Pulling?

[officerbill]

It feels like the bike gently pulls a bit to the left when I grab the front brake. Why would one brake engage more than the other? It is more appearent at lower speeds (i.e. under 30), but I've felt it a little at highway speed (over 60). It is very gentle at this point, however I feel this is an omen. 666
I'd guess time for brakes.
Bill

[officerbill]

Hi,
I still feel an odd pull, could one caliper be grabbing and the other not and making it feel like slight tug to the left? I did have the cause to garb the brake hard this afternoon when the cage in front of me made a left hand turn without signal or brake lights. No pulling then, but I went for 35 to 5 in about ten feet. So it seems the light braking is were I feel this pull. At this point it just feels weird, tires and brake are on the to do list, but still rolling for now.
Bill

[ratdude]

One caliper pulling more than other is not possible , this isn't a car . But I would be real concerned with the condition of several things .

Check for play at the wheel bearings , the condition of your swingarm pivots , the neck bearings , the fork slider bushings . One fork tube damping more than the other may cause this also.

It could be as simple as tires I suppose , but I would be REAL concerned something that shouldn't be is moving around when you apply the brakes.

Good hunting
Rat

[FormerBMWguy]

Ratdude is right- even though you have two calipers/discs on one wheel, it can't pull because of the brakes because it's only one wheel making contact with the ground. If it could pull to either side, bikes with only one disc would shoot off the road if you applied the front brake. Sounds like some misalignment between the forks, head, frame, etc. I would find some perfectly flat slab and start measuring carefully. Are either of your downtubes slightly bent?

[officerbill]

Ratdude is right- even though you have two calipers/discs on one wheel, it can't pull because of the brakes because it's only one wheel making contact with the ground. If it could pull to either side, bikes with only one disc would shoot off the road if you applied the front brake. Sounds like some misalignment between the forks, head, frame, etc. I would find some perfectly flat slab and start measuring carefully. Are either of your downtubes slightly bent?

While I have not measured the tubes for trueness with anything other than a four foot level they seem straight. I've checked the head bearings etc. Starting to thing the wheel bearing is going south again.
Thanks for the help and while I could not justify the "pulling" feeling in any other way than to think one caliper was working before the other I know there is no way this could have an effect.
Thanks,
Bill

[duaneage]

Check the fork seals and fluid level. When you brake the forks may not be equally responsive.

Also check the headset bearings. You have a lot of miles and you may have divots on the races. When you brake the load changes and the bearings go into the small pits, altering steering.

[FormerBMWguy]

I had a GS750 that would jerk to the right every time I hit a significant bump. Turned out the right-hand spring in the fork was much weaker than the left, as though it had lost its temper. It even measured slightly different in length when I finally took it apart. I think someone may have changed it out with the wrong part at one time, but it caused me lots of frustration until I finally diagnosed it.

[bwringer]

Steering stem bearings are the most likely issue, although you can't rule out some offbeat combination of bad fork springs and incorrect assembly as above.

[officerbill]

Speed maybe?

Would speed matter? Unlike size, I think speed has a difference to play. It seems more to happen more often at slower speeds. The more I think about it though, it seems to occur at the same type of road condition, intersections with a little wear from trucks. Yeah, I know that narrows it down to all of them. But, it happens at one interestion it seems more than others. I'll look closer at the road, maybe it isn't the bike!