from the lower fork tubes down with all new parts except the wheel and tire which was checked for runout. They went into the triple tree and re-assembled everything, and they looked over the swing arm. Also found out that today they took another ST off the floor, pulled one from the warehouse and found both to be the same as mine.
During the discussion he told me that the mechanic said that if he sits cocked a little left that he can get it to fly straight, I said that would be an improvement as I could not sit or hang far enough left to make it go straight. The only time I got it to go anywhere close to straight was when I put a 14lb tool bag (6 red bricks) in the left saddlebag and sit/lean far left and still the bike would eventually overtake me and go right anyway.
I didn't drive it today because I didn't have time and had to go to work. They want to contact Honda again tomorrow before they say that its inherent to the ST's but I think thats where its going.
I'm supposed to pick it up tomorrow afternoon if they don't go back into it, I need it this weekend so I can prep for a trip to deals gap early next week. Maybe I'll be able to tell if they actually made a difference or not, then we'll know if were even close to the problem. We might be looking at the wrong end of the bike.
Sorry for the disappointment, I haven't even seen my STeed in 2 weeks and I miss it terribly. I'll live with this if I have to but it sure would be nice for it to track straight.
I'll update again tomorrow night, but I'm not expecting much different.
When I walked in at around 5:30 the guy I usually talk to intercepted me right away and told me that it still pulls to the right, My heart sank. They rebuilt the entire front end of the bike from the lower fork tubes down with all new parts except the wheel and tire which was checked for runout. They went into the triple tree and re-assembled everything, and they looked over the swing arm. Also found out that today they took another ST off the floor, pulled one from the warehouse and found both to be the same as mine.
During the discussion he told me that the mechanic said that if he sits cocked a little left that he can get it to fly straight, I said that would be an improvement as I could not sit or hang far enough left to make it go straight. The only time I got it to go anywhere close to straight was when I put a 14lb tool bag (6 red bricks) in the left saddlebag and sit/lean far left and still the bike would eventually overtake me and go right anyway.
I didn't drive it today because I didn't have time and had to go to work. They want to contact Honda again tomorrow before they say that its inherent to the ST's but I think thats where its going.
I'm supposed to pick it up tomorrow afternoon if they don't go back into it, I need it this weekend so I can prep for a trip to deals gap early next week. Maybe I'll be able to tell if they actually made a difference or not, then we'll know if were even close to the problem. We might be looking at the wrong end of the bike.
Sorry for the disappointment, I haven't even seen my STeed in 2 weeks and I miss it terribly. I'll live with this if I have to but it sure would be nice for it to track straight.
I'll update again tomorrow night, but I'm not expecting much different.
OP
OP
Update: Woke up at 1:30 this afternoon (Daysleeper, I work at night) and had no messages so I called and was told the bike wasn't ready. The guy I was talking to was not the one I usually talk to and it sounded like he was beating around the bush a little. So I figured I would stop by on my way in to work and see for myself.
When I walked in at around 5:30 the guy I usually talk to intercepted me right away and told me that it still pulls to the right, My heart sank. They rebuilt the entire front end of the bike from the lower fork tubes down with all new parts except the wheel and tire which was checked for runout. They went into the triple tree and re-assembled everything, and they looked over the swing arm. Also found out that today they took another ST off the floor, pulled one from the warehouse and found both to be the same as mine.
During the discussion he told me that the mechanic said that if he sits cocked a little left that he can get it to fly straight, I said that would be an improvement as I could not sit or hang far enough left to make it go straight. The only time I got it to go anywhere close to straight was when I put a 14lb tool bag (6 red bricks) in the left saddlebag and sit/lean far left and still the bike would eventually overtake me and go right anyway.
I didn't drive it today because I didn't have time and had to go to work. They want to contact Honda again tomorrow before they say that its inherent to the ST's but I think thats where its going.
I'm supposed to pick it up tomorrow afternoon if they don't go back into it, I need it this weekend so I can prep for a trip to deals gap early next week. Maybe I'll be able to tell if they actually made a difference or not, then we'll know if were even close to the problem. We might be looking at the wrong end of the bike.
Sorry for the disappointment, I haven't even seen my STeed in 2 weeks and I miss it terribly. I'll live with this if I have to but it sure would be nice for it to track straight.
I'll update again tomorrow night, but I'm not expecting much different.
The hopes and dreams of many ST riders dashed upon the rocks with just one post..........
Sorry to hear that.....but on the bright side, you just got a whole new front end.
Tankereng
Site Supporter
I was browsing through my service manual and in the troubleshooting area it specifiacally mentions bike not tracking straight/pulling as being a bent rear axle...
I pulled my rear wheel last night to take it in for a tire replacement and my axle seems straight enough...to the eye and rolling across the floor...no apparent irregularities...
I pulled my rear wheel last night to take it in for a tire replacement and my axle seems straight enough...to the eye and rolling across the floor...no apparent irregularities...