Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Really Rough Ride...

Hi Folks. Finally had a chance to take out my 2010 Speedmaster today for a long spin. I'm getting a very bumpy ride at speeds from 60 km/h (40 mph) to 100 km/h (60 mph) over various pieces of pavement.

It doesn't feel like a balance problem as it's not constant, and the symptoms never go away. In fact in seems to come and go at a steady speed. At a steady speed you feel a couple seconds worth of bumps and then it smooth out again for a couple seconds, and repeats this pattern. This is the strangest thing I've encountered.

The bike is brand new, and has 171 km (110 miles) on it now. Production date was 09/09, and was uncrated March 2/10. I have 36 PSI front/ 40 PSI rear on the stock Metzelers, and the shocks are set at default.

I'm thinking that the tires have flat spots, but its too early to tell for sure.

Any other ideas?

Thx,
H.

Vibration problem?
Chain to tight or possibly not aligned properly?

Not really a vibration as it is a bump bump bump problem. More noticable at slower speeds, but can feel it through a wide range of speeds.

Never checked the chain slack. Would have thought the dealer would have done that before we took delivery of the bike I can check it.

I can feel it through the handlebars pretty good.

Thx,
H.

That kind of sounds like a bad tire to me.

Tires is about the only thing I can think of too. I mean what else could it be to produce a bump bump ride? I wonder if the dealership guys could take it for a spin to confirm.

Reducing the tire pressures a couple of pounds would help prove or eliminate your "flat spot" thesis. I'd try one tire at a time to see if I could isolate the source of the bumping, ride just long enough to warm them up and see.

Thanks for the ideas everyone. The weather is ugly here, and then I'll be out of town for a few days, so I'll have to try this out in a few days.

EDIT: As an update, I contacted Metzeler North America, and they weren't too sure what the problem was, but thinks it's flat spotting. Flat spotting is NOT warranted as it's not a manufacturer defect. But, with flat spotting, the symptom should go away when it heats up. It will reoccur again once the tire is cooled off and riden again. There is no cure for flat spotting according to Metzeler. There was surprise that this machine being so new has this problem. Our '07 Speedmaster spent nearly 3 years in a crate before we bought it, and it's smooth as ice. So, I'll do some of the checks folks have listed here, and if it's still bumping down the road by the first service, I'll have my dealer check it then. Looks like I've got a potential headache on my hands

H.

I suppose in the "glass half full" world you can at least completely repair this for $300 worth of tires as opposed to, say, a $456 stator or a $600+ CDI...

Or, you could ride the heck out of it and wear those boogers down...

My front tire was total junk. It was waaaaaaaaaaay out of wack........ You could see it wobble back & forth... At 60 it wanted to jump out of my hands, They put a new tire on and it fixed the problem.. The dealer told me he had heard of several other tire related problems..... Hope this is it..V.

Well, I'm not too sure about this machine. Went out again for an hour or so today. The weather had cleared, and figured I'd go on the highway. It was darn right scarey at highway speeds. The entire front end was shaking at times. I could see the headlight bucket bouncing in a rhythm. I don't think I'll make it to the 800 km service without getting this matter cleared up.

I really don't expect this kind of problem with a brand new machine, though. Buying new tires for a new machine doesn't make much sense to me. It's actually around $500 here in Canada for these tires, so I can't see myself doing that. I can see myself leaving the bike at the dealership until its fixed though.

Yeah, not too pleased at the moment.

I'll have to check into things in a week or two when I'll have time. Thanks for the feedback.

H.

Good to know. Thanks for the info.

H.

That's just not right, take it back and make them ride it while you're there.

Yup, will phone the dealership in the morning, and make arrangements to drop it off next week. I won't be riding the bike until I can take it in.

Thanks for the input, folks
H.

You should have no problem getting warrenty. Others have posted of similar problems with new bikes. Their tires were replaced.

Just a follow up since having my dealer check out the bike.

The bike was at the dealer for three days. I said they could keep it for a while, as I wasn't in a hurry. Three people test rode it and they all verified the condition I was experiencing. They took out a new 2010 Speedmaster, and it was doing the same thing!

They were in contact with Triumph, and after checking the tires, front suspension, and the like, it was determined that the front fork seals are tight, and prohibiting the forks from being smooth. This will loosen up as the bike wears in.

My dealer put on about 100 km (60 miles), and even replenished the gas they burned up. Low and behold, I never experienced the problem on my way home. I feel kind of embarrassed about it now. Luckily the bike was test riden first before they started taking it apart. Fortunately, nothing was done to it other than being riden.

So, everyone learned something on this one. The bike is stiff... stiffer than my wife's '07 for some reason. Not sure what's different, but it does ride different.

H.

Glad its sorted

That's bloomin' interesting! Who woulda thunk but there it is. This is great information for all of us... and glad you got it sorted out!!

I wouldn't have guessed fork seals, glad it's solved.

I had a similar problem with my new '08 America, took it back to dealer (BMI) and they found the front tire was out of round, they quickly installed new tire which corrected much of my problem but I was still finding the bike's ride rough. Since I've put on 1200km, it's ride has smoothed out alot. It get better with age, like a good wine.

Yeah, it's smoothed out a lot at the lowers speeds (less than 80 km/h - 50 mph). With only 650 Km on the clock now, I can hardly wait for the roughness to go. It's really not pleasant to ride at highway speeds. My wife's '07 (which we bought new in Oct/09) never had this problem.

Thx,
H.

Hyates,
Any update on this rough ride? I may have the same issue. Seems that after searching around, they call this "Fork Seal Stiction". Appears to be common in the motocross crowd.

Back from a bit of a mini-holiday

Yes, "fork seal stiction" is EXACTLY what I was told. I haven't ridden the bike much lately due to bad weather and being away. I have 820 km (500 miles) on the bike now.

It is definitely smoother now, but I still have a way to go. Below 80 km/h (50 mph) is now smooth. Starting at 80 km/h I can feel the vibration/bumps. At 90 km/hr (55 mph) its REALLY rough. It smooths out a bit at a 100 km/h (62 mph). It's still rough at 120 km/h (75 mph).

When I went for my 800 km service, I mentioned it again for the record. I also mentioned that I am NOT enjoying my bike. Kind of takes away the 'happy factor'

Anyway, I told them I will try and work it through, but I do expect this to be gone soon. Nobody will tell me how long as each bike is different.

Is your bike a 2010? My dealer has an identical bike to mine (right down to the colour) with the same issue, but not as severe.

I was offered a test ride of my machine before buying it. I declined the test ride as I have my wife's '07, and I wasn't expecting anything different. In hindsight, if I had test rode it, I probably woulnd't have bought this machine. I don't know how Triumph expects to sell machines with this issue.

H.

Mine is a 2006 Speedmaster. I bought the bike used with 2k miles on it. Bought it for a project more then anything else. So I never test rode it.

Just started riding the bike after the winter broke. That is when I noticed the stiction. Could have been there all along.

I am looking into replacing the seals - rather then wait until it gets better. Riding over 45mph is not fun.

Grapeman: For your 2006 Speedmaster to still have 'stiction' does not make me feel good at all. I've started 'googling' around the net and I can't say I have a good feeling around this issue going away.

From what I've read, fork oil, and/or seals could be the issue. Failing that, it's the forks themselves. In your case, I'd go with the new seals, and new fluid. Hopefully that will fix it.

BellaCorse has this to say:
CLICKY

Good luck, and please update us with your results.
H.

I checked with sales at Bellacorse - they do not know whether those seals work on the speedmaster/america models.

Have you tried a little squirt of silicon spray lube on each fork tube above the seals?

Yeah I have thought about the silicon spray. Right now that area is covered by the metal shroud. Debating on yanking the metal shroud and installing gaters. That way you can spray and check for leaks regularly.

Maybe do a few miles on some rough dirt roads , it may speed up the wear in of the fork seals

An Update...

About four weeks ago, I took my bike in to have this problem looked at again. I had 2800 km ( 1700 miles) on the bike. Since my wife has an identical bike... a 2007 with the same mileage at the time, the plan was to swap wheels, and see what happens. My dealer was VERY accomodating!

With the front wheel from my wife's bike on my 2010, the bike was smooth. Upon further checking the tire and rim for out of round on a jig, the tire was now showing out of round. So, the wheels were swapped back, and a new front tire (Lasertec T) was ordered.

I checked in with my dealer yesterday, and they can't locate a tire in Canada. Metzeler has no stock. They even contacted Triumph with no luck. The latest news is that it should be here by September. I currently have 5600 km on the bike.

So, I'm looking forward to my new tire whenever it arrives. The problem wasn't 'sticktion' in the end.

H.

Glad they finally figured it out. Three years in a crate sure is a wild-card to the equation. You can order a new Metzler from American Moto Tire, probably have that in a week or so (at a lower pride than anyone else too....).

Interesting about AMT. They carry the Lasertec T for the Speedmaster, but they don't list stock inventory.

Since this is a warranty item, my dealer has to warrant the tire and will get it through his own channels.

Yeah, It'll be refreshing to have a smooth bike after this is all said and done with.

H.

I switched to a metzler me-880 when my POS lazertec wore out. I had a wobble in the front end from 42 to 50 mph from the time the bike was new, 2 different dealers said they could find nothing wrong and didn't feel the wobble, I worked as a setup tech at a Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki/American Ironhorse dealer for nearly ten years, checked the bike out myself and had our service manager (37 years experience) check it out and we both knew it was the tire but there was no convincing the dealer.
Anyway new tire wobble gone,and I have a much better handling machine. I still don't understand why these bikes come with mismatched tires, especially considering the differences in the wear and traction characteristics between the two.

Glad you got the problem sorted out. As for Metzeler...

Quote:

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I checked in with my dealer yesterday, and they can't locate a tire in Canada. Metzeler has no stock. They even contacted Triumph with no luck. The latest news is that it should be here by September. I currently have 5600 km on the bike.

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yeah, there's no Metzelers to be found. I phoned today to order a replacement set for my Trophy and the business I deal with (Wheelsport in Surrey, BC) said exactly the same thing.

PS... A special note for Hyates. Consider buying tires from Wheelsport ( http://www.wheelsportcanada.com/index.html ). They seem to be able to cut a better deal then most and are super good people!!!

Thanks for the confirmation and tip, Keith. Not sure what's happening with Metzeler, either.

Thx,
H.

Update.

My new replacement tire (Lasertec T) for my Speedmaster arrived just after the Labour Day weekend in September. I just had it installed Sept 23/10 with 8062 km on the bike.

Date of manufacture was 3208. The original rear Metzeler ME880 has a DOM of 4108. Not sure why it took nearly two months to get one in Canada, but there you go.

I am running 36 PSI front, 40 PSI rear (solo). Right away I noticed the handlebars didn't oscillate from side to side at slow (less than 60 km/h) speeds. I did a 300 km run on weekend at speeds of 80 - 100 km/h (burts up to 120 km/h) and things were steady and smooth, but my wife was on the back. So far, so good.

Today I did a solo run, and I did notice a bit of the rhythmic vibration at around 90 km/h (55 mph), but it was BARELY noticable. It might be from the back tire, but this is VERY acceptable for me. The bike is smooth, the bars are steady, and I'm pleased.

I must say that my dealer deserves kudos in working through this with me. They took care of all costs for me, and gave excellent service.



H.

when my front lazertec wears out i will be going with a different tire, probubly an avon. i had issues with the tourences that came on my tiger. when the tire had 4000mi on it, it would shake the front end so bad o could not see anything in my mirrors and it put my hands to sleep because i had to grip the bars tighter. i switched them out with dunlops and all was good. hope your probs end with the tire.

I've ALWAYS ran Dunlops on front and rear...$110 installed, and ran the rear at about 26-28 psi to keep the center tread from wearing...Avons and Metzlers are over rated in my opinion....

I have 25,000 miles on my OEM Lazertech and it isn't quite bald but does need to be replaced,won't see another season.