QuestionI bought my wife a 1998 shadow ace 750 used. Nice bike. I ride a 1990 goldwing se. Problem I have with her bike is that the front end feels extreemly heavy at low speeds. Is this normal and being caused by the large front tire. All mechanical checks are normal ie. tires, alignment etc. Thanks for your time.
Phil
AnswerI'd say this is normal. A big cruiser is going to have a different geometry than a GW, and it is quite possible that the front end feels heavy to you.
That doesn't mean there isn't something wrong, or that the feeling can't be minimized somewhat. A 10-year-old bike probably has a few miles on it, the steering head bearing could be out of adjustment or worn out. A used-up steering head bearing could cause this exact heavy feeling. A worn-out or old tire could feel like this too. It is most likely one of these factors.
Increasing the front tire pressure will help, though be careful not to deviate too far from the manufacturer's recommended settings. You could also increase the rear shock(s) preload to raise the rear of the bike slightly.
If the bike's got more than 25K miles, it could benefit from a tear-down fork inspection, replace fluid and seals, and re-baseline preload, compression damping, and rebound damping. That's way more involved than I can help you with.
You can also change the geometry of the bike slightly, by dropping the forks in the triples a few millimeters. This will lower the front end (effectively raising the rear end), shorten the wheelbase, and decrease the trail, and may have a beneficial effect of making the steering a little easier.
Pat
