1988 Voyager Unstable at highway speeds

[grayrider61]

Hi All!

First time posting so here goes. Started riding again 2 years ago after a 30 year brake. Bought a 85 Honda Shadow and rode that to get used to riding again. Last fall I bought an 88 Voyager XII with only 4500 miles on it. I understand it sat in a shed for several years. The guy I bought it from put new Kruz tires on it. The bike runs good but had some wiring issues from mice getting in it. I got those fixed. My problem is when on the road and going over 60 mph the bike feels unstable. Moves around on the highway from a small cross breeze or a car passing. Seems I'm always making small steering corrections. I don't have a death grip on the handle bars. I'm afraid to ride it in a stiff wind. I've checked the tire pressures, front and rear shock pressure and have both damper adjusters set at 2. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I plan on taking a 400 mile trip in may but not if I can't get this solved.

[grumpin]

I would try new tires. Dunlop Elite 3 seems to be the main choice of Voyager riders. Welcome to the forum.

[debron]

+1 on what Grumpin said about replacing the tires. I'm not familiar with Kruz tires but do know tires make a HUGE difference in ride and handling. For example, AVOID DUNLOP D-404 tires and go with Dunlop Elite 3's.

Another possibility are the front forks. When was the fork oil last changed? If it's the original oil it's bad and needs replacing. Air pressure should be 2-7 lbs. Best is to replace the front springs with Progressive springs. World of difference in ride and handling.

One more thing that made a difference on my bike was that I re-torqued all of the frame bolts. I first did this at 30,000 miles and found they were all loose!

[cushman eagle]

Welcome to the forum and to the VXII.I have had my VXII for 4 1/2 years and about 22000 miles,liking it better all the time .I have received many good pointers on this forum, and it is worth the membership cost.Something else you should check out is the bearings and preload in the steering stem.If the grease has dried up, or the bearings are loose,you could have those symptoms.I highly recommend a service manual,either a hard copy or electronic.With a manual and the help on this forum,you can get through about any issue you might have.

[grayrider61]

Cushman,

When you said bearings I assume you mean front wheel bearings? I do have a service manual I downloaded.

Thanks to all for the info! I will start checking things out in the morning. If anyone thinks of something else please post.

Thanks again!

[Tat2demon]

He means the steering head bearings.

[grayrider61]

Got it. Thanks.

[ekap1200]

Hello and welcome aboard. There are quite a few things to check on the front end. Wheel bearings , steering head bearings , fork brace ( look for cracks in the fender below the fork brace ) triple tree top nut ( found loose on a few bikes ) and good tire's , the E-3's are good , Avon's also good, many good ones to choose from. Look at your manual, the frame is in sections bolted together. ( check them ) . Rear end, check the swing bearings and rear wheel bearings for loosness. Take a nice day and give the bike a good cleaning. You would be suprized how much you will find while cleaning a bike. Once all the gremlins are taken care of you will love this bike. Gene Kap.

[ghostler]

When I bought my 2001 XII last Spring, Bridgestone tires were well worn. Bike seemed to squirm in turns (lacked traction), tended to pull along grooves in pavement. After replacing the worn with new Pirelli MT66 Routes, the bike's handling has changed drastically for better, sure footed in turns, rides smoothly over grooves. If tires are worn, badly worn, or old, might be worth replacing.

[SgtSlag]

The Pirelli MT66's are all that I will ride on: glued to the road in rain, ignore tar snakes, grooves, cracks, etc. Only issue with them is that the rear is only good for around 9,000 miles. For the traction they offer, they are worth the cost -- IMO. We ride two up, 98% of the time; we are very casual riders, easy going, so we are easy on the tires. Like I said, even with only 9,000 miles, I will still go with the MT66's. YMMV. Cheers!

[Skibou]

Shortly after I bought my 1999, equipped with Dunlop 404's I went for a trip around Lake Superior. Riding some of those roads north of the lake, the bike was quite unstable, and in some cross winds it felt like it was darn nearly airborne. I switched to Dunlop E3s, and the following year rode the Dragon with no problems. Like you, my style of riding is casual and comfortable, with no knee dragging, but I couldn't believe the difference the tires made. Incidentally they also cured the notorious slow speed handlebar wobble.

[debron]

Also check the torque on the four bolts on the fork brace. Mine were loose.

[suzib6sw]

+ 1 on the tires..
My '94 with came with the old E2's.. Noisy as h*ll round corners as they were well worn.
Money was short and I found a good metzler for the front and an E3 for the back.. Solved the noise problem but the bike wandered..
Steering head bearings torqued to 95 INCH pounds.. Still no joy..
Transferred the Metlzer off the front onto the then project '86 bike and bought an E3 for the front.. The E3 solved the wander..
Sold the '94 last year. Kept the '86 and low and behold, it wanders at highway speeds..
That's with a Full Bore USA on the rear.. Im going to dump that Metzler this year I hope and match the front up..
I have an E3 for the back waiting.. just in case :-)
Wheel bearings will also exacerbate the problem too


Pete

[grayrider61]

I did the steering check per the manual and it looks like my steering is to tight. Has anyone done the steering adjustment? Is there any way to do it besides removing the fairing? Also is there anyway to loosen the stem lock nut without the special tool?

I've checked out most of the suggestions and can't find anything else wrong.

I know some of you believe this is a tire issue. The tires on the bike are Kenda Kruz tires. They only have maybe 100 miles on them. I looked up reviews on them and most people are happy with them. If I can't find anything else wrong I'm going to replace them.

[debron]

I did the steering check per the manual and it looks like my steering is to tight. Has anyone done the steering adjustment? Is there any way to do it besides removing the fairing? Also is there anyway to loosen the stem lock nut without the special tool?

No need to remove the fairing. The lower fork bolts (10mm) are accessible from below.

As to the stem nut, some here have used a hammer and large screw driver or flat piece of metal. Can't gauge the the torque that way though. Gene Kapuscinski (ekap1200) makes a special socket but that's just trading one special tool for another.

[grayrider61]

OK. Got the nut loosened between 1/8 and 1/4 turns. Rechecked steering per manual and its much better. Just got back from a ride and the bike handles a lot better. Got up to 70 in a 20 mph wind. The bike moved around a little but nothing like it did. I also noticed I didn't have to put my feet down at stop signs as much and my take offs were smoother and straighter. The bike seemed more balanced ( I guess because I wasn't fighting the steering). I think the bike would do even better if I changed tires out to the ones you all suggested.

My thanks to all!! You guys are great!