Honda-SOHC
SOHC.co.uk Forums => CB650 => Topic started by: Mulv0034 on September 17, 2026, 01:32:29 PM
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So I have a wandering bike when I let off throttle at lower speeds. I have new bearings all around. New tires mounted and balanced professionally. Swing arm bushings are good and tight. Forks have been gone through tried a range of pressure there. Bike seems to ride well at higher speeds. The wandering is not to one side but rather a slow back and forth that you feel when spinning something between your fingers and then changing the balance point. I have tried adding more preload on rear springs. Could add more haven't tried that yet.
Thanks!
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Is this a new phnomen?
Are your steering shaft bearings free of excessive play?
My first suspect would be the front tyre pressures, are the tyres directional and fitted the right way round at the front & rear.
Having now seen your starting point, is the frame straight?
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I built this bike from up from it sitting for awhile previous owner, so i dont have info to compare to previous riding. Tires are at rated pressure and directional correct. No play in steering bearings. Smooth movement. Frame seems to be straight and no defects or signs of damage. At speed it seems to ride fine. I thought i got rear tire aligment as good as I could. Would that cause bi directional wander or just pulling one way?
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Check wheel alignment using a piece of string (or a known straight edge). You could always check with a laser along the chain run if you have one. If the bearings in the steering head, swing arm and wheels are all correctly set and not worn it sounds like a wheel alignment issue or a bent frame. Did you notice any flaking paint around the headstock whilst you were rebuilding it, a giveaway of a bent/twisted frame. Did you have the forks apart and did you check for stanchion straightness. If one was bent you would have had trouble passing it through the yokes (or triple tees I think you call them across the pond).
One last maybe, are the tires new or old stock? Are they correct for the model, some bikes do not like certain makes of tire?
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Just a thought, rear wheel spacers, are they correct and in the right place?