Some thing is getting loose on my xii

[wolftaz]

I have a 92 voyager xii with 50,000. I have Shinko front tire and rear car tire. I have stock suspension. My bike has started getting a little squirrel y at higher speeds. This is fixable by keeping the shocks aired up on the high end. I have installed a superbrace which helped a lot. And I have the seals, dust cleaners, and progressive springs ready to put in. Unfortunately now my bike is bouncing against the gears at low speeds. Also when the bike is off and in gear it will roll back and forth about 6 inches which I don't think it did before. If you get on the throttle it isn't noticeable. But idling it is very noticeable. Also if you give it all the throttle through the gears, third will slip a little. Where should I start to look? Final drive, drive shaft, u-joints in shaft, clutch?

[Mr Jensee]

Hint: you have a Shinko front tire and a car tire in the rear. How about going to quality real motorcycle tires and see if this squireliness goes away.

[triton28]

Assuming you can verify the age and quality of the brake fluid as being within acceptable specifications, I would ensure the 2 small orifices located on the bottom of the clutch master cylinder are open and allowing "clean, fresh, thin, light golden coloured" fluid to return to static pressure after being under high pressure by using the lever to disengage the clutch plates. A strand or two of a steel wire brush works well to remove any crud/corrosion blocking the holes. CAUTION: do not get brake fluid on any painted surface as it will not remain painted for long should fluid get on the painted surface and remain there for any amount of time. Applying and releasing the lever with the reservoir lid removed will produce an " Oh s#*t " moment if one is not expecting the mini geyser.
And, if opening of the 2 holes didn't help, I would next look at the slave cylinder. Disconnecting the hose and removal of the slave cylinder is pretty easy but make certain to ensure the presence and orientation of the black plastic slave cylinder spacer.
With the disconnected slave cylinder in hand, the piston should be free to push in against it's return spring with light finger pressure and slide back out under the spring force. If it is noticeably stiff there is the possibility that corrosion may be causing the piston to hold the pushrod in the working position, keeping the plates slightly separated, which would result in some amount of slippage. The piston can be popped out of the cylinder with a shot of compressed air using a dusting nozzle pushed into the banjo bolt opening with the bleeder valve closed, but aim into a bucket of clean rags for the piston and associated crap to land in as it may come out with a lot of force and that can hurt!
The aluminium cylinder bore, for shallow, mild surface corrosion can be cleaned up with 600 grit and finer wet/dry sandpaper. For the steel piston itself I follow the 600 grit with successively finer grades of sandpaper. I go to 2000 grit followed by Autosol polish for the piston until it looks new again. Sometimes a small amount of surface corrosion staining/pitting can not be removed from the cylinder bore surface, but so long as the staining/pitting is NOT where the piston rubber sealing ring travels, I have reused the cylinder when no replacement was available.
Carefully clean and air blow out the parts, place some clean fluid around the bore and on the piston and rubber seal and the piston will squarely slide in without a lot of work. Then the cylinder AND spacer can be remounted, the line bled and tried for proper operation.
Sounds like a lot of work but it is pretty simple stuff provided one is mechanically inclined and has the tools needed.
Hope this helps,
Dave
ps: don't forget to check the condition of the fork bushings, as well worn ones will cause oscillation between the inner and outer fork tubes/legs.

[Lance McCaw]

I would start with some Dunlop E3 front and rear

[cushman eagle]

I would also check the steering stem nut torque,as can be reviewed on this forum.

[ekap1200]

Sounds like you have a few issues going on there. Unstable at higher speed is a bad issue to have.
There are quite a few things to check, wheels and wheel bearings, tire and how well it was mounted and balanced along with air pressure and choice of tire brand. Front fork bushings, steering head for bad bearings and properly adjusted. Fork brace integrity ( is it a metal to metal contact ), or are the fender inserts crushed ( or even in there ) Top triple tree nut,
( has it become loose. ) Frame bolts, 3 sections ( right side upper two bolts are hidden from view ) ; swing arm bearings ; rear wheel bearings.
Get yourself a manual and become familiar with it. I am assuming this bike had a previous owner or two and is new to you.
Your other issues- As Dave pointed out, Brake fluid absorbs water and becomes a problem. May hinder the return of fluid and make your clutch not fully engage. Or the wrong oil is in it, ( with anti-friction modifiers ). Or there could be a broken springs in the basket.
As for ( "Unfortunately now my bike is bouncing against the gears at low speeds." ) Not sure I know what your trying to explain. Sounds like your trying to shift at too low a rpm.
I would worry more about the ( squirrely ) front end issues first. Safety first is the issue here. Sliding down the road is no fun, been there , done that....have a pile of bent and broken parts to show it...
Give us some more info after checking these items out and know when you don't know, and get some hands on help if the need be from a professional mechanic. Not knowing your particular skills, it is always a gamble to advise someone on a repair. We don't want to see anyone doing a repair over their skill level, and becoming injured.
Keep us informed of your progress
Gene Kap

[wolftaz]

I just finished putting progressive springs on my xii. It took all the wobble out of the front end. They worked much better than the superbrace. But together though it handles like a new bike.

After my test ride the only place I could get any wobble out of the bike was at high speed on a new section of interstate. If looking down at the road through the fairing the wobble matched the waving of the rain grooves in the road. It kind of gave the bike the feeling of the rear tire going across a graded bridge. I think this has to do with the tread on the rear tire matching the direction of the rain grooves. I will admit that the Dunlops that were on the bike didn't do that on rain grooves. The dunlops didn't last very long either. As far as shinko tires, I have had the best luck with them on my zl900 for the 15 years I had it. I have only had my zg1200 for two years. But am putting about 6k a year on it.

As far as the clutch, that will be my next project. I did keep my rpm,s up but still could occasionally hear the bounce against the engaged gear. It makes me think that the final drive and drive shaft have developed some play in them. Or as explained, I will check the clutch system.

[SgtSlag]

Most folks here ride on E-3's, but I am sold on Pirelli MT66 Route tires, front and rear. I got 12,000 out of the rear, and 15,000 on the front, so far. The E-3's last 20,000 rear, typically. The reason I use Pirelli's is not their lower mileage, but the fact that they feel glued to the road in rain. I'll pay more for wet traction. I've ridden these tires on three different bikes, but all had similar traction in rain, under various riding conditions (mostly overloaded!). The Pirelli's pretty much ignore grooves in the road -- they are not squirelly, period.

The Voyager is a heavy bike. I would recommend you try either a Dunlop E-3, or a Pirelli MT66 Route tire. I won't do Darkside, but that is my choice. Cheers!

[wolftaz]

So I replaced the lower coolant hoses last year. There seemed to be a consensuses on leaving the top coolant hoses alone unless their needed. At the beginning of the riding season this year I checked the fluid and it was full, mixed right, and green.While putting the bike through its paces after just putting progressive springs in the front forks I started seeing brown antifreeze moisture dots showing up inside the fairing. The hose straight forward of the thermostat has a rupture right on top and the fill neck hose has leaks. I have pudgy hands and it was difficult to replace the lower hoses between the exhaust pipes. Am I better off to take the hole front apart to replace theses hoses?

[wolftaz]

Takes me longer than a normal mechanic. But the top coolant hoses are out. I took the air filter box and battery tray out. removed the air lines out of the way. Took the thermostat mounting bolts out. Then slowly removed all the coolant hoses. The thermostat to radiator hose had ruptured on the top about 1.5in long. New ones are ordered. When I put it back, the nuts on the hose clamps will all be angled where I can get to it easier.