I have a 2018 ZX14R and when I am decelerating with little to no pressure on the handlebars the bike starts veering right. I have taken it to a dealership where they looked it over for 8 hours trying to find out the issue to no avail. I have never had a motorcycle do this and would like some advice if anyone else has had this same issue.

I am about to have another dealership look it over but since I am a month out of warranty the dealership has been given limited time to diagnose and fix the issue.

thanks.

How many miles on the bike?

Has it always done this or is this something new?

What has been tried/done so far?

8 hours they must have done/tried several things?

Has anyone else ridden the bike and have the same issue?

Only on decal, not on Acceleration?

* Last updated by: piken on 7/24/2019 @ 9:17 PM *

3500 miles

pretty much always did this. thought it was because of the heavy engine in the zx14.

measured top of fork tubes. triple tree loosened and re torqued. brakes loosened and re torqued. rear axle bearing or something like that checked. tire pressures. I think thats it.

only smaller people experience it. heavier people apparently don't have the issue. im 190 pounds. im heavy, but the only guy who didn't experience it was about 300 pounds.

I guess I'd start checking off more boxes.

Has it been aligned? (tires front to rear) This would be the FIRST thing I'd do.
You definitely can not count on swing arm markings.

I'd do new set of tires.

First balancing rim then balancing new set of tires on the rim.

Rim run out?

Rotor run out?

Making sure forks are properly set on axle when reinstalling front tire

Steering stem. Any play when front end off the ground? I'd check and torque.

I'd then move into taking forks apart and inspect all parts.
Make sure springs, bushes, seals, cartridges all good. Fork cap/rebound
set correctly. New oil and height set correctly.

I'm still thinking of more..........

* Last updated by: piken on 7/24/2019 @ 9:34 PM *

Just bought a caliper to measure swingarm markings but don't know how i'd align the front tire? I guess that will be done when I get it changed hopefully tomorrow.

run out?

I check the rest. I think my suspension from the factory is way to soft as well so i'll see about adjusting that but its super confusing.

most roads are lightly crowned for water drainoff.Mine does that sometimes.Not on straight flat roads.Even those can be crowned.You wouldn't see it.Unless ya were looking for it.BOTH my bikes(and all before)have done this.Hub can help ya with the wheel alignment....how much 'veer' are we talking about?It'll depend on the crowning and lane position.

As was mentioned...how's your tire profile?Worn?angled from wear?

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 7/24/2019 @ 10:06 PM *

Trust me, this is not that. This is my 4th motorcycle and I've never had it veer like this. if the road is crowned to the left it stays straight. no crown, it goes right. right crown, it goes even more right.

Aligning front/rear. Some use the string method I use
a pair of lamps bungee corded to rear tire.

Don't trust swing arm markings for proper alignment.

Rim or rotor runout... here's a cheesy video, but you get the idea....

http://youtu.be/VoIAH9a2diI

* Last updated by: piken on 7/24/2019 @ 10:11 PM *

okay.IDK then.Tire pressure?

Just checked it with the caliper. one side is 16.4 and the other is 14.3 ish. dont know if thats off enough. Ill adjust and get back to you.

Front end:
1. Remove front wheel.
2. Install front axle thru both fork legs.
3. Choose either leg and loosen the pinch bolts.
4. Float the leg up and down till the axle spins as free as possible.
5. Tighten pinch bolts, recheck axle float for least resistance showing the 3 points are squared to the upper and lower crowns.
6. Install wheel and torque axle to 92ftlbs.
7. Drop wheel on ground, then either press down on the forks, or swap the bars lock to lock so the one fork lines up statically as it finds neutral and does not bind the one leg. Tighten axle pinch bolts on that one fork leg. The other leg that holds the threaded axle side is never loosened at the pinch bolts.

Rear end:
1. Run adjust bolts into swing arm and use caliper to see both are equal length.
2. With a magic marker, nail polish, paint the one flat of the adjust bolt head. Paint the other flat.
3. Equally turn both adjust bolts till chain slack is achieved per owner's manual adjustment.
4. Step on lower chain rung, then tighten rear axle nut to 92ftlbs.
5. Load the adjust bolt(s) against the collars and tighten lock nut(s).
6. This eliminates lining up the collar lines to the swingarm lines.

* Last updated by: Hub on 7/24/2019 @ 11:25 PM *

I'll try all of these if the dealership I am taking it two doesn't find a solution in the next two weeks. thanks for all the info. Since new tires, it actually veers worse. It would crash if I didn't keep hands on bars.

I'll try all of these out if the dealership I am taking it to doesn't find a solution in the next two weeks. thanks for all the info. Since new tires, it actually veers worse. It would crash if I didn't keep hands on bars.

* Last updated by: Severedninja on 7/25/2019 @ 6:49 PM *

what was the profile on the old tire in front(or back as well).How long have you had it?And was it brand new when you got it?Mileage of old tires?

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 7/25/2019 @ 9:47 PM *

I just put new dunlop q3+ on it today and the veer is even worse than with the stock battleaxes.

Does it veer on all of the roads or just certain ones?

The 2 thoughts I had are just shots in the dark, but did the dealership check to make sure both forks are straight (maybe 1 tube is bent enough to cause the wheel to be out of alignment) and did they check to make sure the brakes aren't dragging? If you elevate the front you should be able to spin the wheel and hear a SLIGHT dragging sound which is normal, with the wheel spinning freely for a while. If the wheel stops quiet quickly maybe the brakes on 1 side are binding..?

"Just checked it with the caliper. one side is 16.4 and the other is 14.3 ish. dont know if thats off enough. Ill adjust and get back to you"...that sounds like a lot...could it cause the frontwheel to track incorrectly?Sounds like that's a real possibility.Doing it more with a new tire...that sounds correct.Since the old one was worn to that tracking position.What does the rear sprocket look like?Even wear?I just googled this issue you have.It sounds like the rear is not equally set(as you measured).This could cause the frontend to 'turn harder' one way or the other.'Veering' sounds like that's what's happening.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 7/26/2019 @ 2:53 PM *

I didn't trust my measurements so I took it to my mechanic to double check. I was .4mm off. not much.

I'd say Hub's onto it.Something not right with the frontend.I know you checked it...but did you assemble it as per Hub?I'd say do that.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 7/26/2019 @ 2:59 PM *

I never really touched anything. I'm going to call kawasaki and pull all the information about what was attempted and share it here. i'm giving them a call now. Never expected to get so much help with this.

waiting on the email atm.

ok here it is.

Checked steering head bearings. torqued and adjusted rear wheel alignment through chain adjustment. Loosened front axle and lower pinch bolts and torqued to spec. checked for front brake drag. tried to adjust wheel in forks and check front fork twisting.

They took the brakes off and retorqued. they actually hit the tire with a hammer to try and straighten it out (not sure if thats a normal dealership thing or if the tire was off to begine with.

hit the tire with a hammer

Sounds like a bunch of fucking monkeys working on your bike!

>>Has it been aligned? (tires front to rear) This would be the FIRST thing I'd do.
>>You definitely can not count on swing arm markings.
>>
>>First balancing rim then balancing new set of tires on the rim.
>>
>>Rim run out?
>>
>>Rotor run out?

You want to do the above at minimum to make sure rim is straight and
balances well or they should replace it not hit it with a hammer.

Need to check front to rear tire/wheel alignment.

Measuring alignment marks/adjusters to back of swing arm is like aligning
your cars rear tires to the rear bumper. I don't care how well you measure it your
alignment front to rear will still be off. Tires will still be pointing in two different
directions unless you align them together. A little bit off you won't notice much, but
a lot off will pull the bike off track.

Some align axle/wheel to swing arm pivot
Some align counter shaft sprocket to rear sprocket
Neither of those will help the bike track straighter.

For this problem I'd want front/rear alignment dead on to eliminate it.

* Last updated by: piken on 7/26/2019 @ 4:27 PM *

they actually hit the tire with a hammer to try and straighten it out (not sure if thats a normal dealership thing or if the tire was off to begine with.

Now that's some real knuckle dragin shit there

the setup sage has already spoken, plus Piken provided clues too

I've done everything except check the rim and rotor run out. The wheels were aligned with a caliper.

The wheels were aligned with a caliper.

hmmm, check Pikens advice, the only thing they can do with a measurement caliper is set side to side the same.