I Don't mean to be a post *****, but Im having the following problem with my f2, when Im riding it and push the front breaks I can feel the handle bar like if it moves forwards and backwards a bit and it shakes a lot from the forks, also when I reach 40 M/h+ the front shakes, I recently replaced the front wheel bearing so its not that, also my break pads make a noise like if they are too tight in the front wheel, I open the cam all the way when I replaced them but it looks like they stay tight, even when I push it I can feel it stopping a bit..any help will be greatly appreciated...

 

are your rotors centered in the calipers. if they are not, they will push on one of the pads and drag. not 100% sure on an f2, but on mine the wheel spacers are different from side to side. they got mixed up once by a tire shop and my brake pad was dragging on one side.

if you head bearings are having an issue with clunking, spend the effort checking them closely. make sure they are in good shape and torqued properly. also look inside the frame for damage. after taking it all apart and looking, it may be a good time to replace them anyway.

 

The sticky brake situation sounds like a dirty piston. When brakes are worn down more of the piston can be revealed allowing corrosion and gunk to get on it. When you push it back in to install new pads sometimes some of that crap and hinder the proper operation of the piston. Might be worth pulling apart to make sure there is nothing built up on the seal.

As for the steering head bearing I believe you can try tightening that. I am not 100% sure though so Id get a manual and have a read.

 

I'd believe this or a warped rotor to be the case given the description you are giving. Remove thecalipers and the brake pads and push the pistons a good chunk of the way out, but not all the way out. Clean them with brake cleaner and a tooth brush. Once they're scrubbed nice and good you should get nice clean action on them again.

If that doesn't fix it, find a way to suspend the front wheel off the ground (jack under the header, front stand, tie it to the rafters, whatever it takes). Spin the front wheel and listen for rubbing. It should rub once or so a rotation and that will denoate the warped section of your rotor. Warpage is pretty rare on these bikes UNLESS they are dropped or an impact occurs on them from say... improperly putting them in a tire chalk or improperly using a front fork stand.

Check these for peace of mind. Again, suspend the front wheel off the ground. Grab the bottom of the forks and push forwards and backwards. If you can feel a notable metal click feeling in there, you've got some slop in your steering bearings.

Tighten them just barely until the point that said slop goes away when testing and then clamp it down. Double check that they still move smoothly from side to side with little resistance, and call it a day.

Steering stem bearings do go out on bikes! It is more common to have them go out than to have a rotor magically warp itself... but... your story has all the symptoms of a warped rotor or an issue with the brake caliper pistons.

 

thank you guys for the useful information, I'm gonna get up early tomorrow and do what you guys said...I will keep you posted =)

 

As stated earlier, prop the front end off the ground. It helps to have a buddy stablize
the bike. Grab the front forks and pull straight forward and back. Look at the tripple
clamps, where they meet the steering head. If you see ANY movement, it needs to be
corrected. You might get a flutter from dragging piston on a caliper but it will be side
to side. Try accelerating to about 30mph on a straight stretch of road. Grab the front
brakes FIRMLY, don't be stupid about it though. If you see the head nut rock forward
and/or hear a klunk, that's the steering head.

Short term, if you're really strapped for cash/time, you can snug it up, and get by.
But, if it's been doing this at all, it means you've already done damage to the
races/*****. I really recommend replacement, the stock ball-bearings are crap anyway.

For about $25-$40, you can get roller-bearings and seals from AllBalls.com or whatever
your favorite source is. It IS a time-sink kind of project, because there is so much dis-
assembly involved (and then re-assembly). But as far as the scale of difficulty, about
a 3-4 out of 10.

Re-build the calipers while you're at it. Even more common than a stuck piston..frozen
on the hanger bolts. The grease dissipates and the caliper quits 'floating', thus it
doesn't center on the disc properly for smooth operation. You don't really need anything
but hi-temp brake grease, brake fluid and shop-towels to do it.

If your fork seals are getting long in the tooth, make a week-end of it and put new seals
in, as well. That'll put paid to the maintenace on the tubes.

If you just do some planning/purchasing in advance, the individual tasks arent that bad
AND you will,basically, have a brand-new, reliable front-end. For about the cost of a
century note and a long week-end. Some-times, especially on older bikes, a little
preventitive maintenance is better than doing all of these things individually over time.

There are great threads in the how-to all all of the points I've covered, and we're always
available for the planning/execution and post phases, if needed.

I hope this helps, Ern

 

The bearings can and frequently WILL still be loose and display no movement at all. I get the feeling you haven't done this sort of job before.

 

Wow, Busted! I'm actually 14 years old and l've been making up all of the advice I
offer to people. I dream of one day owning my first bike, It's gonna be like, really,
really AWESOME. It's been hilarious posting for the last year and a half, people
have actually been listening and paying attention to me for the first time!

I stole my sig and pics from a forum where a bunch of OLD people hang out.

 

*hint hint*

 

Ok, I'm almost sorry for my previous post. If you don't agree with my opinion, feel free
to post a considered rebuttal. The personal comment on the veracity/integrity of my
advice annoyed me.

If I don't have direct experience, I will qualify my comments IN that particular post.
Heck, I even qualify ALL my posts in my sig. I will gladly defend and/or retract any
ill-informed/mistaken advice given in the public forums, but I would appreciate a PM
first on what/why you feel I am in error.

Ern