Please Help (Front End/Fork/Tire ?'s) UPDATE

[PolishPete]

There was a pretty good wooble on my front end.  It looked like the triple tree was uneven on the forks...one side was a little higher than the other, and the bars seemed to be turned right a bit when I would go straight. 

I had the dealership fix the uneven forks and replace the fork bearings, but there is still a small wobble (can't take both hands off at 30+ mph), and when I am riding straight, it feels like the handle bars are cocked right a little.

Dealer says a new front tire will fix the wobble, he hasn't addressed the cocked steering.  New tires go on on Saturday, but what do you guys thinks this could be.  Any ideas at all would be helpful. 

[loc_dogg]

Fork bearings!?  You mean wheel bearings, and you should have your suspension dialed in! Or it could just be uneven tire wear!

[PolishPete]

Oops. I thought there was some sort of bearings in the fork.  At least something.  Sure maybe wheel bearings then. 

Could uneven tire wear make the bars look crooked while going straight?  I'm going straight, but pointing a little to the right.

[Jeff]

Front tire cupping would do it.  Steering head bearings would do it.  Shit put together crooked would DEFINITELY do it.

I'd start with making sure the front end is together right.

If you're at autobahn, look me up and I'll help you out.

[PolishPete]

Thanks for the tips, I'll have them look at it when they put the tires on.

It was crooked before they fixed the fork problem, and it's still crooked, so I'm assuming it was put together correctly (hopefully) when they did that.  What is tire cupping?

[sryan296]

Sounds like the forks are twisted in the triple trees. has this bike been crashed?

[loc_dogg]

Tire cupping is caused by bad compresion and rebound settiongs. Usualy compresion (to soft), but the rebound needs to compensate  for the compresion setting and spring rate as well! If the bike only has springs to rely on the tire will bounce and cause tire cupping! This could also be a sign of bad fork seal or seals, check for leakage! Strattle your bike as if you are riding it, stand up w your hands on the bars, w the front brake applied and push down on the front end if its goes up and/ or down fast or feels springy then you know where to start! Hows that sound Jeff?

[PolishPete]

The bike has not been crashed.  I'm interested to see if a new front tire will fix the problem.  We'll see on Saturday.  I will let you all know.  Thanks for the responses.

[K3 Chris Onwiler]

Now ya know damn well that bike's been crashed at SOME point in it's career!
To fix the fork misalignment, you need to support the front end by the steering head pivot, or else find a way to securely support the bike with the front end hanging free.  Next, you'll need to loosen every bolt that holds the front end together. 
1) steering stem nut (There on top of the upper triple clamp)
2)fork pinch bolts on upper triple tree (Clamps the upper tree to the fork legs)
3)fork pinch bolts on lower triple tree  (Clamps the lower tree to the fork legs)
4)front axle
Needless to say, if you haven't supported the front end, at this point the bike would slide down the triple trees until it landed on the front fender!
Hopefully, the parts are twisted in assembly.  With everything loose, now re-tighten the pinch bolts on the upper triple clamp to fully tight, and just barely snug the steering stem nut.  Set the bike back on it's tire, and bounce it a few times.  Tighten everything and ride it around the block.
If that doesn't fix the misalignment, something is bent.  Possible culprets would be one or both fork legs, the upper and lower triple trees, and the front axle.  SVs have a notoriously flimsy front end if the bike has ever taken a direct hit to the nose, I.E. slamming into a tire wall or bouncing during a crash and landing on the front wheel.
You might want to check the front rim for straightness, too!  And find out for sure what the dealer changed.  Was it wheel bearings, or steering head bearings?

[Protein Filled]

Didn't you buy Tom Short's bike? I can tell you it has been crashed...

You can put a straight edge between the forks to see if they are bent as well.

[PolishPete]

Yes, I did buy Tom's bike...but that one has treated me really well so far, excpet for one thing, but I'll ask that in another thread.

The bike I'm referring to here is my street bike...it's a 2000 R6.

Thanks for the responses again!!

[PolishPete]

I got the qualifiers put on today.  Rode home in the rain.  Even with the rain, these tires feel stuck to the ground A LOT more then the Maxis I was on before.  The bike just seems more solid or connected to the road.  Can't wait to try some curves. 

The wobble is completely gone!!  So I guess there was something wrong with the old front tire.  HOWEVER, the bars are still cocked right just a bit...not as much as before, and maybe now its just an illusion, but it seems like they are right just a hair.  Any ideas what this could be.

BTW, they replaced the steering head bearings, checked the wheel bearings, checked out the rim, replaced the tire, check for the forks being straight...haven't come up with any reason it would seem this way.