Front suspension help

[Wayne Lamurey]

I bought a 2011 rss back in feburary and have been loving it so far except ive noticed that the front end is loose in the curves, the guy i bought it from said he upgraded the shocks and ive noticed it has a (red) sway bar with the composite hemi links so im not sure if it was upgraded or not but when i looked up the shock part numbers they reference an rt in stead of a rss. Would that be an issue as far as handling or would it be just a heavier duty compared to the factory one it came with
also noticed the tire is really wearing on the inside of the right side instead of even wear
the guy said that he had the dealer dismount and rotate the tires since their directional
has anyone heard of this before, seems like an alignment issue to me

is there a laser alignment place in north east georgia that can check this, ive heard the dealers just guess at it when do it



part numbers for the front is 706001059
and rear is elka r14.3x70

 

[youngers]

those shocks

do the shocks have adjustment on them ? ( there should be step adjustment to the top of the shock it self ) you might be on the lowest setting , or mid range of the adjustment ...

 

[Wayne Lamurey]

do the shocks have adjustment on them ? ( there should be step adjustment to the top of the shock it self ) you might be on the lowest setting , or mid range of the adjustment ...

I can only tighten them up one more notch, I looked at that earlier hope I g that would help that’s when I ran the part numbers and seen they were for an rt not a rss

 

[UtahPete]

I bought a 2011 rss back in feburary; ive noticed that the front end is loose in the curves, the guy i bought it from said he upgraded the shocks and ive noticed it has a (red) sway bar with the composite hemi links so im not sure if it was upgraded or not but when i looked up the shock part numbers they reference an rt in stead of a rss. Would that be an issue as far as handling or would it be just a heavier duty compared to the factory one it came with also noticed the tire is really wearing on the inside of the right side instead of even wear the guy said that he had the dealer dismount and rotate the tires since their directional has anyone heard of this before, seems like an alignment issue to me is there a laser alignment place in north east georgia that can check this, ive heard the dealers just guess at it when do it. part numbers for the front is 706001059 and rear is elka r14.3x70

How many miles on the bike? How many miles since they were rotated by the prior owner? What kind of tires are on it? Kendas are the OEM but many owners put something else on when it's time to replace them.

It sure does sound like a severe alignment issue. A competent dealer should be able to determine whether it is out of alignment without the laser gear, although the laser alignment is the most accurate.

'Loose in the curves' is kind of subjective. Can you better describe what you are experiencing?

Pictures of the tires and shocks would help.

 

[Wayne Lamurey]

How many miles on the bike? How many miles since they were rotated by the prior owner? What kind of tires are on it? Kendas are the OEM but many owners put something else on when it's time to replace them.

It sure does sound like a severe alignment issue. A competent dealer should be able to determine whether it is out of alignment without the laser gear, although the laser alignment is the most accurate.

'Loose in the curves' is kind of subjective. Can you better describe what you are experiencing?

Pictures of the tires and shocks would help.

it has 25k miles on it now, he didn’t tell me when he had them rotated but said he was gonna replace when the dealer told he all he had to do was rotate them. They are the Kenda tires and he gave me a brand new set when I bought the bike, he said they were the original tires so I’ve also heard that might be the problem
Today when I took a curve kinda hard the front end dipped way down and I backed off the throttle to square it back up that’s why I was asking about the sway bar and shocks I heard the Baja ron sway bar was black but it could have been red back then Just seems weird to have a bright red bar on a black and orange bike

any thoughts would be appreciated

 

[UtahPete]

it has 25k miles on it now, he didn’t tell me when he had them rotated but said he was gonna replace when the dealer told he all he had to do was rotate them. They are the Kenda tires and he gave me a brand new set when I bought the bike, he said they were the original tires so I’ve also heard that might be the problem.

Today when I took a curve kinda hard the front end dipped way down and I backed off the throttle to square it back up that’s why I was asking about the sway bar and shocks I heard the Baja ron sway bar was black but it could have been red back then Just seems weird to have a bright red bar on a black and orange bike

If your bike has 25k on the original Kendas (on the front), then it's probably time to change them out for new ones. The Kendas will perform well on the front in terms of handling the curves, but they have to be at the right psi AND be the same psi in each front tire. I don't know what the new tires are, but if they're Kendas go ahead and swap them out for the old ones that are on there now. BUT, get it aligned right after installing new tires, or they will soon be trash too.

I believe the older BajaRon sway bars were red, but I believe he has always used aluminum billet links, so it's hard to tell what you have on there.

BajaRon is a contributor here, so we should be hearing from him. Also, RSS owners (e.g. Chupaca) will probably have some advice on improving the handling in corners.

Can you post pictures?

 

[BajaRon]

It was a very common poor man's upgrade to put RT shocks on an RS. I did that back in the beginning myself and so did Lamont.

I made a very few bar kits at the very beginning that were red. But Evolution (the very 1st sway bar upgrade manufacturer) made all of his red. So you may have one of those. I didn't start making the billet aluminum Heim joint links until the RT came out in 2010. And not everyone got the links in the beginning until the OEM composite links began to fail.

If the front tires were rotated. Were they removed from the wheels and reversed? If not, your directional tires will be rotating backwards. This can create steering and handling issues.

Front end parts can wear/break. Bad A-Arm bushings and tie rod ends can give you bad handling.

Of course a laser alignment is also highly recommended once you eliminate other potential contributing issues.

 

[kep-up]

My advice would be to change out the tires, get it aligned, and then work on your cornering technique. The RS-S is a performance sport machine and it wasn't made to handle the same way as the RT.

It didn't take long for me to upgrade to the Fox suspension on the front and the BajaRon sway bar and links. Made a huge difference in handling.

Also If you take a corner too hard and on trailing throttle, the nanny will sense this and apply the brakes causing the sensation that the front end is leaning down. The nanny is simply trying to save your ass from hurting yourself. Be aggressive, set up for the corner before you enter, body English into it and power through. I have stated before, you can fly the inside tire if you do it right.

(I believe I know whereof I speak) (Chupaca, you can join in anytime)

2011 RS-S SE5 (38000 miles)
BajaRon sway bar
Fox suspension
Can Am sport touring wind screen
Heated grips
Throttle lock (rarely used)
Rear seat cowl
12 volt outlet for GPS
(battery tender, and whatever else I wish to plug in)
Yoshimura R77 exhaust silencer
Automobile tires front and rear
2nd replacement paddle shifter

 

[Wayne Lamurey]

My advice would be to change out the tires, get it aligned, and then work on your cornering technique. The RS-S is a performance sport machine and it wasn't made to handle the same way as the RT.

It didn't take long for me to upgrade to the Fox suspension on the front and the BajaRon sway bar and links. Made a huge difference in handling.

Also If you take a corner too hard and on trailing throttle, the nanny will sense this and apply the brakes causing the sensation that the front end is leaning down. The nanny is simply trying to save your ass from hurting yourself. Be aggressive, set up for the corner before you enter, body English into it and power through. I have stated before, you can fly the inside tire if you do it right.

(I believe I know whereof I speak) (Chupaca, you can join in anytime)

2011 RS-S SE5 (38000 miles)
BajaRon sway bar
Fox suspension
Can Am sport touring wind screen
Heated grips
Throttle lock (rarely used)
Rear seat cowl
12 volt outlet for GPS
(battery tender, and whatever else I wish to plug in)
Yoshimura R77 exhaust silencer
Automobile tires front and rear
2nd replacement paddle shifter[/QUOTE

thanks everybody for the advise, i will have tires replace tomorrow and they are the factory kenda
the tires were previously reversed so the direction is correct
does anyone happen to know if there is a laser alignment shop in northeast georgia by chance

 

[Wayne Lamurey]

If your bike has 25k on the original Kendas (on the front), then it's probably time to change them out for new ones. The Kendas will perform well on the front in terms of handling the curves, but they have to be at the right psi AND be the same psi in each front tire. I don't know what the new tires are, but if they're Kendas go ahead and swap them out for the old ones that are on there now. BUT, get it aligned right after installing new tires, or they will soon be trash too.

I believe the older BajaRon sway bars were red, but I believe he has always used aluminum billet links, so it's hard to tell what you have on there.

BajaRon is a contributor here, so we should be hearing from him. Also, RSS owners (e.g. Chupaca) will probably have some advice on improving the handling in corners.

Can you post pictures?

 

[UtahPete]

View attachment 161533

Thanks!