Jumping K-9

[Satterfield]

I have had this bike in the shop more since I bought it than I have had it home in the past three months. The biggest holdup now is something is wrong with the front wheel/tire? It starts to "hop" or "pogo" at around 75 mph and gets worse until by about 95-100 mph it is ready to hop off the road.

I have been told every excuse you can think of, none of which solved the problem. This was a new 08' K-9 (85 miles), it took months to get the other things running right (pipes etc.) now this. I just decided to take it out for an interstate run before I took it in this last time or I would not have noticed it just pushing around town.

Does anyone have any experience with a problem like this, or an opinion on it?

Thanks, "T"

 

[wyatt580]

nice scoot. i've got the same pipe

 

[chacha]

First - if the shop is that bad, you may want to find another shop -- it can take a while to find a good one.

they should be checking fork fluid level, bushings, tyre balance, wheel runout, neck bearings, fork fall away, and alignments.

I know I have some neck bearing problems 'cause I got some front wobble at 100-115 this weekend. I've seen these machines hit these numbers with no problems so something is up with yours.

Please pass on what the shop comes up with to fix it -- helps the whole forum.

Good luck.

 

[Satterfield]

First - if the shop is that bad, you may want to find another shop -- it can take a while to find a good one.

they should be checking fork fluid level, bushings, tyre balance, wheel runout, neck bearings, fork fall away, and alignments.

I know I have some neck bearing problems 'cause I got some front wobble at 100-115 this weekend. I've seen these machines hit these numbers with no problems so something is up with yours.

Please pass on what the shop comes up with to fix it -- helps the whole forum.

Good luck.

Thanks a lot for your input, I am about to go down there now and see what the story is today, which I already know will be that there is nothing wrong with it. I had to get the tank repainted in Kansas as it had a factory defect and the bike has been there over a month. I had a new carb and the forward controls put on to be fixed along with this "jumping" problem. They say there is nothing wrong-but no opinion I have received supports this view. I guess I will have to tell them to take off what they put on and take it elsewhere-even though the next closest BDM dealer to me is over 100 miles.

 

[BadBrad]

I have had this bike in the shop more since I bought it than I have had it home in the past three months. The biggest holdup now is something is wrong with the front wheel/tire? It starts to "hop" or "pogo" at around 75 mph and gets worse until by about 95-100 mph it is ready to hop off the road.

I have been told every excuse you can think of, none of which solved the problem. This was a new 08' K-9 (85 miles), it took months to get the other things running right (pipes etc.) now this. I just decided to take it out for an interstate run before I took it in this last time or I would not have noticed it just pushing around town.

Does anyone have any experience with a problem like this, or an opinion on it?

Thanks, "T"

Hey T,
Have you looked at the tire itself? It's possible that you have a defect in the tire like a bubble, flatspot, separated tread or broken belt within the tire. If your bearings are good and the wheel is round, I would try putting a new tire on and see what happens. If it's the tire, then you're good to go. If it still happens, then you have a spare front tire for when the other one wears out.

 

[chacha]

BadBrad - that's not a half-crazy idea!:up:

To check the wheel run-out -- it's best done with the tire off anyway. So for the cost of the tire (which you can always use in the future) you get the tire as the problem eliminated...

 

[Satterfield]

BadBrad - that's not a half-crazy idea!:up:

To check the wheel run-out -- it's best done with the tire off anyway. So for the cost of the tire (which you can always use in the future) you get the tire as the problem eliminated...

I mentioned the list you gave when I was in today and once again was told that this was just the way the bike rode (not over 75-80mph) even though I had went to several other experts who told me that the wheel most likely was the problem. Last week they ask me if I rode another K-9 and it was the same would I be happy-I agreed-they changed their minds. Even their own tech suggested this today not knowing it had been previously brought up-the tech also suggested to take a wheel from one of the other K-9's-I agreed to that-he would not do that either and I am guessing for the same reason. They have left me with very few options and none of them are attractive. I have not yet mentioned any dealership that is circling the drain. I think they just don't want to be on the hook for a very expensive wheel replacement that they cannot put off on the MFG.

Thanks "T"

 

[Raywood]

I mentioned the list you gave when I was in today and once again was told that this was just the way the bike rode (not over 75-80mph) even though I had went to several other experts who told me that the wheel most likely was the problem. Last week they ask me if I rode another K-9 and it was the same would I be happy-I agreed-they changed their minds. Even their own tech suggested this today not knowing it had been previously brought up-the tech also suggested to take a wheel from one of the other K-9's-I agreed to that-he would not do that either and I am guessing for the same reason. They have left me with very few options and none of them are attractive. I have not yet mentioned any dealership that is circling the drain. I think they just don't want to be on the hook for a very expensive wheel replacement that they cannot put off on the MFG.

Thanks "T"

My front end will start bouncing like that when the tire gets worn. Being that yours if pretty new I would guess as suggested that you may have a bad tire or the tire isn't balanced. Put some dyno beads in it and see if that cures it.
By the way, your bike should be stable at well over 100 mph. I've cruised for hours on end at 100 mph out here in the open west without problems.

 

[BBChopper]

My front end will start bouncing like that when the tire gets worn. Being that yours if pretty new I would guess as suggested that you may have a bad tire or the tire isn't balanced. Put some dyno beads in it and see if that cures it.
By the way, your bike should be stable at well over 100 mph. I've cruised for hours on end at 100 mph out here in the open west without problems.

X2, Dyna Beads!!!

 

[bdmridgeback]

Mine got that hop in it when my tire was shot, after the new tire it was fine.

Before I changed it, I rode to Biketoberfest and at 72-75 mph it would start that slow pogo thing. Drove me nuts. Dyna Beads would not fix it, I replaced front and rear tire and it went away.

Dealer actually told me that the rear tire was probably causing it to pogo like that.

 

[Satterfield]

My front end will start bouncing like that when the tire gets worn. Being that yours if pretty new I would guess as suggested that you may have a bad tire or the tire isn't balanced. Put some dyno beads in it and see if that cures it.
By the way, your bike should be stable at well over 100 mph. I've cruised for hours on end at 100 mph out here in the open west without problems.

Hey, thanks. But they say it has been all checked and balanced and as ridiculous as it sounds they actually are trying to maintain that the bike should ride like crap ("that's just the way these bikes are" end quote) at speeds over 85 mph. I know it sounds ridiculous 117 CI 1925 cc 85 mph max-a Honda 350 would eat that. They are actually telling me that this "hopping" is normal. I have no doubt that a bike built like this that cost this much would not make it in the market with an 85-90 mph limit without hopping around. The bike has about 575 miles on it, it had 85 miles on it when I bought it and I paid the full price. The bike has been in the shop 75% of the time since I purchased it -4/28/2010- and I have had nothing but hassle's with these people. I don't really have a lot of options left other than the most dreaded of all "legal"- "T"

 

[Raywood]

Hey, thanks. But they say it has been all checked and balanced and as ridiculous as it sounds they actually are trying to maintain that the bike should ride like crap ("that's just the way these bikes are" end quote) at speeds over 85 mph. I know it sounds ridiculous 117 CI 1925 cc 85 mph max-a Honda 350 would eat that. They are actually telling me that this "hopping" is normal. I have no doubt that a bike built like this that cost this much would not make it in the market with an 85-90 mph limit without hopping around. The bike has about 575 miles on it, it had 85 miles on it when I bought it and I paid the full price. The bike has been in the shop 75% of the time since I purchased it -4/28/2010- and I have had nothing but hassle's with these people. I don't really have a lot of options left other than the most dreaded of all "legal"- "T"

Well any mechanical expert will tell you that there are only a couple moving parts up there that would cause this hopping. And it's either the tire, wheel or maybe the rotor.
Again, mine starts doing this real bad when the front tire wears out. Two years ago I eliminated it by fillig it with dyno beads till I returned from the Redwood Run. Worked like a champ. My bike only has about 72,000 miles on it so I've gone through a couple tires!!

Sounds like you need to work on this yourself or find a different shop

 

[tatt22er]

I have an 08 K9 and have never experienced what you are, mine runs pretty smooth past 100. What they're trying to push on you is all BS, somethings wrong, these guys are probalbly right about the tire, I just put new cobras on mine and it runs smooth as silk.

 

[Satterfield]

Well any mechanical expert will tell you that there are only a couple moving parts up there that would cause this hopping. And it's either the tire, wheel or maybe the rotor.
Again, mine starts doing this real bad when the front tire wears out. Two years ago I eliminated it by fillig it with dyno beads till I returned from the Redwood Run. Worked like a champ. My bike only has about 72,000 miles on it so I've gone through a couple tires!!

Sounds like you need to work on this yourself or find a different shop

You are correct and I willm as soon as I can extricate myself from the complicated situation I let myself get into. The bike has 500 mile on it and the tire is an Avon Venom. "T"

 

[Satterfield]

I have an 08 K9 and have never experienced what you are, mine runs pretty smooth past 100. What they're trying to push on you is all BS, somethings wrong, these guys are probalbly right about the tire, I just put new cobras on mine and it runs smooth as silk.

You are right something is wrong, in many ways. Even as you say about 100mph they say no way, the bike is for "bar hopping" this is an actual quote not some inane verbiage I came up with.

Thanks, "T"

 

[Vegas]

The bike is revolting against the picture in your signature....:roll:

 

[TCALZ06]

You are right something is wrong, in many ways. Even as you say about 100mph they say no way, the bike is for "bar hopping" this is an actual quote not some inane verbiage I came up with.

Thanks, "T"

well you need to go somewhere else. The hopping you describe sounds like what happened to me when my front wheel was out of balance.
It wasn't noticeable until about 60 and would get worse the faster I went.
The forks would shake at around 70

You should be able to ride as others have stated without the hop. I can run 85-90 for long periods of time with no problems. I don't run over 100 but others do

 

[Thumper169]

Id throw a new tire on it and let it go, I've ran both of mine at over 100 and its smooth, My K9 had 5,000 miles on the fromt tire and it started getting jumpy, you may have just a bad tire or maybe you hit a pot hole and it busted something inside

 

[Nukeranger]

I would focus on BadBrad's advice. If you can do it yourself, it would even be better. You are more likely to spend the time, effort, and energy to figure it. A tire does get damaged by road wear, has an expiration date, and comes with manufacturing defects which may require replacement.

 

[Tank]

We have tried to appease and reassure "T" on many occasions. There is no problem with his K9 as we all have ridden it in excess of 60 miles total and at very high speeds. I would happily ride the bike to go see Raywood myself! The last time "T" took the bike out was during a raging rain storm (with the kick stand down) and he proclaimed it defective because it has a balancing wheel weight on the wheel (installed by Big Dog LLC). When the bike was brought into our shop, "T" admitted to putting air in the tires (they were over-filled to 45lbs) and he was told it was normal to "hop" when hitting a bump at high speeds with over-filled tires. Anybody that knows Big Dog Tampa knows that we are all enthusiasts (for example I ride in excess of 2000 miles/month) and would happily collect warranty payment if a problem was found. Nobody here has or would suggest a K9 is just for "bar hopping", and we have encouraged "T" to find an objective professional or competent 3rd party to evaluate the motorcycle.

T's last bike was a Suzuki that he crashed, I've ridden with him and he is understandably nervous. The problem in this situation is with the rider and not the bike.