OK, so I'm pretty proud of myself for changing tires the first time. (The Nomar bar works if you hold your mouth right, sweat like hell, and utter an unending stream of creative profanity.) So the first ride today after changing from flat, cupped PR's to nice, round, PR2's, it feels like a new bike--a new bike with a problem. It really tips into turns nicely--especially left turns. It dives into left turns. Took my hands off the bars to check for wobble and the bike changed to the left lane. Assuming my new PR2's are ok and the Dyna Beads work sort of as advertised, what could be the problem? It seems to be the rear wheel wanting to wander. Any ideas?

Craig

 

Is there any handle bar shake?

I'd take a look at the wheel alignment , if she's wandering sideways.

If there is steering shake , check that the tyres are fitted to the wheels in the correct direction . My front tyre was fitted the wrong way and it caused a wobble . There are arrows on both the tyres and the wheels to show the direction of rotation

 

No wobble, and the tires are on the right way. Chain's a little slack, so I'll adjust that in the morning. I think I've got the spacers in the same way they came out. How can I check alignment?

Craig

 

I'd guess alignment, too, craig...
Probably just rear wheel alignment? The marks on the swingarm probably arent correct..

(from CBRClassic)
Here is the write-up that Steve did on the subject...

https://cbrforum.com/forum/how-tos-81/wheel-alignment-done-home-98352/

 

Good write-up from Steve. I had to adjust the chain this morning, and when I started on that, I could see that the right index marks didn't match up with the left, so I fixed that while setting the chain tension. Hard to believe a millimeter and a half could make such a difference in handling. Have to go to work shortly, so I'll find out then if the problem is corrected. I suspect that was it because I have always used the index marks before when making adjustments or removing and replacing the wheel, and never had a problem.

Thanks for all the quick responses. This is a great forum.

Craig

 

Half a mm isn't making your bike swerve, and neither is chain tension. If your bike is turning when you let go of the bars, you either have a serious re-assembly mistake or your bike is bent. I'd disassemle and re-do everything (not the tire mounting, just wheel r&r) carefully, checking the manual for reference re: spacer locations etc.

 

As DrThunder say's 1.5mm shouldn't make a huge difference .

How bad is she swerving?

If she's drifting just a little , then it may be the problem , but if she's jumping lanes then it's maybe something more .

The factory marks on the swing-arm don't mean a lot ten years down the line , the chain has been changed a couple of times , that's why Steve (CBR Classic) posted the 'How To'. If your adjustments don't solve the problem , go through Steve's 'How To' as it's a fail-safe way of checking the alignment of your wheels

 

I didn't think chain tension was the problem; it just needed adjusting because I didn't get it right when I put the rear wheel back on. I've checked the tire rotation and checked the spacers against the manual. Everything seems correct, and the drift left is much less than it was. I'll go back through Steve's write-up, but it's a tiny problem now, not the surprise it was at first.

Craig

 

Wait a minute... I thought it was supposed to be "all booze and no help"??
And all this time I thought I was doing it right!

Maybe I was drunk when you first told me, steve, and I didn't understand.... but I could've swore you said CBRF was a place to get smashed and pick on people who had bike problems..