Q: I’ve now owned my precious Honda Blackbird for 12 years and during our symbiotic relationship we’ve covered just over 87,000km, with no problems besides a broken battery that I’ve replaced.
However, recently my ‘bird has developed an annoying little weave that seems to be exaggerated when I pass over white lines or repair bands in the road surface.
My tyres are relatively new and I run the correct pressures as suggested in the owner’s manual. I’ve also checked the head bearings and they are smooth and tight. All of the wheel bearings are in a similar good shape as well.
So what would you guys suggests I check over next? Any help will be well received and thanks again for your ‘free’ technical advise and support.
James Mitchell.
A: There’s one, or two actually, things that you haven’t mentioned. They’re called the swing-arm bushes or bearings. And with a bike of this mileage and power I would most certainly say that this is your problem and they will cause the bike to perform a weave when worn, especially over white lines and the like.
So take out the back wheel, remove everything else that needs to be removed and pull out the swing-arm, and then you’ll be able to see and remove the offending parts.
Honda dealers will be able to order the parts for you and they’re relatively easy to fit and then find the correct torque settings off the Net for the swing-arm shaft and tighten everything up. Then you’ll be back to where the bike’s handling should be.
