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I have a Yamaha XJ600N, and at various points of time when riding around in the city at 50 to 60 kph I have had this strange feedback from the wheels or suspension that makes me feel either slightly imbalanced or dragged around the lane. It always happens when I am riding alone (ie. no pillion) on roads that don't have a perfectly flat surface - such as city roads that have an undulation in the middle of the lane. I have never felt it on well-laid highways.

I first noticed it a few days after buying the motorcycle, but it came with very old tyres, so I assumed that it has either got to do with that or that I was being too touchy as a newbie rider. I put on fresh new tyres and now, one year later, I am again experiencing this once in a while.

Is something wrong with the motorcycle? Could this be somehow related to my suspension being too soft?

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  • @ducatikiller - Can you answer this? Commented Apr 29, 2015 at 22:40
  • can you explain with a bit more detail what it is exactly that you're experiencing? Are you able to reproduce it by doing a particular maneuver?
    – chilljeet
    Commented Apr 30, 2015 at 4:22
  • Just a thought: could the wheel bearings be damaged or worn out?
    – Qwedvit
    Commented Apr 30, 2015 at 6:18
  • @chilljeet - There is no particular maneuver for this to happen. It always happens when I am riding in a straight line at city speeds (ie. 50 to 60 kph) on some road whose surface is not perfectly flat. I am not saying potholes. Just some surface that is a bit undulating. Commented Apr 30, 2015 at 21:56
  • When was the last time you got your wheel alignment checked? if not, it should be worth trying that.
    – chilljeet
    Commented May 4, 2015 at 6:33

1 Answer 1

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Well, it is due to improper wheel-alignment or even worse, a damaged frame, which had made the front and rear wheel go out of alignment. Misalignment between front and rear wheel can be caused due to:

  1. An Accident: As you mentioned that the motorcycle came with old tires, I assume you are not the first owner of the vehicle. So, the previous owner might have crashed the frame and thus creating the misalignment.
  2. A bent suspension fork: Caused due to hard offroading or by crashing hard into potholes.

In any case, get the wheel alignment, the frame and the suspension forks checked, I think that way you will get to the root cause.

cheers!

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