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After a bit help . Took the R1200S out for the first time in a while as I have just got back from a 6000 mile Euro holiday on the GS . The low speed handling on the R1200S seems terrible , feels like it is going to fall over !! I checked everything out and all looked OK apart from the steering damper which was very stiff . Thought that must have been the issue so took it off and although a little better it still doesn't seem right . I have new wheel bearings and new shocks , so there is only the top and bottom ball joints that have not been done . I do have Helibars fitted but wouldn't have thought that would be the issue . The sensation was there when I first got the bike nine months ago but thought it was just me not used to the bike but it is really noticeable now to the point I am having to crawl round corners as the bike feels it is going to tip over . Any help gratefully received ......

Front tyre pressure low?

Maybe the profile of front tyre?

(look at the profile from looking down the leading edge - look for a kind of "triangular" profile. I've found that profile on tyres - and it gives some weird handling characteristics.

Al

Blackal wrote:Front tyre pressure low?

Maybe the profile of front tyre?

(look at the profile from looking down the leading edge - look for a kind of "triangular" profile. I've found that profile on tyres - and it gives some weird handling characteristics.

Al

Tyre pressures spot on and running on new PR4 tyres - I changed the tyres as the first try at a cure

if this was a standard bike i would say it would point to knackered head bearings - even the slightest issues with them make the bike a pig at low speeds. I have a 1200 s but haven't done anything with the front end so far though- my feeling is that it could be related to a duff upper or lower ball joint - not sure how easy they are to isolate and check - sometimes checking ball joints without load on doesn't always show the issue, but ir may show a difference between the two if you compare them. I believe they are the same part number for both. I quick feel with the mole grips may show any wear or water damage / corrosion - if the bikes been stood it could be that - im guessing the bottom one might be susceptible to water ingress? Seeing as its deteriorated whilst being stood would point to corrosion setting in somewhere.

IIAH

My R1100S developed lower ball joint issue after winter laid up. IIRC the wisdom was that over time the ball joint got notchy where the bars were turned to one side with the bike on the side stand. Made it a pig to ride.
New ball joint, good as new.

Maybe jack the bike up so the front wheel is off the ground; remove steering damper; see if the bars float from side to side really smoothly.

Is the front end aligned?
Loosen off spindle clamp and lower yoke. Bounce on the front end, then tighten spindle, then yoke. Check spindle can still be undone easily, ie. you don't have a bent fork leg pulling it out of line. Torque it all up before riding.

Get somebody else to ride the bike? It may help pin-point the problem.. ie. the bike or the mind!

Stanley is right, I think first you have to swap bikes with another 1200s owner. See if the problem is real, or just perceived because you have been riding another bike for so long. I rode a GSXS for an hour, was convinced my bike was broken for the first 20 minutes back on it.

What prompted you to change the shock? What did you fit? New or SH? Have they been correctly set up?

I think it may well be the lower ball joint as the bike had stood a long time before i bought it and I found the front wheel bearing badly corroded so wondering if the bottom ball joint is the same . When I bought it it had standard shocks on it and I bought a second hand set of Ohlins and had them fully serviced , checked and set up at an Ohlins service centre . I will check the alignment and loosen everything off and re-torque it as suggested as well . I am hoping Dave the German will fancy a swap of rides so we can get a second opinion . I'll update once I've done a bit more work/investigation . Thanks for all the help and suggestions

OK so latest update . Upon closer inspection there appeared to be a very slight misalignment in the front wheel axle going in to the lower fork . I therefore loosened the fork clamp bolts off and then screwed in the wheel axle and then re-tightened the clamp bolts . Fellow Boxertrix member Dave came over and we had a ride out on the 1200's and Dave rode mine back and I rode his . Dave's felt fine to me and Dave felt that mine was not noticeably different to his . I subsequently fitted the new steering damper and the bike does now feel better . I think it may just me being used to sit up style bikes and doing lots of miles on them - 1150GSA , 1200GSA and F650GS clocking up nearly 10K miles per year compared to less than a 1000 per year on the 1200S . That said I did previously have an 1100S and did not get the same issue . Either way I'm not going to do any more with it and if it continues to bother me it will be the excuse I need to swap it for a R nine T . For the record Dave has first dibs on all of the extras on my 1200S if I do decide to sell it , especially the Akrapovic headers and Power Commander

John, you really need an R9T

So I had what is likely one of the last ride outs on the R1200S and I still felt the bike wasn't right at low speed . I decided to strip the front end and get to the top and bottom ball joints for closer inspection as it was unlikely to get much more use this year so I could leave it in bits if necessary . After about 90 minutes I had them removed and the bottom one was really notchy . Its rubber boot was intact and there was grease in it (albeit very dirty and smelly) but it was definitely notchy . Top one has a very slight notchiness but I have ordered two replacements as its not worth just fitting one when the bike is this far stripped . Hopefully this will be the fix and I will at last be happy with its low speed handling .....





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John, just got some steel bar to make jig for removing ball joint. Have you got a 46mm socket?

dave the german wrote:John, just got some steel bar to make jig for removing ball joint. Have you got a 46mm socket?

Dave , I've got a 46mm deep socket but I'll not need it as Williams BMW are going to remove and re-fit the ball joints into the fork bridges for me as I bought the new ball joints off them

I got the steel for nowt - might need a small shim (read sliver of soup tin) so it's really just to see if it works