F800gs – wobbly bike? Or wobbly rider?

dillthedog

Guest
Hi, I have had the 800gs since early September I love the bike, ride it every day and have done about 2500 miles on it. Before that I had the F650 for 5 years and before that I was on a Yamaha XT500 Thumper. I am by no means a novice rider, but at the same time I have never done motocross or any serious off roading.

The 800 has Bridgestone Battle-wing s, I know they are not as good as the Metzeler Tourance but that’s what it came with so I have been trying to get my moneys worth out of them.

Sooooo, I have a weird thing that has started to happen round about 2000 miles. The slightest change in levels on the road, hitting the edge of a white line or seam of some previous road works, it’s like someone has got hold of the rear carrier and given me a tug to the side. It’s most un-nerving. I am always a wuss in the wet but recently after a couple of front wheel drifts in some farmers mud left on the road, :spitfire my confidence has gone when its wet to the extent that I feel like a complete novice!! :( In the wet it feels so unstable, not like riding on a knife edge…more like on a broom handle! If that makes sense?

I have not played with the suspension settings, and it has the right tyre pressures.

Have any other 800gs riders had similar experiences? Any suggestions on how to fix it?.....is it me?

Many thanks.

Dillthedog

Oh and if "everywherevirtually" reads this, hi, it’s me! We met at touratech. I ordered my bike from Williams the day you picked yours up :D:D
 
Can't say I have noticed anything like it on mine after a 1000miles. Mine feels properly planted and I get good lean angles with my TKC's. Are you sure everything on the bike is done up and tight? Might be good to give it a extensive once over to make sure something hasn't come loose.
 
I've felt it before when running over banding , grooves etc. I think TKC80s would be better in these sort of conditions oddly enough, i've always trusted knobbly tyres more than something like Battlewings.
 
I have had that before and i changed the tyre, that cured it.obviosly check the wheel is A in straight B the presure is ok C andthe rim isnt buckled, but thats not a feeling you want!!!
 
GS800NR9 said:
I've felt it before when running over banding , grooves etc. I think TKC80s would be better in these sort of conditions oddly enough, i've always trusted knobbly tyres more than something like Battlewings.
Click to expand...

What? TKCs are crap over anything shiny including wet roads... In the dry though they are as good as any road tyre unless you are mister speed and trying to get 45 degree lean angles over beading lines or anything similar.. Used them this summer 6k miles round europe and morocco.

Saying that ill be fitting them as soon as my oem stuff wears out because the good far outways the bad with TKCs..
 
Thanks everyone for the comments. The tyre pressures are fine, everything is bolted up tight, steering swinging arm….these are the first things I checked!

Having read some more about the battlewing I am thinking its time to change the tyres! I do 50 miles a day; every day in all weathers I need it to be right!

The Metzeler Tourance have an excellent reputation as an all-round

Cheers
 
ZZ10 said:
Battlewing is no good when wet. are some thread about that.
Click to expand...

Thats quite a sweeping statement. It was fairly knowledge that the last series of Bridgestones Trailwings or Deathwings were a bit ropey, but the latest Battlewings are built on the 021 carcass with similar or the same compound, so they should be right up there with the latest generation of Tourances or Anakees in terms of all round road grip in wet or dry conditions.

I suspect the main difference is the profile and this is what maybe giving you the feeling of twitchiness and insecurity.
 
I think you might find it's a function of the 21 inch front wheel, with a narrow tyre. On Tourances on my 06 650 it likes to follow white lines / banding / edges of tarmac to the point it can get "interesting" in the wet when filtering between queues of traffic on the motorways in the wet.

It almost feels unstable without getting out of hand. Apparently if you have the TKC's on a 650 (single) and go too fast the bike has been known to evict the rider :eek:
 
weaving

I've noticed mine sort of veers off when it comes upon anything uneven, lorry troughs in the inside lane, white lines especially when threading through traffic as they tend to stand up proud from the tarmac around them. I put it down to the 21 inch front wheel as I had the 650 before. But it is similar to how it felt the first time I rode with knobblies on a tarmac road …
Catherine
 
If the tyre pressures are ok and the tyres themselves still have plenty of tread and aren't starting to square off the I'd look at the suspension setup. I've had a couple of bikes (a Yamaha and the current 1200GS) that didn't like being on white lines or overbanding etc.

I got the suspension set correctly (in the GS's case I got new WP shocks) and the problem went away.

Maxton are near you, I think (Helsby) - have a word with them - they've a massive database on bike stock suspension issues, and you *need* a bit of bling to look forward to in a bit less than 8 weeks time ;)
 
dillthedog said:
Dillthedog

Oh and if "everywherevirtually" reads this, hi, it’s me! We met at touratech. I ordered my bike from Williams the day you picked yours up :D:D
Click to expand...

Come on Dill sign up and become a subscriber like the rest of us :)

To answer your question I know what you are talking about. I notice it when workmen have been working on the road and you get a different type of tramac or camber etc etc. It's a bit like cars with low profile wheels where they tend to tram line a bit. It's not a confidence inspiring sensation at first but after a while you get used to it and know that nothing adverse will happen. :thumb
 
dillthedog said:
Hi, I have had the 800gs since early September I love the bike, ride it every day and have done about 2500 miles on it. Before that I had the F650 for 5 years and before that I was on a Yamaha XT500 Thumper. I am by no means a novice rider, but at the same time I have never done motocross or any serious off roading.

The 800 has Bridgestone Battle-wing s, I know they are not as good as the Metzeler Tourance but that’s what it came with so I have been trying to get my moneys worth out of them.

Sooooo, I have a weird thing that has started to happen round about 2000 miles. The slightest change in levels on the road, hitting the edge of a white line or seam of some previous road works, it’s like someone has got hold of the rear carrier and given me a tug to the side. It’s most un-nerving. I am always a wuss in the wet but recently after a couple of front wheel drifts in some farmers mud left on the road, :spitfire my confidence has gone when its wet to the extent that I feel like a complete novice!! :( In the wet it feels so unstable, not like riding on a knife edge…more like on a broom handle! If that makes sense?

I have not played with the suspension settings, and it has the right tyre pressures.

Have any other 800gs riders had similar experiences? Any suggestions on how to fix it?.....is it me?

Many thanks.

Dillthedog

Oh and if "everywherevirtually" reads this, hi, it’s me! We met at touratech. I ordered my bike from Williams the day you picked yours up :D:D
Click to expand...

Hello, to me, it sounds you have something of the same experience I've got with my F 650 GS. See the thread I started: http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=163752

Does this sound familiar? My dealer is gonna check the bike today.

Gert
 
I've noticed this more in the last few weeks - I think it also relates to another tyre thread where "squaring off" of the tyre can accentuate any road markings or imperfections.
I've got a couple of Dunlops ready to go on when I find the time :D
 
santrix said:
What? TKCs are crap over anything shiny including wet roads... In the dry though they are as good as any road tyre unless you are mister speed and trying to get 45 degree lean angles over beading lines or anything similar.. Used them this summer 6k miles round europe and morocco.

Saying that ill be fitting them as soon as my oem stuff wears out because the good far outways the bad with TKCs..
Click to expand...

Hi,

I'm a bit late coming to this thread but I can't agree with this comment about TKC80's in the wet. I've just completed a 3 year RTW on a BMW Dakar & an 1150 GSA and used them as much as I could, around 80% of the time fully laden, and I mean FULLY laden. When I was in the States I tried Tourances and they were horrible in the wet and wobbled on every wet mark/line or anything in the road. They really did feel unsafe.

I was a fan of Tourances on a formerly owned 1100GS but not on the Dakar. The TKC80's were used on every sort of terrain you can name and neither John (my travelling mate on his own 650 Dakar) or I would use anything else unless there wasn't a choice.

I haven't yet ridden an 800 GS but my guess is that it's handling behaviour will be more similar to the Dakar than an 11xx GS.

Regards,

Mike
 
maddaddy is EVERYWHERE!!

:hide
gbreffitt said:
I read this on adv rider and thought of you. Seems some steering bearings have been over greased making the steering light. Looks like this guys dealer has encounted a few 650/800s with the problem. Might be worth getting in touch to see if it sounds similar. Hope you get it sorted soon.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=389662&page=3
Click to expand...

Right you are. From my post on ADVrider, the over packed grease softened and that lead to loose steering bearings. After the dealer made the correction I notice an obvious difference.

The other thing I've noticed between my 1200 and my 800 is that the 21" tyre is narrower and tends to follow the natural drift of the asphalt. Some times is seems a bit squirrely. After changing to tourances it got much better. Ditch the battlewings ASAP.
 
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