just bought a fazer off ebay. looked fine so like a fool i didnt test ride. drove it home in a van because there was no tax. just got it out and noticed it doesnt ride straight and when i go round corners the steering flops into which ever way i go. the tyre appears to be squared off. flat in the middle with obvious edges either side. the dust caps on the forks have rotten and are completely loose too.

i have no idea why i even bought it. any ideas what the problem is?

oh the fairing is fine and the frame and engine look fine too. definatly hasnt been crashed.

any help welcome

cheers

david

just bought a fazer off ebay. looked fine so like a fool i didnt test ride. drove it home in a van because there was no tax. just got it out and noticed it doesnt ride straight and when i go round corners the steering flops into which ever way i go. the tyre appears to be squared off. flat in the middle with obvious edges either side. the dust caps on the forks have rotten and are completely loose too.

i have no idea why i even bought it. any ideas what the problem is?

oh the fairing is fine and the frame and engine look fine too. definatly hasnt been crashed.

any help welcome

cheers

david

Squared off tyres dont mean theres a problem necessarily, just that its been a commuting hack. Chech the tyres pressures though, they may be a bit low.

I hope you vehicle checked it? If the tyres are square it might be a motorway hack. It can kill the steering bearings as they can wear in one place.

steering head bolt may be really loose to, definitely check that

steering head bolt may be really loose to, definitely check that

or even too tight.

i agree with all of the above

also check wheel bearings for play and also the swing arm

I had one of these for a short while, realy didn't like it, traded it for an XJR. Anyway.

I had the same problem, it wasn't running straight. Turns out it was as simple as the rear wheel wasn't aligned with the front. When I tried to adjust it the adjusters were corroded and very stiff indeed. soaked it in some easy & release oil (sort of a carbon based stuff, my old man got it for me, no idea from where it came, and sometimes best not to ask!), 3in1 will have the same affect I think.

So after a day or so I had another go and needed to give things a bit of a 'wack' to release them (rear spindle and adjusters), once I got them apart they got a good coating of copper grease and put back together (obvioulsly a clean too) setup the chain tension and corrcted the wheel alignment. Job done - perfect.

If the tyres are 'squared' then you will'drop' into corners, some new rubber will sort that, or find some long sweeping bends and you can maybe wear down the square edge. I'd go for new rubber though.

thanks for all your help guys. turned out it was a few small things that together made it unrideable.

first thing i checked int he morning was the tyre pressures. they were both down by 15 psi. so sorted that. then checked to see if it was straight. was fine. checked the bolts and bearings and they were fine.

its in the shop now having a new wheel fitted. they measured the psi when i got there and they found the front wheel had a slow puncture as well.

im having the fork seals completely replaced too. and the water out of the exhaust is normal in small amounts and turns out i have a small hole in the joint anyway which the garage said not to worry about for now.

the main problem was ive only been ridding a year and a half and a squared off front tyre with half the psi missing to me seems worse than it does for seasoned veterans lol.

but as i said before thank full for all the advice.

look out for a red fazer, scotland here i come!!

david

look out for a red fazer, scotland here i come!!

Keep your eyes peeled (or your speed down) through Cumbria, the 'Safety Camera' has a new weapon, they have started deploying camera stands remotely from the van, so they get to video you for about 1/2 mile, presumably nailing your speed at some point with the kit in the van.

Saw these in action on the Hartside roads at the weekend........

If you ar going to Scotland, then Skye and Applecross are a must:

and look out for the 'map of Scotland' on the way up

If the Soutwest is your destination, then make sure you ride the A712 through the Galloway Forest, another great road, and free from the Ferry traffic.

Have yourself a ball.......