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front end wobble/ bar shake


Hoblick
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i took the 97 for a ride today.

just making sure everythign was up to par after the carb clean and looking everything over on it.

i saw the front wheel was on backwards, so i got that changed to the right way.

anyway..

if you let the bars go at anywhere above 55 mph it goes into a tank slapper/ bar shake..

anythign below 55 mph and its steady

what could this be most likely?? unbalanced front wheel? steering head bearings? something else??

if the wheel is out of balance no biggie ill pull it off and balance it..

if its something else i need to get that shit done before the end of the month.

so your suggestions please

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Balance or tire tread pattern. Even perhaps the reversing the tire did it (worn the other way).

I've had steady 55-65 mph shakes from both balance and tread patterns.

But the tread pattern problem should only happen on rain grooved freeways, etc.

You did check tire pressures, I hope.

Is the tire bead fully seated, evenly, all around the rim?

I'd eyeball the alignment of front tire with rear tire, just in case.

See if they are both going the same direction.

(A few bikes are offset between the two tires, but still parallel and pointed the same.)

If you can ride without hands, bearing races probably aren't damaged. (It will pull to the side.)

If you can lift and shake the front end and feel no play in any direction, probably ok there. Left-right-up-down.

Maybe even loosen and correctly re-torque everything up front.

Always good for an old bike or used bike.

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I had this with my FZ750. On the highway, you could hold perfectly in position and just gently let go of the bars and it would start to shake. Slowly at first but definitely getting worse. I didn't dare let it go for long before I grabbed the clips.

Just a symptom of geometry...sorry, no fix.

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These bikes are notorious for bad steering head bearings. I had two different ones put on mine before i was able to minimize it, i still get it but just in town riding under 35ish. I've put new tires on, balanced multiple times, check front wheel alignment, and wheel bearing s and still get it every once in a while.

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These bikes are notorious for bad steering head bearings. I had two different ones put on mine before i was able to minimize it, i still get it but just in town riding under 35ish. I've put new tires on, balanced multiple times, check front wheel alignment, and wheel bearing s and still get it every once in a while.

I was afraid that might be the case. Is this a bike that can be swapped to taper bearings? And would that improve it?

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These bikes are notorious for bad steering head bearings. I had two different ones put on mine before i was able to minimize it, i still get it but just in town riding under 35ish. I've put new tires on, balanced multiple times, check front wheel alignment, and wheel bearing s and still get it every once in a while.

mine is only above 55 mph... so im not sure its the same problem as what you had/have.

ill rebalance the wheel and see what happens

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I had this with my FZ750. On the highway, you could hold perfectly in position and just gently let go of the bars and it would start to shake. Slowly at first but definitely getting worse. I didn't dare let it go for long before I grabbed the clips.

Just a symptom of geometry...sorry, no fix.

Uh, no. You have symptoms of a tire issue, loose stering head, worn bearings, etc. You can let go of a scooter's bars and it should be tracking stright and smooth...

Hob-

Could be a tire issue, but I suspect steering head bearings. Raise the bike up via bottom of the triple clamps. You need to suspend so you can freely move the front. Grab the bottom of the forks and push and pull. If you have slop, there's your issue.

I have a front end stand that allows for this, but not sure of the pin will fit. If it does, you are welcome to try it. Hell, we could meet and tell within minutes...

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mine is only above 55 mph... so im not sure its the same problem as what you had/have.

ill rebalance the wheel and see what happens

We had a race bike we rode for a team that never serviced it properly. head shake was only at really high speeds. Go through the kink at Nelson's and it was so bad, it would kick you out of the seat.

Checked it out and it was loose steering head bearings...

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Was the tire mounted backwards on the wheel, or the wheel mounted backwards on the bike :wft: if the wheel was mounted backwards I world check your brake rotors. Hahaha. Why not just put the tire back on the way it was? Then make sure your new tires are mounted properly. I'm sure the wear on the tire would cause problems if you flipped it mid stream.

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if switching the tire doesnt help, i would look into the steering head bearing...atleast check the nut to make sure its torqued properly, it could have came loose...

the vmax had a shake and it was a rubber washer that was worn out...replaced with aluminum and torqued the nut properly and the shake stoppe...didnt have to replace the actual bearing

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Uh, no. You have symptoms of a tire issue, loose stering head, worn bearings, etc. You can let go of a scooter's bars and it should be tracking stright and smooth...

Wouldn't doubt you have tire or head bearing issues but they would only magnify it. It happens because of the undulating pavement under the tires and the almost straight up fork angle of a sportbike and the 2mm change in for/aft pitch that you can't help when you let go.

You'll buy brand new tires and punish your head bearings with torque and you'll only lessen it. There are three ways to eliminate it - one, ride only on perfectly smooth, level, straight surfaces; two, get a damper or three, put your hands on the bars.

Hell, there are people who still think that it's the centrifugal force generated by the wheels rolling that keeps a bike upright.

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Wouldn't doubt you have tire or head bearing issues but they would only magnify it. It happens because of the undulating pavement under the tires and the almost straight up fork angle of a sportbike and the 2mm change in for/aft pitch that you can't help when you let go.

You'll buy brand new tires and punish your head bearings with torque and you'll only lessen it. There are three ways to eliminate it - one, ride only on perfectly smooth, level, straight surfaces; two, get a damper or three, put your hands on the bars.

Hell, there are people who still think that it's the centrifugal force generated by the wheels rolling that keeps a bike upright.

Are you seriously saying the degree of the road is wearing out the steering head bearings? Seriously???

You also believe that you are wearing one side more than another by riding on the road????

Wow...

You do understand that the forks do not work independantly, right, but rather as one unit? The angle doesn't push one fork up further than the other...

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You got it all wrong! The left fork is for pot holes on the left, and the right fork is for pot heads on the right!

You're all idiots...the right fork handles compression and the left handles rebound. Unless you're using inverted forks, then it's reversed.

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Hob-

Could be a tire issue, but I suspect steering head bearings. Raise the bike up via bottom of the triple clamps. You need to suspend so you can freely move the front. Grab the bottom of the forks and push and pull. If you have slop, there's your issue.

I have a front end stand that allows for this, but not sure of the pin will fit. If it does, you are welcome to try it. Hell, we could meet and tell within minutes...

it has a center stand ill get someone to hold the back down and that will keep the front tire off the ground. ill check it that way.

if all is good ill get around to rebalancing the tire.

and if that doesnt work ill throw another tire on i have sitting around and see what happens.

just to busy to check that shit yet

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