Gpr v4 stabilizer

[twebb818]

Hey guys, 

   I just installed the gpr v4 stabilizer on my 2011 honda crf 450r.  Install was a breeze, but I notices as soon as I put the stabilizer on it was hard to turn the bars side to side.  Obviously I know this is a stabilizer and thats what its supposed to do, but at the first setting it was pretty hard to turn left and right (compared to my dads bike with the same stabilizer) .  I know the stabilizer is meant to be tight 15 degrees in each direction, but at setting 1-3 it all feels the same, hard through the whole motion of turning the bars back and forth.  I have ridden bikes with the same stabilizer and the first setting was way easier to turn the bars and only kicked in for 15 degrees each way, so I guess my question is do these stabilizers have to be worn in? 

[Qqqqqqqqqqqq]

Do you have any play where the pin inserts into the Post ?

[twebb818]

No

[INJURY_69]

i noticed the same thing. brought mine to a worcs race and gpr "added a different oil weight that will help but has to be changed more often"

[Dragon67]

Hey guys, 

   I just installed the gpr v4 stabilizer on my 2011 honda crf 450r.  Install was a breeze, but I notices as soon as I put the stabilizer on it was hard to turn the bars side to side.  Obviously I know this is a stabilizer and thats what its supposed to do, but at the first setting it was pretty hard to turn left and right (compared to my dads bike with the same stabilizer) .  I know the stabilizer is meant to be tight 15 degrees in each direction, but at setting 1-3 it all feels the same, hard through the whole motion of turning the bars back and forth.  I have ridden bikes with the same stabilizer and the first setting was way easier to turn the bars and only kicked in for 15 degrees each way, so I guess my question is do these stabilizers have to be worn in? 

 

Definitely not normal.  Pull it off and see if you can move the arm from side to side with your fingers.  There should be very little resistance at low dial settings, but even cranked up, you can move it by hand.  It would be good news if you could!  The next step is to make sure you didn't over-torque the steering stem nut.  Some guys over-tighten as a way to gain stability, but you don't need to do that with a stabilizer.  Again, once the thing is off, see if the bars turn normally.  If both of those tests seem normal, I guess it is possible for the stabilizer to not be properly centered, which would mean the arm is trying to slide back and forth on the post and may be binding.  That should not happen if you have the correct setup.  Please let us know how the tests go/what you find.  Also consider that GPR has among the best customer service I have experienced, so they can help you with diagnosis better than we can.  I still want to know what the solution is.

[twebb818]

Thanks for the reply dragon67. When it came to tightening the nut I tightened it to what the owners manual said, 80lbs. I thought it was alittle much but my buddy assured my it was fine. I pulled off the stabilizer and made sure I could move the arm side to side and it seemed to move normal. The bars turn fine without the stabilizer, but on even the first setting the bars feel like they're on a 5 setting all the way back and forth. I'm debating takin off the bars and triple clamp again to make sure the neck is set right but I'm almost positive it is.

[Dragon67]

Thanks for the reply dragon67. When it came to tightening the nut I tightened it to what the owners manual said, 80lbs. I thought it was alittle much but my buddy assured my it was fine. I pulled off the stabilizer and made sure I could move the arm side to side and it seemed to move normal. The bars turn fine without the stabilizer, but on even the first setting the bars feel like they're on a 5 setting all the way back and forth. I'm debating takin off the bars and triple clamp again to make sure the neck is set right but I'm almost positive it is.

 

Here is a video to demonstrate some of what I was saying.  Maybe it will help?

 

[Dragon67]

The head nut would be around 80 (that's the one on top of the clamp) but the steering stem nut below the clamp is set much lighter.  That is the one that some people over tighten.  It should be torqued down a little tight at first, then backed off a bit so turning is easy, then just snugged up.  It's a process, lol, but if it is too tight, the bars won't respond as well, especially when the bearings heat up.  Too loose and it will be sloppy.  

[twebb818]

Turns out the neck part that holds the pin was alittle offset. Works perfect after a quick adjustment. Thanks for the help guys!

[ti-ben]

Glad it's now fixed. Give us some feedback of the stabilizer after you get familiar with it. I just ordered a Scotts, which I'm sure will help me. It happens too often that I scare myself by landing on the front wheel or moving the steering from side to side too much at high speed.

[twebb818]

Yeah I will. I did my first race (district 37 big 6 Grand Prix at 29 palms) and the braking and acceleration bumps were killing me. So I got this and hopefully it will help