[rgVTX]

Hello everyone, this is gonna be the weird question of the day.But here goes. I am 54 years old, had street bikes off and on (mostly on) since I was in my mid 20's. I had a VTX 1300 a few years ago. Sold it when I relocated to another state. After two years, I was ready for another bike. I bought another VTX1300. This one is a bit more fancy,the first one was plain jane. I bought it as it sits now. Aftermarket pipes, upgraded seat, sissy bar, windshield, speakers, gps,some chrome stuff.ect. The guy was rich and he had it all prettied up. This might be relevant to the question. So I've just always got on my bike and rode, no problems. But not on this one. At low speed (think like rolling up to red light, pre stop, walking speed) This thing feels evil, feels like I'm gonna fall over. Bike is hard to control. At some time in your life, you have driven something like that. I have to slam my feet down multiple times. I think its a matter of finding out if something could be wrong on the bike, causing this issue. Or am I just getting old and my riding skills are fading off? It just feels heavy at low speed. It goes down the road just fine. I'm kinda at a loss with it. One thing I noted is that it does have a aftermarket chrome drive shaft cover. I'm sure this adds a few pounds to one side of the bike. Relevant or not, IDK. Hit me up with answers, questions, comments, whatever.

Side note. I don`t know if anyone else does this. My center of gravity is not the center of the bike. If I sit centered, I will fall over to the right. I sit about an inch to the left of center in the seat. Is this a normal thing ?

Look at tires, uneven wear, inflation. Straddle the bike on level surface with feet flat, does the bike lean to one side to be balanced? Get a Service Manual (download from this forum?) and raise the bike off the ground, perform the steering head bearing checks. My steering head bearings were done at 42k miles. While bike is off ground check the wheel bearings for roughness while rotating wheels. Check for front brake draggin. Check for side play at rear wheel. Check rear shock mounts, condition of mounting hardware and proper torque.
I have VTX 1800, heavy, but very well balanced. Heavy bikes will be harder on life expectancy for suspension related bearings, tires, etc.

 

[RonK]

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As to sitting off to the side, almost everyone has to do that somewhat since our bodies are not equal weight from side to side. Plus, parts of us (think butt) are not padded the same side to side or length (think legs) of extremities. So we have to move around to keep where we feel comfortable.

If you put your hands down by the sides of your hips and measure to the sides of the seat, you can feel where you are on the bike. Of course, if you are much on one side, even though you feel comfortable, your bike will tilt accordingly.
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[Randall-in-Mpls]

Check your steering head bearings. I suspect you have a notch slightly left of center.

 

[Radar52]

Hello everyone, this is gonna be the weird question of the day.But here goes. I am 54 years old, had street bikes off and on (mostly on) since I was in my mid 20's. I had a VTX 1300 a few years ago. Sold it when I relocated to another state. After two years, I was ready for another bike. I bought another VTX1300. This one is a bit more fancy,the first one was plain jane. I bought it as it sits now. Aftermarket pipes, upgraded seat, sissy bar, windshield, speakers, gps,some chrome stuff.ect. The guy was rich and he had it all prettied up. This might be relevant to the question. So I've just always got on my bike and rode, no problems. But not on this one. At low speed (think like rolling up to red light, pre stop, walking speed) This thing feels evil, feels like I'm gonna fall over. Bike is hard to control. At some time in your life, you have driven something like that. I have to slam my feet down multiple times. I think its a matter of finding out if something could be wrong on the bike, causing this issue. Or am I just getting old and my riding skills are fading off? It just feels heavy at low speed. It goes down the road just fine. I'm kinda at a loss with it. One thing I noted is that it does have a aftermarket chrome drive shaft cover. I'm sure this adds a few pounds to one side of the bike. Relevant or not, IDK. Hit me up with answers, questions, comments, whatever. Side note. I don`t know if anyone else does this. My center of gravity is not the center of the bike. If I sit centered, I will fall over to the right. I sit about an inch to the left of center in the seat. Is this a normal thing ?

i am 70 and have ridden a VTX for many years, 1300 are much more stable at low speed than 1800, but that said. if either feels like it wants to fall over at low speed in a turn I would look at having the forks checked. In a low speed front end crash, it could have moved the forks. It could be visually unnoticeable but one ride would give it a way.

 

[gunsmoker]

...My center of gravity is not the center of the bike. If I sit centered, I will fall over to the right. I sit about an inch to the left of center in the seat. Is this a normal thing ?

It may be time to carry a smaller gun;
quit showing off that hand cannon!
Once I replaced my 5" barreled M1911 in .45 caliber with a polymer framed .380 with a 2.5" barrel, my shoes and vehicle tires started wearing evenly again and I no longer have to lean 7° left when I ride on 2 wheels to balance myself.

(Just kidding)