Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech front wheel wooble

front wheel shake when hands off bars,. I installed a windsheild but that wasnt it, installed rear brakes and tighten chain. I am going to loosen the chain now.
I think my problem started when I hit a big knot on I-79. not a hole but a big knot almost lost my passanger.
Maybe my wheel is out of balance. after my experiment with the chain I am going to pull the front wheel. any ideals on front end wooble and/or removing the front wheel. Looks like I need a big hex-alan wrench. any suggestions would be great

ride hard.

Mine had the same problem when I first got it, turns out the front wheel needed truing (trueing?) anyway that took care of my front end wobble..

Mine had a wobble that went away after I replaced the front tire. Darnest thing. When the Metz 330 got worn the wobble arose. Thought it might have been a loose headset or untrue rim, but before I could get to those areas, I replaced the front Metz with an Avon and didn't have to go there.

Could be unseen broken cords inside the tire. Don't take any chances.

marko,

Lift your bike's front wheel off the ground and spin it. While the wheel is spinning, look at the tire in relation to the front forks and try to observe the rim/tire-on-the-rim spacing varying in relation to the front forks. This will show any gross problem with the front rim being out of true. To remove the front wheel you'll need at least a 12mm allen wrench. If the axle spins you will need something to hold the left side of the axle. Search the threads for what other members use to hold the left side of the axle should the axle spin. For the headset, while the front wheel is off of the ground, grab a hold of the wheel and while keeping the wheel from spinning, try to rock it fore and aft. This will give some insight into the state of the headset.

Glad you didn't lose your passenger too!

boggieman, thanks for the passanger seat pad. worked out fine.

i am leaning toward a tire problem. i notice a bit of cupping on the front tire. only 5500 miles.

thanks fellows

Marko,

Another reason may be rear suspension settings.
Have you jacked up (hardened) the rear shocks recently?
If too much this upsets the wheelbase geometry (similar to having a very short wheelbase) putting more weight on the front thus making it shudder and wobble.
This is further enhanced by a worn out front tyre (again marginally lowers the front wheel).
The first (shock settings) affects the bike more than the second (worn tyre) and of course, the combination is dangerous as it's not necessary a constant situation and may catch you unaware.
Don't ask me how I know... (actually from other bikes - not my Speedy)
I hope this may help.

P.S. A simple test to this theory (although I have never actually tried it) is to ride a short distance 2-up (thus compressing rear shocks more) and see if the wobbling is reduced at all.

A couple of other (fairly obvious) things to check too.. tyre pressure, play in front wheel bearings, and play in steering head bearings.

Matt

I had an awful wobble when my front tire was worn and cupped slightly. Mounted/balanced a new tire last week, back to smooth as silk.

thanks everyone for the input

becareful out there

Well the problem seems to be sovled, as many of you have advised the front tire was the problem. The dealer advised that the stock bridgestone tire is not a very good. the $120 michelin he has in stock is much better. thanks for all your input. ride safe live long

Most of us have either the Metzler 880 or Avon Venom. My Metzler was $81 delivered. If the price on the Michelin includes mounting/balancing ($21 plus $9 for a new tube), than that's a good deal. If not, I'd keep shopping! I have a few hundred miles on my Metzler and it is a HUGE handling improvement over the old Bridgestone.