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Poor handling

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Washpa

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I have a new to me NC700x, a 2012 with 10,000 miles. This bike doesn't like to turn...I am constantly fighting it to keep a line in the corners, especially to the right, to the point where it doesn't feel safe. It has been down at low speeds per the PO and light scratches support that. The handlebars are very slightly bent. I have loosened up the fork legs thinking they might be tweaked, slid them up and down and re-tightened them with no impact. My thought are either bent forks (I don't think that is likely), badly worn tires (look and feel OK) or it is the handlebars.

It rides great going straight, smooth with no weird vibration.

I have been riding for 45 years, about 20 different bikes, not a newbie.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks!
 
Does the bike have a center stand, or have a method to check and see if front wheel spins freely with no undue effort or grabbiness when up off the ground?

You didn't mention the current inflation amount in the tire/s- can you change the feel by increasing or decreasing the air and see if it gets better or worse?

I wonder about the effect the previous spill had on the steering stem bearings. You could check to see the effort required to go from full left to full right with the front wheel up in the air as well.

Possible cable or brake line routing interference if any mods were done? If the bars are stock it doesn't 100% mean that the guy before you didn't install, say, a set of handle bar risers, mucked with the cables, and then just removed the risers prior to selling, leaving the cable rerouting still diddled.


If the bike needs new tires *anyway* then that may be something you can check off the list of potential culprits, by installing a new, different brand set.

Is there any worry that the bike has enough hidden or undisclosed damage to have screwed you on the deal?


Just trying to throw out a few ideas...
 
Last edited:
Definitely a problem, not NCX typical performance. The bike actually handles great on tight corners and big sweepers. Sometimes you have to lean forward over the forks a bit to get it to feel right but that's only if you are pushing it hard like I do sometimes. You or someone needs to go through the forks/suspension, the tires, and the bearings to find out what's wrong. I would be hesitant to ride it as well because you might have trouble if you need to make an emergency maneuver. Stay safe.
 
L.B.S. said:
Does the bike have a center stand, or have a method to check and see if front wheel spins freely with no undue effort or grabbiness when up off the ground?

You didn't mention the current inflation amount in the tire/s- can you change the feel by increasing or decreasing the air and see if it gets better or worse?

I wonder about the effect the previous spill had on the steering stem bearings. You could check to see the effort required to go from full left to full right with the front wheel up in the air as well.

Possible cable or brake line routing interference if any mods were done? If the bars are stock it doesn't 100% mean that the guy before you didn't install, say, a set of handle bar risers, mucked with the cables, and then just removed the risers prior to selling, leaving the cable rerouting still diddled.


If the bike needs new tires *anyway* then that may be something you can check off the list of potential culprits, by installing a new, different brand set.

Is there any worry that the bike has enough hidden or undisclosed damage to have screwed you on the deal?


Just trying to throw out a few ideas...
Click to expand...

Good ideas and things to look into I do have a center stand and have spun the front tire, nothing seems abnormal. I have also checked the cable routing and all seem good, no issue when turning the handlebars from side to side when on the center stand. I will double check the tire inflation.

I really don't think it went down very hard, light scraps on the engine guards and body work and the slightly tweaked handle bars.

I am concerned that I bought something that might need a little more work than I planned. I am frustrated that I didn't have the opportunity to test ride it, the bike was 1.5 hours away and when I got there it has snowed about 3". I don't think it is anything major, just need to figure it out.
 
If left vs. right handling is different, then there is probably some alignment issue between the front and rear wheels. A good static way to check fork tube alignment is to place a flat plate (glass or metal) across the tubes and see if it can rocked. If there is no rocking then the tubes are in alignment. With the bike up on the center stand, or rear wheel off the ground, try to move the wheel from side to side to check for slop in the swing arm bearings. The last is to check to see if rear wheel chain adjusters are properly adjusted so the rear wheel is in alignment with the front.
 
Washpa said:
I am thinking this is an alignment issue.

Thanks for all the suggestions.
Click to expand...

We are all curious to see what the solution turns out to be, for sure update us with what the culprit was, once you sort it :D

I hope it's just a simple thing :)
 
L.B.S. said:
We are all curious to see what the solution turns out to be, for sure update us with what the culprit was, once you sort it :D

I hope it's just a simple thing :)
Click to expand...

X2! :) I wrecked my NC (front end) and totaled it. I never had any issues after it was rebuilt.
 
well it is a used bike

so lets go back to the basics
check front and back alignment
check shocks and forks- any leak-
torque all bolt per service manual

check the tires and pressure.
 
On cars, I've had tires with separating treads cause this kind of one-way pull. Don't know whether that kind of thing can happen on motorcycles/motorcycle tires, though.
 
i bought the nc brand new

no fall, no nothing. bike is intact

been riding for 20+ years, somehow, i just "feel" the handling is weird in corner
never had such feeling for all this years, just dont feel right, just dont know how to descript it.
 
When I got my NC new I was not happy with the handling. I was aware then that the oem Z8 tyres did not suit the bike. I ended up changing them before they were worn out. PR4's made a huge improvement. However still things were not 100%. I ended up cranking up the shock spring preload as far as was safe to do so, and also raised the forks about 7mm in the triple clamps. Basically it gave the bike a tail up aspect. That alone made a huge difference and together with the tyres, transformed the NC for me and restored my confidence fully in it. I also changed the suspension but that is another story.

Perhaps you could post photos of the tyres ? My previous KTM 950SM was very sensitive to worn tyres and handled very poorly when they were near the end of their lives. .
 
I'm thinking along with Griff. The OEM rear shock spring is designed for light riders and with factory preload and a heavy rider ( how much do you weigh?) the bike can tend to run wide in turns, needing constant bar pressure to turn. Honda says the rear shock preload cannot be adjusted but there is an adjuster ring threaded onto the shock body with 10 or 15 mm of travel. Raising the rear of the bike helps it turn better. Raising the fork tubes in the triple clamps helps the same way.
 
Washpa......sure would be good to have a back to back test ride on another bike for a comparison of the handling.

Dealer test ride available in your area ?
 
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