It only drifts when you take your hands off the clips? Check to see if your damper is out of whack...could be pulling the front end one direction. Does it have a tendency to lean by itself when it drifts? I'm just fishing here, I'm guessing it's not the rear end if it tracks fine when you are riding hands on the clips. She still corner ok? You'd feel it if the rear was messed up. Do you have both fork tubes set the same; ie. compression, dampening, rebound? If one is softer than the other, it will act funny....

 

Check the rear end. Specifically check the chain tension adjusters to make sure they are even

 

dont use the hash marks on the swigarm to align the rear wheel.
measure from a consistant fixed spot to another consistant fixed spot.
you can use swingarm pivot and axle if you can get a good straight line.

other than that, it could simply be you.
your position on the bike may contribute to this as well.

 

o4 r1

yes bike rides good when my hands are on the bars,chain tension is correct, i have found a constant to measure from(swing arm bolt) to c.line of axle bolt. i have the factory nonadjustable rod style dampner, and YES it does want to lean by itself, i need to shift my body weight to the left side of the bike in order to level out the bike, i was wondering being the clutch is on the rt. side and high if that would do it , but it would be everybodys r1, and besides would the bigY's engineers really let that fly, such a major design (imperfection)??? i sure hope not. my fork settings are all the same left to right. and there is no odd wear to the tires , besides the little rubber shreds stuck to my undertail ha ha let me know whacha guys think

 

It's you then. Sorry man. That or you have weird things happening inside your fork. You'd feel it somewhat with just riding normally...hands on the clips. if it's not there....then its you. i'd suggest holding the clips anyhow...corners get a little funky if you are just chilln up top there.

 

its not me, ive owned rr's,vfr's, gpz's,kx's,cr's and a moped, and none of them ever did this and to quiet the rumors my head is not lopsided,and IT prefers the left leg

 

the centerline numbers are 3/16 to a 1/4 in out, 1/4 in out of square

You've probably answered your own question right there. Even these measurements out - never mind if the swingarm markings don't match - and see if that fixes it.

 

i squared everything up , but i tried something to check one of my previous theorys, that the right side of the bike is heavier, i parked on level ground and put a torpedo level arcross filler of tank, then leveled the bike,even slightly tilting the bike to the kickstand side the bike still wants to fall to the right. it kind of makes sense (to me anyway) the clutch basket is on the rt , sits up high and sticks out the furthest. also the coolant res. is on the rt. side, and the infamous catalyst is also to the rt of the centerline of thebike , so please 04,05r1 guys just do me ONE favor while riding on levelground, and a straight line , take you hands off the bars, see if your bike goes str8 while you position your body centered on the bike ,or do you need to adjust your weight to the left to compinsate for all the heavy rt sided components.

 

these bikes are balanced from the factory. The clutch is on one side but the starter and generator are on the other side and I bet that would balance things out:hellobye

 

Mine tracks straight.

 

mine also tracks straight.

 

i am glad that your bikes go straight. least someones happy. my bike seems to be set up for polish oval tracks:dunno :dunno :fork

 

Just think...you can race with nascar...and be the fastest ride out there. All without even trying...

 

Put your bike on the track stand and spin the wheel forward. Look at the chain riding on the sproket from the rear of the bike. The chain should centered on the sproket. In other words the space between the link plate and the sproket tooth should be equal on both sides of the tooth.






:fork

 

i squared everything up , but i tried something to check one of my previous theorys, that the right side of the bike is heavier, i parked on level ground and put a torpedo level arcross filler of tank, then leveled the bike,even slightly tilting the bike to the kickstand side the bike still wants to fall to the right. it kind of makes sense (to me anyway) the clutch basket is on the rt , sits up high and sticks out the furthest. also the coolant res. is on the rt. side, and the infamous catalyst is also to the rt of the centerline of thebike , so please 04,05r1 guys just do me ONE favor while riding on levelground, and a straight line , take you hands off the bars, see if your bike goes str8 while you position your body centered on the bike ,or do you need to adjust your weight to the left to compinsate for all the heavy rt sided components.

a torpedo level wont get you anywhere near the balance point.

and the surface the bike is sitting on wouldhave to be perfectly level.

think man.

basically i;m gonna say its in your head.
you think its gonna happen so it does.

otherwise something you've looked at you missed something on.
like the tires might be slightly worn due to road crown etc...

 

Hey Fool, I have an 05 and mine does the same thing. When I let go of the handle bars it leans right and goes in that direction. It handles fine in the twisties. I weight 147 and no its not me, and its not in my head either. If you find a cure for our problem pm please.

 

I was just wondering. Have you ever thought of taking it back to the dealer and have them look at it? I wonder what Yamaha dealers would say in case like this. What kind of catagory does this matter fall into? They might say it is not even a problem and ignore. Or would they look into it under warranty?

 

soulreaper , thanks man at least im not alone in this and i think maybe we are just in tune to what our bikes are doing, i think if more people would try to take there hands off the bars they would find it happens to them (theory)....soulreaper, my bike is out of warranty...but if it bothers you as much as it bothers me try your dealer and let me know what they say..........to respond to my torpedo level and level ground system. i did this TWENTY times and the bike fell right EVERY TIME as per perfectly level ground if the bike is level ground is of little signifigants ,gravity is gravity . i am not trying to get in a pissing contest just trying to explain myself and i do appreciate the input guys

 

My 04 does same thing - so slight it's hardly noticable. especially since I've made it habbit now to apply some pressure on the side of the tank with my right knee when going "no hands". this corrects the problem (not a lot of pressure needed).

Mines been this way since day1 over 2 sets of tires. so I'm satisfied thats its the bikes natural tendancy to want to corner

EIN

 

when in doubt take it to a frame alignment specialist. He'll put it up in a space frame and tell you if the frame is straight or not. It'll cost you some dough though but I think worth it in your predicament.

 

thanks einsiedler i am starting to think i am less than crazy:thumbup

 

Yeah, a frame alignment specialist like GMD Computrack may be able to show you exactly what is going on. Like was mentioned it'll cost you a few bucks but you can have the bike aligned better than factory.

 

Well im assuming that you are sure that your back tire is square.

Next two questions.

1. Have you lowered your forks?

2. Have you done many wheelies?

 

Fool, my friend told me that it could be the steering stabalizer.
I went home and took the stabalizer off and then took it for a test ride. I let go of the bars and the bike tracked straight. I put the stabalizer back on, there is nothing wrong with it. I guess when you let go of the bars the stabalizer just does what it wants, in my case it makes the bike turn right. Take yours off and take it for it for a ride. Oh yeah when you take the stabalizer off, there are two thick washers, one under the stab. and one on top. The one on the bottom fell and made its way into the left faring, it took me about five minutes to find. Let me know how things turn out. I also checked all my suspension settings and found that some where off by a click from the factory. I set all of them correctly and that helped the bike track better even with the stab. on the bike. Remember when you take the bike for a ride without the stab dont get to crazy with the throttle or you might find yourself dealing with a tank slapper.

 

yes ive done my share of wheekies but the frony ends never come down to hard ,i will try removing the stab and see what happens thanks guys:thumbup :thumbup