Why Does My Motorcycle Steering Feel Heavy?

It happens with almost every rider when the motorcycle's steering starts feeling heavy. The bike that used to steer easily, thanks to its light handling, suddenly starts feeling heavy to steer. If it happens to you, stop riding the bike and check for the issue.

If your motorcycle steering feels heavier than it used to be, there is likely an issue with the bike. Also, it can be dangerous if you keep on riding while the steering feels heavy. The handling and cornering abilities of the bike are compromised a great deal. Turning the bike can be much more challenging and can lead to an accident.

To avoid the risk of a crash, you must stop the bike, get off the side, and check where the issue lies. Continue reading this article to learn why my motorcycle steering feels heavy. Also, learn about the potential issues causing your motorcycle's steering to feel heavy.

The one major reason why your motorcycle steering feels heavier than usual is the low tire pressure. If the air pressure in your tire is low or your tire is underinflated, the bike will feel heavier to steer. You will need to move the bars with greater force to turn the bike. However, it is not about applying greater force to move the bars; riding such a bike can become quite risky.

Low air pressure in your motorcycle tires can result in compromised traction and handling. The bike will not remain as responsive as it should be for safe riding.

Other than the low tire pressure, worn tires can also result in heavy steering and compromised handling. If your tires are old and worn out, they are likely to have cracks all over their surface.

Motorcycle tires are usually smooth and soft because bikes are supposed to lean into corners. The point of interaction of bike tires with the ground changes when you are cornering. These tires are adequately round and soft.

However, when bike tires get old and worn out, they will likely get flat due to losing air pressure more often. As a result, the bike feels heavier to steer. The handling of the bike doesn’t feel responsive and can likely result in a motorcycle crash, especially if you are going at high speeds or riding on a twisty road.

It doesn’t have to be only under-inflated tires to make the bike’s steering feel heavy. If your tires are overinflated, more than the recommended amount of tire air pressure, the steering and handling of your bike will be compromised, along with your ride safety.

Another major reason why your motorcycle's steering feels heavy is that the wheels are not aligned. Improper wheel alignment is the possible cause of a heavy steering feel if your tire pressure seems correct. It not only makes steering feel heavier. It makes the bike very dangerous to ride. The bike doesn’t handle safely at all if it has improper wheel alignment for any reason.

The wheel alignment of your bike can go wrong due to various reasons. If your bike experienced a crash or it just simply hit something on the road, the wheel can be misaligned. It also occurs due to improper fitment of nuts and bolts. Only the steering doesn’t feel heavier; if your bike has misaligned wheels, it usually pulls to one side while riding.

Front suspension is designed to ensure better motorcycle handling and comfortable riding. However, if you don’t maintain them well and neglect them, it can result in several issues related to handling.

If your bike’s front fork has a low fork oil level or the oil has gone bad due to dust and impurities, it will result in compromised suspension wheel travel. The damping or compression rate of the front fork will go down, and it will fail to overcome any bump or road imperfection. Also, a motorcycle’s cornering and handling abilities will be highly compromised.

Most riders don’t pay much attention to the maintenance of their motorbike’s front forks, and as a result, the steering gets heavier.

Issues with the steering assembly, including the steering head and steering damper, can cause many problems with how the bike steers and handles. The steering assembly of the bike is what steers the bike while riding.

The motorbike’s steering head bearing is the main element that keeps the bike’s front wheel pivot. If this head bearing either gets tight, loose, or is worn out, the steering will definitely feel heavier and compromised.

A faulty steering damper can also cause much trouble during the ride. The role of the steering damper is to keep the bike stable and ensure better control of the bike during braking. However, due to a faulty steering damper, riders can experience extreme vibrations, even the ‘death wobble’ at high speeds, which can make the bike completely out of control.

The steering assembly must, therefore, be in top shape to ensure riders don’t face any issues. After all, steering is what keeps the bike stable and controlled. If the bike doesn’t steer well, riders are likely to experience a motorcycle crash.

As a bike rider, you may not know the logic behind why a tall, or top-heavy, motorbike feels heavy and difficult to steer. However, you must have felt the same if you have ever ridden a top-heavy bike. The thing is, a top-heavy bike has a high center of gravity, far from the ground. The high center of gravity means the majority of the bike’s mass is located higher above the ground, which makes changing direction, turning, steering, and handling heavy and difficult.

A top-heavy bike feels less stable, especially at low speeds and while turning corners. If you are new to motorcycling, you are likely to feel anxious before entering a tight curve, as it is difficult to lean a top-heavy bike.

Due to a higher moment of inertia, the bike requires greater force to steer, which makes it feel heavy.

On the other hand, a motorcycle that is lower to the ground has a low center of gravity, and they don’t feel heavier as you turn corners on such bikes. These bikes feel quite lighter when it comes to handling and steering.

Cruisers and touring bikes are much heavier bikes compared to standard or street motorcycles. Similarly, they have a much heavier front-end design due to being equipped with wide and large fairings, especially baggers and touring motorcycles.

Most popular U.S. baggers and touring bikes, such as the Harley Road Glide, Harley Street Glide, Indian Challenger, and Indian Chieftain, come standard with large sharknose and batwing fairings. These fairings are highly equipped with modern infotainment systems, including speakers, digital TFT displays, storage compartments, and integrated windscreens.

These fairings make the front end much heavier, and as a result, the steering also feels much heavier. Additionally, if the fairing is fork-mounted, such as the batwing fairing, it adds a lot of weight to the front end. It moves with the handlebars as you take a turn. Steering such a motorcycle requires a lot of skills and experience, especially while riding at slow speeds.

Never start with a heavyweight cruiser, a bagger, or a touring bike as a beginner. These bikes require different training to move around and turn corners as the steering is naturally quite heavier.

Firstly, you must check your tire pressure. This is the first step you should perform if you feel your bike is steering heavily. Make sure your bike tires have optimal air pressure as per the manufacturer’s recommendation.

If your motorcycle's steering feels heavy, check the condition of your bike tires. They are likely to lose air pressure if they are worn out, cracked, or damaged. If they are old and damaged, consider replacing your motorcycle tires to avoid heavy steering. The age of the tire is a good indication of when you should replace your motorcycle tires. Read our detailed guide on how to tell the age of a motorcycle tire.

Check your front forks for any sign of issues, as they can be a major cause behind the heavy steering feel while riding the bike. Check the fork oil level, fork seal leakage, and other potential problems with the front fork. You must also check if they compress and rebound properly during loading and unloading.

You must keep a check on your motorbike wheels to see whether they are aligned or not. If you are new to motorcycling, you may not have the idea of how to check motorcycle wheel alignment. You will need to consult a mechanic and should consider wheel alignment, as it can become a potential issue if your bike wheels are not aligned. Your bike usually pulls to one side, and the steering feels heavier if your bike wheels are not properly aligned.

For steering system issues or other potential issues that you can’t handle yourself, consult a mechanic. It is best to consult a professional mechanic who can help you pinpoint the issue with your motorcycle's steering in a timely manner to avoid any unfortunate event.

Riding a motorcycle is quite different from driving a car or any other vehicle. The turning or steering concept is also quite different in motorbikes. Riders don’t usually rotate handlebars in order to turn a corner. Instead, they are required to use the countersteering concept, lean the bike, depending on the radius of the curve, to turn a corner.

However, there are instances when steering a motorcycle feels heavier. It doesn’t feel as responsive and light as usual. When the steering of your bike feels heavier, the handling becomes much difficult. The bike does not feel as responsive as it should be. Turning a corner on such a bike can be riskier. The bike can either skid or crash.

Therefore, it is important to make sure your motorcycle is in good condition and there is no issue with it, especially with handling. Compromised steering can make riding very unsafe. If you find the steering of your bike heavy, immediately perform the troubleshooting steps and find the issue behind it.

If it is beyond your capacity, then consult a mechanic to help you find the issue with why your bike's steering feels heavy.