I picked up a 03 Auto 500 this year,and I love the bike but I hate the front end handling/steering. The oversteer is hideous,when it grabs in a turn or rut you had better be hangin on. The stock tires were wore out so I just put on a set of Dirt Devils,,cant say it made it better,,or worse. A have read about checking the toe in/out and I have just a bit less that 1/2 inch toe out,which is where I assume I want to be. The tires have approx 4 psi in each.. I did a poker run this weekend and on about 4 turns it about launched me off the bike when the tire caught and pulled the wheel all the way to the right/left. It seems like this bike could be too light in the front, correct me if I am wrong here. I considered putting some steel in the front for some weight. I have very minimal with wheelers,this is basically my first,,so help me out here before I sell the dang thing and go looking for another brand.

 

You already know your problem "I have just a bit less that 1/2 inch toe out" which is causing your over steer. You want 1/8 to 1/4" toe IN. I prefer the 1/8" as I makes the steering easier.

 

Hay Bear, how do you measure that? I am guessing set the bars to center then measure rim to rim on the inside (close to the engine) then the outside (all the way out front). Or do you just measure tire center to tire center? I could see where a 1/4" at the rim would translate to much more extended out to the total diamter of the tire. However it is taken 1/4" toe in be when the outside measurement is a 1/4" less than the inside???

 

The manual says use the inside of the rims just like you said first. You are suppose to center the handle bars first and tie them in place (I bungee, they used tie down straps). And the tire pressure is to be checked and make sure they are at correct pressure and the same pressure. I still went with the 1/8" toe in and it makes the thing a bit easier to steer for this beat up old man. The manual says to take the measurement from the frame to the rims, but I use the frame measuement to just center the wheels and tires to straight ahead , then do the toe in adjustment. Trouble with measuring off the tire centers is they are soft and can deform depending on temperature and tire pressure and how they were made.

 

Cool, think I can handle that. I would have thought, like you mentioned, using the tires themselves would not necessarily be the best for the reasons you mentioned. Then again, I was not sure becasue I was not sure if that much percision mattered here.

Thanks for the info...

 

mrtool2u
i had same probalm with my 03 500 trv . finaly found out what was wrong rear bracket that holds the upper a arm was bent out. take you wheels of on front and measure from the foot rest frame to the top ball joint. to see if it measures the same on both sides. my was missing a plate that goes across and bolted to both brackets. the holes were there but on plate was put on . hope this helps

 

Possibly my mistake Bear,,,everyone has told me to have toe out,,,but I will be adjusting to toe in,,and also checking for the bent parts. I have read on here before that these bikes had this type of problem,so I thought that I might have to live with it,,which I would not do for long,,because my father also rides this machine. Thanks for everyones advice.