[SWallWing9587]

Hello all!

I purchased a 1987 Honda gl1200 Interstate in January of 2020 and it has been wonderful, up until today, 11/6/20. I drove the bike from my home to Appleton, Wisconsin for my daily commute which is about 55 miles one way. The bike had sat for about a month before this and we had had rain, the bike sits outside sadly as I dont have a garage. I take it to a gas station, air up the tires, and everything was fine. Drive 55 miles at 75 mph, and as I get to my exit I stop at the light, and as I set off the steering felt 100lbs heavier and it only wanted to turn right. Well I muscle it straight and it wobbles the whole way which is only 2 blocks. The tires were still fine, and only one of the two brakes on the front works and the rotor is not warped. It'll be stuck in the warehouse over the weekend. Are there any known causes for this as it was fine before????HELP!?

 

[DaveO430]

Sounds like a flat front tire to me, did you check the pressure?

 

[briese]

Sounds like a flat front tire to me, did you check the pressure?

Sounds like steering head bearing failure to me.

 

[SWallWing9587]

Sounds like a flat front tire to me, did you check the pressure?

Tires were filled up to 32 from 20 as the bike had sat for a bit.

 

[SWallWing9587]

Sounds like steering head bearing failure to me.

Would it go as quickly as 50 miles though?

 

[Pure Texas]

Put it on the center stand and turn the bars,if it bearings are bad it won’t be smooth,i think that model has loose bearings in the head,so it might have been right on the edge of failing,

 

[SWallWing9587]

Put it on the center stand and turn the bars,if it bearings are bad it won’t be smooth,i think that model has loose bearings in the head,so it might have been right on the edge of failing,

Will try, thanks to all you guys! Had me worried sick all day!

 

[redwing52]

Would it go as quickly as 50 miles though?

Sometimes after yiu inflate a tire the Schrader valve does not seat properly and yes it could get bery low in 50 miles,

 

[DaveO430]

Tires were filled up to 32 from 20 as the bike had sat for a bit.

Did you check again after the fact?

 

[ddw11k]

Please check front tire for proper inflation again.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[Bike...and Dennis]

32 PSI in a warm tire is almost flat to start with.
Also, what do you mean only one brake works?

 

[AZgl1800]

Tires were filled up to 32 from 20 as the bike had sat for a bit.

32 psi is way to low..... should be 38-42 psi front, 40-44 rear.

 

[Bryanlj]

Also could be wheel bearing failure

 

[SWallWing9587]

32 PSI in a warm tire is almost flat to start with.
Also, what do you mean only one brake works?

The rear brake doesn't do a thing, i'm sure its just out of adjustment and when I went to fill the front tire I brushed a rotor after i had driven it in stop start traffic and it was ice cold, the other was hot.

 

[SWallWing9587]

32 psi is way to low..... should be 38-42 psi front, 40-44 rear.

Needs new rubber, old stuff is weather checked and cracking. I was too nervous to fill it all the way.

 

[Bike...and Dennis]

The rear brake doesn't do a thing, i'm sure its just out of adjustment and when I went to fill the front tire I brushed a rotor after i had driven it in stop start traffic and it was ice cold, the other was hot.

Which rotor was hot?

 

[Pure Texas]

If you have other transportation you best park that bad boy till you get some tires and brakes,one brake won’t stop it in emergency stop

 

[DaveO430]

Needs new rubber, old stuff is weather checked and cracking. I was too nervous to fill it all the way.

Which is the wrong thing to do. An underinflated tire gets hot. It would make me nervous to ride on old weather cracked tires.

 

[roscoepc]

First off, Welcome to the Site!!

Now, Down to Business!! Going by what you've posted, you have one front rotor that's hot with the other cold. Like Dennis asked: Which side?? If it's the right rotor I would hazard a guess that the caliper pistons seized up enough to keep enough pressure on the rotor to make her pull to the right and Yes... That can happen all of a sudden just like you described!!

Here's what I'd do: Get you a motorcycle jack to lift the bike so's you can remove the tires and have new rubber put on. Me personally, I like the Dunlop E-3's. They wear and handle good and that makes me Happy!! Other people like different brands and I'm sure you'll get more recommendations!! 😎 While the tires are off, Rebuild the Calipers!!! This is not too hard to do and involves basically removing the pistons, cleaning the caliper housing and pistons up and replacing the O-rings. NOTE: Pay special attention to the O-ring groove for any corrosion in the bottom of the groove!!!!!!! The corrosion is most likely cause of the piston seizing up in the first place!!!! You can use a dental pick, preferably Brass, to clean the corrosion out of the groove and then I used DOT-4 brake fluid to lube the O-rings and the pistons for reassembly...

Bleeding the brakes is pretty straightforward also as the handbrake lever works just one of the front calipers, the left I believe, while the foot brake pedal works both the front right and the rear calipers.. This is called "Linked Brakes", if you didn't know, and helps prevent the rear tire from locking up during a "panic" stop by applying some pressure to the front as well as the back brakes if you don't happen to use the hand brake!! Also you'll note that the pistons are Smaller on the linked side than the unlinked front caliper!! This is why I would recommend rebuilding one caliper at the time and take yer time doing so!!! Did I mention checking for corrosion??? 😜

Good Luck with Her and let us know what else you need!!

 

[DaveO430]

? If it's the right rotor I would hazard a guess that the caliper pistons seized up enough to keep enough pressure on the rotor to make her pull to the right and Yes... That can happen all of a sudden just like you described!!

Don't want to start an argument but one brake dragging will not cause the bike to pull to one side. If it did you couldn't use the front or rear brake alone without switching lanes. And bikes with only 1 front rotor would have a serious problem.