Brake caliper rebuild

I've rebuilt a half dozen calipers. I never spent a cent on one. I took them apart, dug the sq oring out as gently as I could. They still looked resilient so I cleaned them off with either fine steel wool or 320 grit paper. I dug the corrosion out of the square groove as best I small circular wire wheel is good with a dremel. I silicone sealed the backside of the oring into the groove. I wasn't concerned about any pitting or anything on the piston, although I cleaned off any high spots with sandpaper or file. I reused the oring and outer seal even when the outer seal wasn't very good. I put the bad part up. That's how I did it.

Brake bleeding for motorcycles 

Brake and hyd clutch bleeding is usually very difficult on motorcycles vs cars.  I suppose it's because there is so much vertical distant in a short length that an air bubble can rise faster than it can be forced down and out the lower bleed valve. The first important note is, if doing the normal hand pump bleeding, it is necessary to bleed the air out of the banjo bolt at the master cylinder early in the bleeding process.  Without that banjo bolt bleeding often you can't get any pressure at all. Truthfully, I like to get a 5 foot piece of 3/16 ID clear vinyl tubing, so I can see what's going on, but vacuum line from an auto parts store would work, Then siphon from the brake fluid can into the brake caliper nippleor or the clutch slave cylinder nipple to fill the brake line from the bottom up.

Working out the siphon procedure goes like this.  wire the can to somewhere slightly above the Master Cyl.  Get a siphon going then pinch it off with pliers a 1/2" from the bottom, then work the hose on the caliper nipple, then remover the pliers and open the caliper or slave cyl bleed valves.

The reservoir will fill slowly.  Be ready with a turkey baster to suck out some fluid when it fills and another small can to put the fluid in from the turkey baster.  It still requires bleeding those banjo joints.  During this fluid removal there are lots of chances to get brake fluid on your paint.  Cover your paint with plastic or have rags ready to wipe any spills. I tell you about the siphon method because bleeding from the bottom up is the most 'pure' way of bleeding.  I had air in my motorcycle's clutch system for the first 15 yrs that I couldn't bleed out until I tried this siphon procedure.  Crossing the LA mtns on the way to Bako, I would always lose all clutch pressure, until about 10 miles of being back to the lower altitude, because of the altitude change and hotter engine temps.  That would happen anytime I got high and hot. I never got that fixed until I did the siphon thing.  

I've never used or owned a Mighty-Vac bleeder, so I can't speak to that.

Aluminum graining

Get one of those 4" round Black abrasive rubber wheels used for paint stripping. You can quickly put a nice grain finish on all your Al. For instance, you can grain a pair of fork sliders in 10 or 15 minutes.

seat comfort

A comfortable seat is worth more than the rest of the bike. If you have to weigh your ass pain against the valve of the trip that your on, you have the wrong seat. Get an upholsterer to change your sitting surface to a tractor bucket seat style.rter solenoid deserves the same treatment. Actually, I put a little grease on all my terminal connectors including my fuse holders and their crimps. >Hands going to sleep

I had a lot of trouble with that when I started re-riding back in my 50s. I tried a lot of things and learned that griping the throttle to maintain speed was the problem. One of the things I tried was a generic wrist lock/rocker so the palm applied the pressure. That worked pretty well but found the wrist lock got bumped a lot and wasn't in the right position much of the time, and that didn't take care of me scratching my nose. It became apparent that I had to lock the wrist lock down permanently so that I could count on it being there in a comfortable position at hwy cruising speed because that is where I would need it when I'd be in one position for long periods. But that didn't take care of me taking my hands off the bars occasionally. At first, I learn to hold the right bar with my left hand so that I could keep the throttle on and do things with the right hand that I couldn't reach with my left hand...such as warming the right hand on the heads. After a bunch of practice, I could steer with my left hand running the throttle. But that wasn't as good as a friction throttle lock. I use a throttle lock along with a 2" long wrist rocker that's in a permanent position. The throttle lock is set so it will just barely hold the throttle on and is easily overpowered by input from my hand. That takes care of all the issues that I have with that hand going to sleep. It's funny to me how resistant we are doing things that you don't see done on other bikes. It's your body and you are a smart guy. Do what you need to do. Make that bike work for you....no matter how crazy it is to the rest of the world.

Clean your fork seals

I've been cleaning seals for 10 years. I've used 10 different procedures. My current procedure is to remove/lift the dust seal then get a 6" piece of 1" tape measure tape (should be a part of your riding tool kit and just go up and down past the seal's lips.  There are 3 seal lips so the cleaner hasto go in/down 3/8"  Technically all dirt in a fork seal comes from dirt that has stuck to the front side of the fork tube that works its way into the seal.  I no longer worry about bringing the dirt up and out of the seal. I just want it off the seal's lip where it causes a leak.  You will notice that fork seals go longer without leaking on new bikes. That's because the top dust seal cleans the bug guts and dirt off the fork tube better. I currently clean my seal/seals when it starts leaving a small black oil line up on the fork tube. That will last for a number of months or longer before I have to do it again.  Truly though, keeping the shit off the fork tube is really a great way to go. Gators are great and second best are shields. My Sabres seals are at least 10 years old and I've had to clean one or the other at least a dozen times. ...and I might add that you prolly only need to do that on the front side of the fork tube. As soon as I start seeing any of a black ring (showing the tiniest leak) I pull out my seal cleaned and go after it.  You need to pull the dust boot up because the act of shoving the seal cleaner into the seal will create enough leak so that there will now be oil above the seal that will look like a leak until you sop all that out from above the seal.  It's a science I tell you....one must become the seal in order to think like a seal. :)  

....Fork seal R&R for the lazy man....

Easy forks seal replacement for most street motorcycles and specifically for '80's Honda V4s Ten easy steps

This seal replacement is for the lazy man like me.

First there are all kinds of woe that an unsuspecting DIY guy can run into when changing seals by disassembling the fork legs. Such as rounding out the Hex head bolt at the bottom of the fork slider. Next is having the guts inside the fork turn and not let that bolt come out. Next is reassembling wrong, bad juju. Eliminating all that is key to doing it the easy way. Do each fork leg by itself to completion, then do the other fork leg. One at a time, is especially important if the 2 fork legs are linked by an air equalizer like the V65s are.

1st. remove the front wheel, calipers, and fender.

2nd. Drain the oil, while depressing the Shrader air valve to let air in.

3rd. Lift the dust seal, then tap down on the snap ring to loosen it. Use a wooden drift or Aluminum or Brass. If you get a steel hammer next to your fork tube, you will likely damage them. I know from experience.

4th. Remove the snap ring, then tie a towel around the fork tube just above the seal. Now comes the heresy part...

5th. Apply 100 to 110 lbs of air pressure to that fork leg. Keep your hand away from that seal as it will pop out and scare you. If it doesn't pop right away, wait 5 minutes, it will pop.

6th, Release top fork tube clamp and take the top cap nut out of the fork tube.

7th, Then loosen the bottom clamp and remove that fork leg.

8th. Exchange the old seal with the new seal, by hammering it in with a PVC pipe or a wooden or Al or brass drift. Stay away from the fork tube with anything made of steel. (If you have to use steel put a plastic water bottle around the fork tube for protection).

8b. If the top of the fork tube is rusty or damaged cover the damaged part with plastic or tape or summat to protect the new seal.

9th. Put fork leg back in its clamps (tighten bottom clamp) then refill with the prescribed amount of oil and replace the top cap....tighten top clamp.

10th. Do the other leg, then reassemble the front wheel and ride. Please ignore these 10 steps if you are a guy who has to do all things the right way. LOL  

The 3 yellow wire problem....

Probably most everyone knows about that issue with '80s Hondas. The part that fails in my estimation is the contact between the crimp connector and the wire itself. That's where the heat starts that destroys that connection.

I like cleaning the terminals and then greasing the joint (any grease or even oil) and in particular that crimp from the backside....plus squeezing the bayonet connector tighter. I've been dealing with my Sabre since the early '90s and have had lots of electric problems over the years. Oh, and the terminal plug on top of the starter solenoid will burn up also.  It deserves the same treatment.    

  Electrical connection maintenance

Everyone with a first and second gen V4 should go look at their wiring plug that's on top of their starter solenoid. You should clean and grease the connectors and tighten up the female spade terminals by squeezing them with pliers a tad. The above happens frequently, and while you're at it give your 3 yellow wire connectors (at the voltage regulator) the same treatment.

 Most of those connection failures happen because of corrosion between the actual wire and the crimp connection of the spade terminal that Honda used. There's nothing that you can do to tighten that portion of the connector, but you can add oil or grease to the whole terminal plug. That will stop any moisture from causing corrosion. All the connections on our old bikes should be greased.....not WD40, but any kind of grease. A tiny spritz of spray silicone grease is the easy way. Spritz in the back or the terminal plug where the wires go in. The grease will spread to everything inside the plug, easy peasy. This procedure will save you a lot of trouble in the long run.  

Key cutting, Here's another trick.

Key notches are a standard distance from each other along the shaft, and the depth of the notch is 1 thru 6 depth. A locksmith can look at a key and figure out what your key is and they have a tool that will notch a key blank. I had a locksmith notch (cut) a new key for me from a tracing of a spare key that was a 1000 miles away and then faxed to me. Now I have a tracing on a piece of masking tape taped to my bike for an emergency.   Towing 4 wheelsTie the steering wheel loosely so that the steering wheel can't make more than a 1/4 revolution. That will allow your buggy to find what is straight ahead and also allow a little steering in corners, but it won't allow your buggy to ever go full lock and not return. Don't use a bungy. I have towed many cars/buggies without tying but fool proof is to tie the wheel loosely so that it can't make a revolution. If not restricted, occasionally front wheels will go to one lock(full turn) or the other and not return especially if you ever back the buggy up. Tie loosely to be safe.

  Clutch pushrod seal replacement:  

That seal goes in that housing from the trans side of the angle drive. It stops going in when it hits an Al lip that can be seen in your picture. I remove that lip with a Dremel tool. Then I put a wire thru the seal, so that I don't lose it, and punch it out to the inside of the angle drive. Then you can pull the seal out thru that hole. Now make sure that all that Al lip is gone. Then install a new seal from the slave cylinder side. Don't put loctite....put a little super glue on the seam between the seal and the angle drive after it's been installed. There's a half dozen pictures of seal replacement the easy way with lip removal and one picture of the keyhole method in this album with explanations. https://photos.app.goo.gl/LHN7g2hMR1Zmfbv88

Leaking carb oring

Usually leaks happen at the carb fill tubes from oring shrinkage....and those leaks run down and leak off the lowest place/bottom of the carb. Me? I'd drain all the carbs so that they are empty. Then I'd pull the carb fill hose off the fuel filter or shutoff valve and fill the carbs, using that tube, with YCCD (Yamalube Carb Cleaner Dip,  or Seafoam) until that tube is full. That will cause the YCCD to be on those orings which will cause them to swell back to the original size. I'd leave the carbs filled with YCCD for a day. You may be fixed at that poijnt. Then drain and save the YCCD back into it's container...then refill the carbs with gasoline thru the same fill tube. See if the leak is fixed. Let us know your results.

Cams and oil pressure

I've put nearly 400000 miles on V65 V4 motors. 5 motors same bike to be exact. I was told long ago to keep the RPMs above 3000rpms. At stoplights, I rev the motor every 15 seconds or so for a few seconds. I've had pits in my cam lobes but no cams needed replacing. My theory is that before this problem was nailed down there were people who would start their engines and let them idle to warm them up while they finished their coffee and suited up. That kind of thinking ate up a lot of cams.   

Popping out of gear trouble

...As far as 2nd gear goes (and that's not the only gear that will start popping out of gear), it's a design flaw. Honda didn't undercut the gear dogs. It's a 90* surface on a dog pushing on a 90* surface on a gear. There's very little (nothing) to hold those gear surfaces from sliding sideways and out of gear. 5% of the V4s will choose to slide sideways out of gear in some gear sooner of later. The problem is that Honda relied on two 90* surfaces overlapping (gear dogs) would maintain that position by themselves. There is absolutely nothing holding those gear dogs in that position. Even the shift fork is in a non-load bearing position when the bike is in gear. If the dogs vibrate sideways out of gear, then the slider will tend to lean on the shift fork at high RPM. Now instead of a shift fork that wears only when applying a shift action (split seconds), then the gear dogs force the slider to start leaning on the shift fork constantly, that shift fork is being worn on 100% of the time when accelerating in that gear (and sometimes when decelerating. That is infinitely more wear on the shift fork than was ever intended by the engineers. Hence, soon, after enough thinning of the shift fork, the gear dogs are out far enough that they get to their radii and then they have a 100 hp pushing them out of gear. It has very little to do with running your bikes hard....maybe a little. I made some horrendous shifting mistakes In my shifting of my 84 V65 Sabre in my early days with the bike. It still got me a 170000 miles before I blew a head gasket with no popping out of gear problems. This shifting problem is 'pure and simply' a Honda manufacturing and design error.....that we riders are stuck with. A few bikes have the popping out of gear problems and 95% (guessing here) don't. Picture of gear dogs that are undercut. Lots of pics in this album....some about altering to run 2 diaphram springs on the clutch and others about blacksmith gear undercutting at home. https://photos.app.goo.gl/GzbFkbhqRVR684z99

Tire Bead Seating

Explosive tire beading always interested me. I figured that I wouldn't have ether or acetylene out in the bush, but I'd most likely have gasoline. So I tried to get gasoline to bead my tires. I did that 3 or 4 times when I was changing tires. The most I would get was a lazy whomp when I'd light the gas. It surely wasn't an explosion like drives my motorcycle down the road. After mulling this over for a few years, I decided that I didn't have the mixture right for an explosion and maybe the liquid gas just wasn't vaporized. So the next time I put a tablespoon of gasoline in the tire. I rolled the tire around a half dozen revolutions and bounced it on the ground until I figured it had to be gasified. When I lit it, it went off like a high powered rifle, and believe you me both beads were seated 2 times over. It scared the shit out of me.....but it seated the beads

Carb cleaning....single carb method

If you know which carb is the problem...Drain that carb's gas into the 1.5" cut off bottom of a beer can so that you will know how much gas was in there.  It should be about a 1/4 " up on the flat side of the can.  Then get a 3/16" clear vinyl hose and put it on the float bowl drain nipple and fill that carb with 50CCs of Yamalube Carb Cleaner Dip , YCCD, or seafoam (I prefer YCCD). Leave it in there for a day. Then run the bike up and down the street till that carb cleaner has been run thru the carb and it's been replaced with gasoline. It might take 5 miles. Then do the same thing to the other carbs if needed. Be sure to let us know your progress. Or you could drain all your YCCD into the bottom of a beer can and  save the carb cleaner, and I reuse the YCCD when I've saved it.  

Or do all 4 carbs at once.

First drain carbs into a beer can bottom (each carb separately) so that you know what was in the carbs. Then take the gas line off the side of the fuel filter that goes to the carbs. Get a small funnel and fill the carbs with carb cleaner (Preferable YCCD) thru that hose. The next day drain that carb cleaner out of the carbs, then fill the carbs with gas thru that same tube. Then hook that tube back to the fuel filter. I catch all the drainings in a cut off 1.5 inch of a beer can.

Carb cleaning

Each carb takes about 50 CCs/MLs. And that's all you can get in if you gravity flow from the normal fuel inlets. I like to use a 3 or 4 ft length of 1/8" id clear vinyl tube (clear because you can see what is happening) and put it on the carb drain nubs after the carb/carbs are drained. And then I use 60 ccs or so per carb to overfill it (there's nothing to stop you from putting a lot in there by filling from underneath so you need to measure the 60ccs.. You can syphon it into the bottom of the carb or use a big medical hypo-needle.

I also like to do it one carb at a time (preferable the problem carb first). I like to test exhaust pipe heat when it first started or idling. After it's set for at least a day then I start the bike and run it on three cylinders with the choke on until that cleaner has run thru the engine (and choke circuit) and that carb fuel has replaced the cleaner.

BTW, when you've filled a carb in the one at a time method, pull the choke on, and crank the starter to get the cleaning solution into the choke circuit. Then let it set for that day. Repeat that for all the carbs if you need to do them all.

I don't worry about sediment in the bottom of the carb. It'll just stay there.....but I have seen carbs that had so much gel/crud in them that I don't think the cleaner dip would fix it....but I didn't see what cleaner dip would have done to that mess either.

You can do them 4 at a time....fill the carbs with cleaner. ...then pull choke on and crank it for 15 seconds (it won't start with the YCCD carb cleaner in all the carbs)....then drain carbs after a day (save the fluid, it's still good). Then you will have trouble getting the carb filled with gas. Jump the gas relay between the 2 wires that don't have any blue. For draining carbs, a 1.5" cut off soda can can catch the drainage from each carb...it will fit in the V of the engine. Coors cans are slightly smaller....even Red Bull cans for smaller size yet. Carb cleaners are Yamaha Carb Cleaner Dip, or Seafoam, or Techron....There are prolly others.

Showa V4 air-over shock repair For Sabres

https://photos.app.goo.gl/PS8a5d58ow2I0DNZ2

R&R V4 camsTips

When removing cams do not remove the cam sprockets....instead lock the cam chain tensioner in its loosened position, then you can pry the cams out of their bearing journals with the sprockets on. Also, 8 of the 12 head bolts need to be taken out to remove the cams. That will bow the heads and compromise the head gaskets unless you loosen the other 4 head bolts to 10 lbs. Do that head loosening in a graduated series. Also the coolent around the barrels needs to be drained by removing the two 6mm machine screws in the block just above the starter. That helps save the head gasket seal.--

Cam installation '80s V4s  

When the engine is lined up at T1-3, the casting marks IF, IR, EF, and ER will be on the cam sprocket mounting ears and pointing away from the head....and of course the flat line on the sprockets will line up with the Head's valve cover surfaces. Both heads are done at T 1-3.

The truth about Oring chains.

Here's the truth about sealed oring, Xring or Wring) chains. They don't need any lube until the chain needs an adjustment. When the chain needs an adjustment it is because the internal chain lube at the chain's pins and their bushing have lost their lube (out past their orings) and wear is beginning. That lube is lost because the orings aren't doing their job any longer. That causes the chain's pins and bushings to make/wear bigger bushing holes. That is erroneously called chain stretch. A .005" bigger hole in a 100 links is a 1/2 inch of 'stretch'. So now that we know that, let's go to the next step. Oring Chains have practically no where in the first 10 to 15 thousand mile before any adjustment is needed. That's because there is factory lube around the pins where the rotation happens.

When that first adjustment is necessary, it is because that factory lube has gotten out past the oring seals. The pins are now rotating back and forth dry in their roller bushing. At this point the chain needs you to lube the chain as if it was non-oring chain. If you wanted to get the most out of a chain (your labor not withstanding), you need to clean and lube the chain every 500 miles from when it is new. That will make the orings seal longer as the wear on the sides of the orings will lessen and the inside lube will last longer. When you notice that the chain needs adjustment for the first time, you should increase your 'clean and lube' activity to every 200 miles (at least more frequently) since The lube has gotten out past the orings. If the lube has gotten out the new lube from you can get inside to the pins.

There is almost no wear when the chain pins have lube. Also the sprockets have almost no wear when the chain's link to link spacing is new as there is no rubbing of link rollers and sprocket teeth, since each chain roller simply rolls into the bottom of each sprocket pocket. .....but practically speaking, that's a lot of work. Work is money. Is the money you save by making your chain last for 50000 miles worth the labor that you put into the care and lubing of your chain??? That is a question that is right up there with "What is the meaning of life".  

Brake and clutch bleeding for motorcycles

Brake and hyd clutch bleeding is usually very difficult on motorcycles vs cars.  I suppose it's because there is so much vertical distant in a short length that an air bubble can rise faster than it can be forced down and out the lower bleed valve.

The first important note is, if doing the normal hand pump bleeding, it is necessary to bleed the air out of the banjo bolt at the master cylinder early in the bleeding process.  Without that banjo bolt bleeding often you can't get any pressure at all. Truthfully, I like to get a 5 foot piece of 3/16 ID clear vinyl tubing, so I can see what's going on, but vacuum line from an auto parts store would work, Then siphon from the brake fluid can into the brake caliper nippleor or the clutch slave cylinder nipple to fill the brake line from the bottom up.

Working out the siphon procedure goes like this.  wire the can to somewhere slightly above the Master Cyl.  Get a siphon going then pinch it off with pliers a 1/2" from the bottom, then work the hose on the caliper nipple, then remover the pliers and open the caliper or slave cyl bleed valves. The reservoir will fill slowly.  Be ready with a turkey baster to suck out some fluid when it fills and another small can to put the fluid in from the turkey baster.  It still requires bleeding those banjo joints.

During this fluid removal there are lots of chances to get brake fluid on your paint.  Cover your paint with plastic or have rags ready to wipe any spills. I tell you about the siphon method because bleeding from the bottom up is the most 'pure' way of bleeding. 

I had air in my motorcycle's clutch system for the first 15 yrs that I couldn't bleed out until I tried this siphon procedure. 

Crossing the LA mtns on the way to Bako, I would always lose all clutch pressure, until about 10 miles of being back to the lower altitude, because of the altitude change and hotter engine temps.  That would happen anytime I got high and hot. I never got that fixed until I did the siphon thing.

I've never used or owned a Mighty-Vac bleeder, so I can't speak to that.

Aluminum graining

Get one of those 4" round Black abrasive rubber wheels used for paint stripping. You can quickly put a nice grain finish on all your Al. For instance, you can grain a pair of fork sliders in 10 or 15 minutes.

Seat Comfort

A comfortable seat is worth more than the rest of the bike. If you have to weigh your ass pain against the value of the trip that your on, you have the wrong seat. Get an upholsterer to change your sitting surface to a tractor bucket seat style.

Hands going to sleep

I had a lot of trouble with that when I started re-riding back in my 50s. I tried a lot of things and learned that griping the throttle to maintain speed was the problem. One of the things I tried was a generic wrist lock/rocker so the palm applied the pressure. That worked pretty well but found the wrist rocker got bumped a lot and wasn't in the right position much of the time, and that didn't take care of me scratching my nose. It became apparent that I had to lock the wrist rocker down permanently so that I could count on it being there in a comfortable position at hwy cruising speed because that is where I would need it when I'd be in one position for long periods. But that didn't take care of me taking my hands off the bars occasionally.

At first, I learn to hold the right bar with my left hand so that I could keep the throttle on and do things with the right hand that I couldn't reach with my left hand...such as warming the right hand on the heads. After a bunch of practice, I could steer with my left hand running the throttle. But that wasn't as good as a friction throttle lock. I use a throttle lock along with a 2" long wrist rocker that's in a permanent position.

The throttle lock is set so it will just barely hold the throttle on and is easily overpowered by input from my hand. That takes care of all the issues that I have with that hand going to sleep. It's funny to me how resistant we are to doing things that you don't see done on other bikes.

It's your body and you are different from everyone else, and you are a smart guy. Do what you need to do. Make that bike work for you....no matter how crazy it is to the rest of the world.

500ccInterceptor petcock dimensions of the rubber seal... 1.275X.120X.330 hole 

Fork seals, course 1A

I've been cleaning seals for 10 years. I've used 10 different procedures. My current procedure is to remove/lift the dust seal then get a 6" piece of 1" tape measure tape (should be a part of your riding tool kit and just go up and down past the seal's lips.  There are 3 seal lips so the cleaner has to go in/down 3/8".

Technically all dirt in a fork seal comes from dirt that has stuck to the front side of the fork tube that works its way into the seal.  I no longer worry about bringing the dirt up and out of the seal. I just want it off the seal's lip where it causes a leak. 

You will notice that fork seals go longer without leaking on new bikes. That's because the top dust seal cleans the bug guts and dirt off the fork tube better when it's new. I currently clean my seal/seals when it starts leaving a small black oil line up on the fork tube. That will last for a number of months or longer before I have to do it again. 

Truly though,keeping the shit off the fork tube is really a great way to go. Gators are great and second best are shields. My Sabres seals are at least 10 years old and I've had to clean one or the other at least a dozen times. ...and I might add that you prolly only need to do that on the front side of the fork tube.

As soon as I start seeing any of a black ring (showing the tiniest leak) I pull out my seal cleaned and go after it.  You need to pull the dust boot up because the act of shoving the seal cleaner into the seal will create enough leak so that there will now be oil above the seal that will look like a leak until you sop all that out from above the seal.

It's a science I tell you....one must become the seal in order to think like a seal. :)  

Motorcycle front wheel wobble 

If your tires are perfectly round and balanced and the road is smooth, there won't be any front wobble, but of course none of our tires or roads are that perfect. Something has to start the wobble, and unround or un balance will start the wobble....also a bump in the road will start it. If that wobble is left unchecked by your grip on the bars it will likely progress to a dangerous/terminal tank slapper. Your arms or tight (but not too tight) neck bearing will dampen out that tendency to wobble. My front wheel did the minor wobble for the first 20 years that I owned my big Sabre. I went thru multiple tire, of course, and noted they had an effect on the wobble. One time it was a new rear tire that had a big effect on that wobble. All those years and different effects, like you, had me wondering what was really the cause of wobble. So one time I tackled the neck bearings. I had this theory about a getto repair of neck bearings vs just putting in a new set of bearing. My theory was that the balls of the bearing roll back and forth in the same 30* area of the race which make a unmeasurably small divot/depression in the bearing races which changes the tightness of the head bearing adjustment. I reasoned that a readjustment would prolly be all that was really needed. ........but I didn't want to do this job twice if the readjustment was unsatisfactory. So I went for plan B, the getto repair. I decided to throw the ball separators away and add extra balls to the ball races until the races were full of balls. That would make all the balls ride in a different place on the bearing races and out of sync with the old wear pattern of divots. I was pleasantly surprised to find that that eliminated all tendency of my bike to have a front end wobble. My conclusion is that outside forces start the wobble, but looseness in the steering neck bearing allow the wobble to escalate to an annoyance or catastrophy. First tighten the neck adjustment, or 2nd replace the bearing, or 3rd add balls to get the balls out of their wear patterns.