Hi I come from Stirling in Scotland and just purchased a 2002 Triumph Trophy 1200 it is in quite good condition apart from one thing,when banking into a corner it feels like the wheel wants to turn although it doesn't and I was wondering if this was a handling feature of this bike I have checked the tyre and the brakes and everything seems fine I would be gratefull for any input on this if anybody has any ideas what this could be. Regards Robert
hi Rob welcome to the forum,not quite sure what you mean when you say it wants to turn but doesn't,does the wheel seem to be moving about when cornering..could be knackered wheel bearings..that's just a guess,hopefully someone will be along with an answer for you
All of the above plus .... wheel alignment! These bikes are a bit top heavy which may not be what you are used to. Also, please note that when cornering it is always advantageous to have both wheels turning. Finally ... welcome to the forum and a small sample of both the help available herein and the strange type of humour that is so (far too!) easy to encourage! Enjoy.
Hi Rob! Good that you found us I edited my previous msg since it did not help at all with your problem. I hope, the other's suggetions are more helpful. Enjoy the ride! Cheers, Daniel 65
As above, these bikes are very top heavy and tend to drop a little into slow corners, pressures are critical, 36 front 41 rear usually, tho some go a couple above that. my Sprint didnt turn either if the pressures dropped about 4 below those, new tyres and all is fine now, no more loss of pressure and a good ride too. How old are the tyres ? there is a 4 digit number on the sidewall in an oval shaped ring, if it says say 1213, it was manufactured in the 12th week of 2013. If the tyres are older than about 5 yrs they should be changed as the rubber will have degraded. as the others have said. head bearings, forks- oil not even or twisted in yokes, wheel bearings,check wheel alignment, not just with marks on eccentric but with long strips of wood etc, the eccentrics are not usually too far out tho on these bikes. The mechanic who services my bike says you can adjust the chain ( and wheel alignment) using just one allen key on the adjuster, on my bike I have found if you try doing that it is easy to get the alignment all wrong. I use 2 allen keys, one each side.
Hello Robert, I really want to help you but honestly I don't understand what you mean by "when banking into a corner it feels like the wheel wants to turn although it doesn't " - what wheel? Do you mean the front wheel? when you say it's not turning do you mean it's not steering into/round a bend???
Sorry for not explaining correctly what I meant was when I bank the bike the handlebars want to turn like a steering wheel in a car if that makes any sense and I have to push against it to keep the bars straight
Any one of the above issues can cause similar problems, do the easy ones first and work through them one by one.
Hi Robert, welcome to the forum. So what you are describing is that it keeps turning whilst you go into a corner ? Almost like the steering is very loose ? Or have I got it wrong ? Some very valid suggestions above by members on what to check, especially the head bearing and or bolt. Get the front in the air (lift not wheelie ) and check for excessive play. Also check your cable routing too (that is if it's tight to turn and my understanding of a loose steering is incorrect) Hope you get it sorted. Do let us know what you find.
Hi Robert, welcome to the forum. So what you are describing is that it keeps turning whilst you go into a corner ? Almost like the steering is very loose ? Or have I got it wrong ? Some very valid suggestions above by members on what to check, especially the head bearing and or bolt. Get the front in the air and check for excessive play. Also check your cable routing too (that is if it's tight to turn and my understanding of a loose steering is incorrect) Hope you get it sorted. Do let us know what you find.
I checked the brakes the back caliper was seized so I freed this but it still did not make any difference to the steering then checked tyre pressure and found the front tyre only had 20 psi and the rear was 30psi with the bike not being run for the winter the tyres had lost some pressure and when I put the tyres at the correct pressure low and behold the problem with the steering was solved. Thanks for all the ideas but I am just glad this was an easy fix.
That sounds absolutely normal to me, especially if you are using your body weight to steer and you over do it. Also can happen if the front tyre down on pressure. The bike is over-steering and the back pressure is telling by how much.