HI ALL,
I AM NEW TO THE FORUM SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME LOL.

MY PROBLEM IS WITH MY 1990 CBR1000F. i HAVE ONLY JUST GOT IT AND HAVE ONLY RIDDEN ONCE DUE TO NO INSURANCE AS YET BUT THE BIKE DOES NOT SEEM TO BE HANDLING CORRECTLY. WHENEVER I TRY TO TURN THE BIKE IT FEELS LIKE IT EITHER WONT TURN OR WHEN I COUNTER STEER AND LEAN THE BIKE OVER, IF I DO NOT KEEP COUNTERSTEERING THE BIKE SITS ITSELF BACK UP AGAIN.

I CHECKED MY REAR SAG AND THIS WAS ONLY 12MM! RESET IT TO 35MM AND IT DOES SEEM BETTER BUT STILL FEELS RELUCTANT TO TURN. I HAVE NO COMPRESSION OR REBOUND DAMPING ON FRONT OR REAR AND I AM NOT SURE IF I CAN ADJUST PRELOAD ON FRONT.

CAN ANYONE HELP PLEASE.
THANKS IN ADVANCE
GRIMREAPER

 

Sure, we'll bear with you, but on one condition: you turn off Caps Lock on your pc. Writing in big letters in forums is equivalent to SHOUTING! and that's not necessary, even if there is some old farts in here who may have decreased hearing.

Your problems sounds like a tire issue to me. What sizes do you have on your bike and what pressure?

Oh, and if you are as skinny as the guy in your avatar pic, you might just be too light for a 1000F!

 

lol.
My apologies for caps lock. as i said i am a newcomer to the forum.

I wish I were as skinny as my avatar lol. I am however 106kg and 6 ft 2 inches tall. tyre pressures are 36psi front and 42 rear and as far as i can tell i have 120front tyre and a 180 rear tyre. I know the cbr1000f is recommended to have a 170 section tyre but surely this would not account for the bike 'sitting up' in a turn. Like i say the only way i can counteract this is to continue putting a little pressure on the bars to keep the bike leaning. Is this normal as I dont remember my 1999 cbr600fx needing this input whilst leant over.

maybe i am just a little rusty at riding the bike and I will get used to it perhaps.
thanks
grim

 

These bikes are quite a bit heavier than the 600, so take a bit more to turn.
Some will tell you to drop the bike in the front forks by a few mils, which will drop the front and cause the bike to turn in more easily.
The rear tyre does have bit of effect on the steering, but once used to it you should be fine.
Not perhaps a little change of weight on the bike, and perhaps some practice could be what is needed ?...........hard to tell really without taking the old girl down the road.........

Quote : Mikekop even if there is some old farts in here who may have decreased hearing.
HUH ?
Speak up !

 

Grim,
When I changed my front and rear tyres recently I was told quite catagorically by all tyre manufacturers that putting a 180 on the back is not a good idea. The tyre may roll off the rim under heavy cornering.
Check this out and if you get the same feedback as I did you may be better off changing to the correct size (170) ASAP.
Please keep us posted if you find out any other problems that you find with the mechanics. Hopefuly, as Shadow says, it will just be a matter of getting used to the bike.
I only weigh 73 Kg and have not had any such issues other than trying to manouver at low speed. This however is inherent and everyone has a problem in that department.
The faster you go on a Cane, the more it wants to sit up straight. Hit 120 MPH and you'll be amazed at the stability. That's when these baby's really start to come into their own.
Take care. Good luck.

 

many thanks for the replies. I think i will change to a 170 section rear tyre and see if that improves things. i hope these things will iron themselves out as i get used to the bike. thanks again and lets be careful out there

 

If your tyres are in good shape and correct pressure that rules out my first guess. Is the front tyre cupped at all? It seems to happen quite a bit and really stuffs things up! You only really notice how much when you fit a new hoop and feel how easily the bike turns again. Preload on the front can only be adjusted with spacers to compress the springs a bit. Mine's got a damping adjuster on the rear shock, but I don't know what year that came in. You might need to check your fork oil too and maybe put some heavier oil in.

These bikes are a bit of a land whale at low speed (watch out for the dodgy turning circle too) but once you get used to it you'll love it. Really stable and a secure feel to them when the weather turns bad on you. Have fun and just take it easy for a bit.

btw. Lots of guys have the 180 tyre on and don't seem to have any dramas.

grimreaper....hmmm..anybody eat the salmon???

 

Dave, I beg your honourable pardon on the tyre issue but it seems a little puzzling why the manufacturers don't recommend it yet no one seems to have had problems. I guess they are airing on the side of caution considering that the wheels were only designed to have 170 boots on them. Personally I'm not sure there's a great benefit in going wider but I'll stand corrected if anyone can offer some comparative evidence.
I can't comment on the fork issues. I haven't had enough time to play with them yet.

 

Ya, it's a 100% liability 0% reality issue. There is no issue whatsoever, in any way with using a 180 on the rear of these bikes with regard to safety. I think the bike steers marginalyl better (very small difference) on the 170 rears, but the huge variety available in 180's makes it a preferable choice IMO.

re: OP's issues...

I agree that this sounds at least partially like a tire issue. How many miles are on the tires? Are they visibly worn? It is my experience that this bike is extry-sensitive to front tire wear. Once they start to square off at all, symptoms like you're describing creep into play. I am with you that this issue where you have to keep pressure on the bar to stay leaned over (this wouldn be the opposite of ;neutral' handling) is irritating if you've ridden other bikes that aren't this way.

If your tires are on good shape, I would a) put a little preload back into the rear to raise it just a bit...like take 5mm out of the sag. Next, I'd measure front sag and put whatever weight fork springs in there you need in order to get near 30mm or so of sag in the front. Once that's accomplished, drop the forks 4mm in the triples. This is enough to make the steering more neutral without a dagerous reduction in trail, and without much reduction in ground clearance.

This is how mine is set up, and I love the handling now. Of course, handling feel is somewhat subjective, so for sure you need to do or not do as you see fit...just trying to provide some info.

 

That's cool Henry, I'm sticking to a 170 myself. I agree with you that the manufactures know best when it comes to this. However, it's really only a very small difference in width and I wouldn't bother changing the rear for a 170 until the 180 was scrubbed out...but that's because I'm a tight **** . I'd be more worried about the front if it is cupped. Some of the guys with 180s might give some feedback later on.

Mr. Reaper. I think there was some debate, almost a mass debate in fact , about the tyre size issue a while ago, so maybe you could do a search in the forum (one of the tabs up the top) on the topic. You'll find out all sorts of stuff with the search..It's a mine on information.