Ducati Monster Forum

Just got on the bike and rode home from work. Luckily it wasnt too far, but the front end felt loose, wobbly, almost detached. Even while driving straight. Never encountered this before and I did a quick search but couldnt find anything. What am I looking at here guys? Hopefully this is something I can fix myself relatively quick. The bike is a 96 m900. No upgrades to the suspension as far as I know. Need any more info let me know. TIA

-Marcel

hard to diagnose these things over the internet.

it could be you or the bike. or a combination of both. or even the particular stretch of road.

if it happens over night then there might be some type of damaged (i blew my preload spacer once by landing some hard wheelies)

ill check and make sure everthing is tight tomorrow morning before i leave and see if it does it again. Is there some sort of steering head bearing that might need replaced?

Could be anything from a bad/under-inflated tire, bent wheel, wheel bearings or head bearings.  Possible fork problem too.  You need the weight off the front wheel and triples to check head and wheel bearings.  Start with tire pressure.

Hope it isn't the steering head bearings, that's a super fun project...

If this was a sudden change in the character of the bike, I'd check your tires.

Low front tire pressure tends to make the front end seem kinda "distant."

Hopefully that's all it is, and can be remedied with a patch kit/new tire.

thanks all. Tire pressure makes sense, will double check that in the am first.

cheers  [beer]

ok, it WAS the tire pressure. Back tire had a little hole, slow leak. Never felt that before on a bike. So THATS what low tire pressure feels like. ha

Now I got to figure out if its under warranty or if I can patch it...yada yada. Thanks for the help!

I had exactly the same thing happen to me ,
cornering was scary ,at first I ignored it thinking it was in my head
even stopped and checked the front tyre as I kept running wide .
Only came aware of it when my friend I was riding with waved me down after I rode off really hard
My rear had a nail in it and the tyre was almost rolling off the rim  [puke]
Bloody Pilot Pure almost new too , no steel belt hmmm wonder if they are more prone to punctures
Hated those tyres now on Conti Sport attack  [thumbsup] [thumbsup] [thumbsup]

Thats exactly what it was like! I even told myself it might be in my head. Weird thing was that I had a puncture but no nail or object stuck in it. Pretty sure it was a slow leak too. Went and got some "slime" today on my lunch so I'll get to that tonight and see how the Dunlop Q2's like it.

slime is no good. find the hole and plug it.

If you already used the Slime get the tire properly repaired or replaced ASAP and make sure you inform whomever does the repair you used Slime.  Slime is a good emergency product, like to get you out of the dessert before the vultures get you.  It is not a repair.

+1....and make sure when you get a new tire to replace this one, you tell them there is Slime in there...otherwise, you'll have one pist off tech telling you he is going to charge you more for the gooey surprise he now has to clean up and deal with...


also...a note for those whom are newer and not putting this together right away in conclusion....this is a perfectly good learning experience in terms of how the front and the rear of the bike are connected in ways you might not think of in terms of handling and issues...it isn't always exactly a direct path where you look for something you think you are feeling

I was just going to say tire pressure! 

When I had my bst's mounted with pilot sports, I assumed the tech would inflate them to the pressure I asked him to.  He didn't, and for a day I rode around with 14psi in the front and 12 in the back.   Talk about a different "feel" !!

Haven't used the slime yet. Should I go for a plug or do I really need to replace the tire?

most times, depending on the puncture, a plug should do fine...YMMV of course

Where is the puncture?  How worn is the tire?  Is the tire wear fairly even?  How squared off is it from riding the slab?  A good photo would help.  A proper repair is to dismount the tire and use a mushroom patch from the inside.  If you are paying someone to do this you are a good way towards the cost of a new tire.

Dont have a pic right now, but the tire is fairly new. Less then 1000 miles. I'll see if I can post a pic tonight.

Last time this happened to me was the final practice session of this year's September SRMI racing schedule.  I went into turn five and the bike felt squirrely.  I threw up a hand and got wide, then looked down while exiting the turn to make sure I wasn't dumping oil.  Nope...no oil....tire looks fine...but this thing's wobbling like a fat girls ass.  Humph.  

I pulled into the pits and as I was climbing off my right leg hit the swingarm pivot, which was sticking six inches out to the right of its normal location.   :o  I felt lucky to limp it in without winding up on my face!

Glad you got it sorted.  Nothing's quite as unsettling as the bike you're used to turning into something else.   ;)

You should re-attach it.  ;D

http://nupathz.com/oddsnends/Solutions_to_Pilot_Complaints.htm (http://nupathz.com/oddsnends/Solutions_to_Pilot_Complaints.htm)

While on deployment, we had a lot of "Radalt (radar altimeter) does not work above 5000 feet" and "Radalt does not work while inverted (upside down)" complaints.

Two things:

1) The radar altimeter is not SUPPOSED to work above 5000 feet. That's its rated ceiling.

2) The radar altimeter shoots a radar signal out of the underside of the aircraft. When you're inverted, what the hell is it supposed to bounce off of? Space?

The only smartass reply we got to send up was when one of the crews sent in a gripe that said "Comm Link 2 is slow," meaning the radio computer for communication channel 2 was slow to establish contact with base.

We ran up the suspect computer on our equipment and it was fine, and we sent it back with the compliance code "Comm link told to hurry up or it will be left behind."

Chief was not impressed.

 [laugh] that made my day.

+1

I was a Munitions Controller for about a year. I was the radio hub for all movements and otherwise in the bomb dump. Needless to say once I got the hang of it, they moved me off radio quick.  [thumbsup]

here's some more
http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/tech_ops/read.main/174463/ (http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/tech_ops/read.main/174463/)