Jump to content

Is your front end also skewed? (Something wrong here)


Recommended Posts

Hi guys. Just got my Tracer last week, and so far. I am a pretty happy dude from Denmark, riding this awesome new model. 
But something struck my eyes today, when I was out riding. It seems that the upper clamp (or the whole front) is twisted (not aligned) and therefore also the handlebar. When I am driving dead straight, the distance from gps mounting point (bolt eye) is closer to the black tube (fairing bracket) on the left, than it is on the right. Look closely at the picture. 
Also when I turn to full steering stop to right and left. I can see that when I flush the hand guards with the wind screen. That it seems that guard is closer to the screen at left, than it is when turning to the right. 
So can you guys please next time out ridning, try look down and see (eyemeasssure) If you having the same issue. You can see it right away when driving straight. 
Also at center stand. Try turn to full stop, left and right and see if there is any difference. 
 
2559909f3d77c4670b0ab57dec1f5c66.jpg
2dc6ffdf566a8b14c9173b56c1d2b465.jpga21e839920c20600272411fd88b5edeb.jpg
 
Also faring joint had a much bigger gap at the right side compared to the left. Although I have managed to adjust that, to a "compromise" But it's still not good enough. 
 
7fc781f2525195b53c4cf4428d3e7c6b.jpg
7c13f37747c9452e91c9136c138b0b68.jpg
 
 
 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 36
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Premium Member
Have you tried loosening up the triple clamps and centering things up? Mine are straight.
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
Bikes:
2015 FJ-09, Seat Concepts seat cover and foam, Cal Sci medium screen, rim stripes, factory heated grips, Cortech Dryver tank bag ring, Modified stock exhaust, FlashTune with Graves fuel map, Cree driving lights, Aux power socket.
2012 Street Triple type R (Wifes)
2007 FJR1300 (Sold!)
 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest lawrenceofsuburbia
Is this to do with imperfect assembly by the dealer, pre-delivery, I wonder? Another member here had a similar issue with his hand-guards being out of alignment.
Not good enough, if so.
I'm getting a bit concerned with all these early 'niggles': sure, none are major, except for the now global (it seems) recall on the gear shifter mechanism, but it does give one pause for thought.
Maybe Yamaha should have done a lot more road-testing and fine-tuning and tweaking before releasing the bike to the public.   It does seem to represent excellent value-for-money, but not if these matters continue to arise as more and more miles/ km are covered.
L of S
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member
Is this to do with imperfect assembly by the dealer, pre-delivery, I wonder? Another member here had a similar issue with his hand-guards being out of alignment. Not good enough, if so.
I'm getting a bit concerned with all these early 'niggles': sure, none are major, except for the now global (it seems) recall on the gear shifter mechanism, but it does give one pause for thought.
Maybe Yamaha should have done a lot more road-testing and fine-tuning and tweaking before releasing the bike to the public.   It does seem to represent excellent value-for-money, but not if these matters continue to arise as more and more miles/ km are covered.
L of S
Are other makes any different? 
Triumph and especially BMW seem to do a lot of their Research & Development in the field so to speak, and you are paying a price premium. I owned a 2000 R1150GS and it was a great bike. In 2002 they started making the bike more complex with a servo brake system which had a major technical problem and the paint finish of sub-assemblies took a dive . Then there was the fiasco of the R1200GS with the canbus failures, immobiliser aerial problems, fuel controller problems and of course the infamous final drives. I became quite disillusioned with the BMW brand and they have not really done everything to make me consider them again, which is a shame as they make some very nice bikes but far too many of my friends and acquaintances have had problems and feel obliged to buy extended warranty packages as they have little confidence in their love & joy getting them to their favoured destination in Italy. The Super Tenere I had for 5 years was bullet proof which has given me great confidence in the Yamaha brand, although their inventory control sucks.
This signature is left blank as the poster writes enough pretentious bollocks as it is.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gents,
admittedly I had a test ride just before leaving for a Japan holiday with the family.
I was going to mention that I too found the handle bar biased to the right ever so slightly. I thought it was my cocked right arm from too many offs. When I was travelling as straight as the road permitted, it definitely wasn't my right shoulder socket. I mentioned this to the dealer when I returned. He said he would look into this issue. To this date, I am still in Japan, so I don't know if they have reset the front end. I agree, it would simply take a backing off of the top clamp bolts and reset the top triple clamp.
The issue with the hand guards could be simply that if the levers are at differing angles, this causes the hand guards to be at dissimilar angles. So, you cannot assume that if the hand guards don't match the clearances to the windshield the front end is off.
I said to my dealer that I would be trailering my bike home after picking it up. He asked me why....I told him that I would like to set it up for me and double check this stuff before riding it out the door and discovering the drive chain is too tight, the windshield bolts fall off, the front end is out of whack and the hand guards / levers are at differing angles.
This dealer sells most of the motorcycle brands in Australia. I don't expect them to know the Tracer too well.
Cheers,
Steve
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is this to do with imperfect assembly by the dealer, pre-delivery, I wonder? Another member here had a similar issue with his hand-guards being out of alignment. Not good enough, if so.
I'm getting a bit concerned with all these early 'niggles': sure, none are major, except for the now global (it seems) recall on the gear shifter mechanism, but it does give one pause for thought.
Maybe Yamaha should have done a lot more road-testing and fine-tuning and tweaking before releasing the bike to the public.   It does seem to represent excellent value-for-money, but not if these matters continue to arise as more and more miles/ km are covered.
L of S
Are other makes any different? 
Triumph and especially BMW seem to do a lot of their Research & Development in the field so to speak, and you are paying a price premium. I owned a 2000 R1150GS and it was a great bike. In 2002 they started making the bike more complex with a servo brake system which had a major technical problem and the paint finish of sub-assemblies took a dive . Then there was the fiasco of the R1200GS with the canbus failures, immobiliser aerial problems, fuel controller problems and of course the infamous final drives. I became quite disillusioned with the BMW brand and they have not really done everything to make me consider them again, which is a shame as they make some very nice bikes but far too many of my friends and acquaintances have had problems and feel obliged to buy extended warranty packages as they have little confidence in their love & joy getting them to their favoured destination in Italy. The Super Tenere I had for 5 years was bullet proof which has given me great confidence in the Yamaha brand, although their inventory control sucks.
 
 
It goes back to Pre Delivery setup again folks. Not Yamaha.
 
The bike is shipped with the front wheel off, and the lower fork tubes attached via the axle to the shipping crate. When the bike is lifted out of the crate it's possible to tweak the steering ever so slightly.
 
No big deal - as others have said: loosen the upper triple tree pinch bolts, manipulate the fork tubes and then torque securely. (17-19 ft lbs IIRC)
 
-Skip
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My forks were also skewed so I loosened them and straightened things myself. I had the same problem with a 1996 FZR 600 bought new from the same dealer. Their service department was less than helpful then, so that was when I learned how to fix this myself.
2008 Street Triple G
2015 FJ-09
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest lawrenceofsuburbia
 
 
 
 
 

Are other makes any different? A wonderful example of avoiding the issue here, wessie!   This is NOT a comparison of how Yamaha does compared to other brands, but merely a comment on the undeniable shortcomings experienced by many here (and no doubt many others unreported) on this new bike.   Your knee-jerk defence of the tuning-fork brand is commendable, but hardly helpful or objective.   It does leave me with a question in mind as to whether or not I want to proceed with the purchase.   I'd want to ride any new-to-me motorcycle with a good feeling about it, not wondering at the back of my mind if I've made the correct decision...L of S
 

 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member
 
 
 
 

Are other makes any different? A wonderful example of avoiding the issue here, wessie!   This is NOT a comparison of how Yamaha does compared to other brands, but merely a comment on the undeniable shortcomings experienced by many here (and no doubt many others unreported) on this new bike.   Your knee-jerk defence of the tuning-fork brand is commendable, but hardly helpful or objective.   It does leave me with a question in mind as to whether or not I want to proceed with the purchase.   I'd want to ride any new-to-me motorcycle with a good feeling about it, not wondering at the back of my mind if I've made the correct decision...L of S
 

 
I don't think I'm avoiding the issue. My point is that you are just as likely to encounter quality control problems with other makes of bike and I am bemused by you potentially dismissing the Tracer as an option for relatively minor troubles, when other makes are released into the marketplace with poorly implemented designs of major components. I admit, it was an opportunity to have a pop at BMW, who I believe is on your options list, as they deserve it in my view.
 
Are you with me now or are we still writing the same language but failing to communicate?
 
Oh, and you may wish to take some time with the formatting of your posts when quoting, as your reply was not immediately apparent. The forum software is a bit rubbish in this area, however, I have found by clicking the BBCode thing at the bottom of the screen you enter a nice text mode rather than using the clunky HTML mode. HTH.
This signature is left blank as the poster writes enough pretentious bollocks as it is.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest lawrenceofsuburbia
 
 

I don't think I'm avoiding the issue. My point is that you are just as likely to encounter quality control problems with other makes of bike and I am bemused by you potentially dismissing the Tracer as an option for relatively minor troubles, when other makes are released into the marketplace with poorly implemented designs of major components. I admit, it was an opportunity to have a pop at BMW, who I believe is on your options list, as they deserve it in my view.  
Are you with me now or are we still writing the same language but failing to communicate?
 
Oh, and you may wish to take some time with the formatting of your posts when quoting, as your reply was not immediately apparent. The forum software is a bit rubbish in this area, however, I have found by clicking the BBCode thing at the bottom of the screen you enter a nice text mode rather than using the clunky HTML mode. HTH.
 
 
This seems better - thank you for the tip!
 
But if I may persist - I know (from a great deal of experience over many years) that I would possibly strike problems with other brands too. Thing is - I'd like my next new bike, whatever it's going to be, to be 'the best' - however you may care to measure it - not 'the least worst'. I want to enjoy it, not wonder if there are going to be issues, whether from the factory (e.g. the shifter issue now being addressed), or because of the dealer's ineptitude.
 
Let us consider these proceedings "now concluded", as Gen D Macarthur said on accepting the surrender of Japan in 1945....
 
Test ride this week, if the weather holds, and hope to post my impressions then.
 
L of S ('39 model)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member
Fine - just go ride the damn thing, as many people come back with a smile on their face and a few niggles go way down the list of "stuff that matters in life" as the purchase becomes a "must have" priority.
 
 
This signature is left blank as the poster writes enough pretentious bollocks as it is.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×