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Front tire wobbling on 35 mph?

Afan

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After the local bike shop changed my front tire, it started wobbling when I let go of the handlebar. But only around 35 mph. Faster or slower it doesn't or just a little bit.
Is that the sign that the tire was not balanced correctly, or something else?

Also, if I let go of the handlebar, to keep the bike going straight I have to "move" my body a bit to the right side, like "counter balance". Does it have anything with the tire or... something else?

Thanks for any help.
 
A hands-off front fork wobble at 30-45 mph is often traced to the front tire being slightly out of round or irregularly worn but because the tire is new and you mention the bike wants to turn I would try and loosen up the fittings that hold the front wheel and let the forks align themselves.

Loosen the 6 bolts that hold the front fender in the forks and the pinch bolt on the lower left fork leg. Get on the bike with both wheels on the ground (not on center stand). With the engine in neutral hold the front brake and bounce the forks up and down a few times to compress and extend the forks then tighten every thing back up in reverse order starting with the pinch bolt.

If this doesn't remove or greatly reduce the wobble I'd be taking the bike back to the dealer that sold you the tire. They may tell you "don't take your hands off the bars" but persevere for a replacement tire.
 
A hands-off front fork wobble at 30-45 mph is often traced to the front tire being slightly out of round or irregularly worn but because the tire is new and you mention the bike wants to turn I would try and loosen up the fittings that hold the front wheel and let the forks align themselves.

Loosen the 6 bolts that hold the front fender in the forks and the pinch bolt on the lower left fork leg. Get on the bike with both wheels on the ground (not on center stand). With the engine in neutral hold the front brake and bounce the forks up and down a few times to compress and extend the forks then tighten every thing back up in reverse order starting with the pinch bolt.

If this doesn't remove or greatly reduce the wobble I'd be taking the bike back to the dealer that sold you the tire. They may tell you "don't take your hands off the bars" but persevere for a replacement tire.
And if they don't want to help, tell them that's the last of your business they will get.

Does it vibrate or shake at interstate speeds? Also what tire /size are you running, both front/back?

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On related condition...........on off the bars decel handle bar shake is common on many bikes. There dozens of articles on the topic of decel handlebar shake. It is so common many riders do not know it exists until attempt zip there jacket while underway at speed. The commonality is it take hands off the bars to get the condition. Some bikes it takes hands off the bars and bump to the suspension to get the oscillation to start.

Things that come up often:

1. The rider is part of the damping system, the slightest pressure on the bars makes the shake disappear or dampen.
2. Weight distribution, large rear carrier weight can effect the condition.
3. Steering head bearing adjustment or wear can play a part.
4. Swing arm pivot and bearing.
5. Suspension adjustment or setting can play a part.
6. The answer is often comes down to do not let go of the bars.

New front tire on my VFR1200x does the 40mph constant speed hands off shake just a little bit. Lower and higher speeds are also not effected. The tire is balanced. I was curious if I could change the condition or speed.

1. Rebalanced the tire
2. Moved the tire on the rim 180* and rebalanced
3. Removed all the balanced weights
4. Checked the steering head
5. Changed the suspension settings
All had no real effect or change. Mine is so small I will not bother to get the manufacture involved. Not to mention the real answer is (as mentioned) ......don’t let go of the bars.

Mine is DIY tire install so going back to the dealer is not an option. Selling tire dealer, not an option because of the hassle and the issue is very small. Mine has a friction throttle, with out the friction throttle device there no way the rider could replicate the constant speed with hands off.
 
A hands-off front fork wobble at 30-45 mph is often traced to the front tire being slightly out of round or irregularly worn but because the tire is new and you mention the bike wants to turn I would try and loosen up the fittings that hold the front wheel and let the forks align themselves.

Loosen the 6 bolts that hold the front fender in the forks and the pinch bolt on the lower left fork leg. Get on the bike with both wheels on the ground (not on center stand). With the engine in neutral hold the front brake and bounce the forks up and down a few times to compress and extend the forks then tighten every thing back up in reverse order starting with the pinch bolt.

If this doesn't remove or greatly reduce the wobble I'd be taking the bike back to the dealer that sold you the tire. They may tell you "don't take your hands off the bars" but persevere for a replacement tire.

I did it and didn't see any improvements.
Here is the video how it looks. Because if the camera angle it doesn't look like it's a lot of wobbling. But, actually, it's a bit worse than it looks like.
I'll try to upload video to Google Drive, so you can see it better.

I bought the tire online, from americanmototire.com. And the local bike shop installed it. Should I first go to the shop, they can check and confirm the tire is off? Anybody has an experience with the returning a tire?
 
On related condition...........on off the bars decel handle bar shake is common on many bikes. There dozens of articles on the topic of decel handlebar shake...

It could be, but I never experienced it before (although I ride just 7 years only and had only 3 bikes) except when my front tire was cupping.


... Mine is so small I will not bother to get the manufacture involved...
Mine is not small. Not tank-slapper, but enough big it bothers me. Would it one day start to wobble on all speeds between 30 and 40 mph? And riding off road 35 mph with wobbly handlebar - not fun at all.


... Not to mention the real answer is (as mentioned) ......don’t let go of the bars...
That's the real answer? Take the pain killer and your back is not going to bother you... :D Sorry but I don't accept that as an answer.
 
This is the video it shows have to move my body to the right to keep the bike going straight.
 
That's the real answer? Take the pain killer and your back is not going to bother you... :D Sorry but I don't accept that as an answer.


Have the dealer install the old tire, see what happens .........you would not be the first person to discover the old tire did the same hands off shake.........you just didn’t notice it.

Also once it’s found or noticed ...........it’s almost impossible to forget or accept.

One installation check, view the line around the tire where it meets the rim.......is the tire fully seated on rim and even gap on the line on the tire.

Since you did not buy the tire at the installing shop.............that puts the shop is very tough position. It will be interesting to see their response. Same with the online seller. It’s also the obvious reason shop often refuse to install customer supplied tires.

Cycle world article on the topic

Why Do Motorcycles Wobble And Weave? | Cycle World


In my case my old tire is gone.
I suspect mine is being caused by the new tire.
I will admit I never noticed the shake with the old tire ( it was worn and feathered ) ........but........I never really did much hands off the bars.
 
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Afan, may i ask how much weight they used to balance that tire if any? I have the identical tire on my front and have no wobble at any speed cruising/decelerating. Hmm... perplexing it is. (my thought was to try removing the weight used and run it without any balance weight(then reinstall the weight if necessary). :{P
 
I did it and didn't see any improvements.
Here is the video how it looks. Because if the camera angle it doesn't look like it's a lot of wobbling. But, actually, it's a bit worse than it looks like.
I'll try to upload video to Google Drive, so you can see it better.

I bought the tire online, from americanmototire.com. And the local bike shop installed it. Should I first go to the shop, they can check and confirm the tire is off? Anybody has an experience with the returning a tire?
Shinko isn't known for being top quality like some other brands. That's not to say that it's a bad tire, you may just have to deal with something like that when running cheap tires, but others that run the same tire seem to have good reviews on it.

Also, in my experience it is not uncommon for dealers to half arse balance tires you didn't buy from them, either bc they don't care, or they want to be able to say "well you bought it on the internet, we can't guarantee quality of anything bought on the internet" because they want you to buy from them.

Either way, as far as balancing is concerned, if you feel like spending $35, buy a balancing stand on Ebay and watch a YouTube video on how to balance a motorcycle tire. If its off you can fix it. Also have to buy some 1/4 oz weights on ebay for a few dollars.

If it wasn't shaking at that speed before and now it is, it can only be either the tire or the balancing of said tire. I don't think it would be the balancing, or you would feel it vibrate at higher speeds.

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Afan, may i ask how much weight they used to balance that tire if any? I have the identical tire on my front and have no wobble at any speed cruising/decelerating. Hmm... perplexing it is. (my thought was to try removing the weight used and run it without any balance weight(then reinstall the weight if necessary). :{P

2 x 21g

20190915_093744_1024.jpg

20190915_093807_1024.jpg

Actually, not bad idea! :D
 
Have the dealer install the old tire, see what happens .........you would not be the first person to discover the old tire did the same hands off shake.........you just didn’t notice it...
That's not my case because I very often let go the handlebar off to see how my bike behave. The main reason is that's how you will find the front tire started cupping. Not on high speeds, only at 30-35 mph.
Also, if it was wobbling before I would not notice it now. Since I noticed - it wasn't happening before.

When you buy new shoes, do the new ones feel identical as old ones?


...you just didn’t notice it. Also once it’s found or noticed ...........it’s almost impossible to forget or accept...
This sounds more as psychoanalysis
:D

... Since you did not buy the tire at the installing shop.............that puts the shop is very tough position. It will be interesting to see their response. Same with the online seller. It’s also the obvious reason shop often refuse to install customer supplied tires...
That's correct. Agree. That's what am I afraid off... :(


The videos are a bit old, and I'm pretty sure the technology improved a bit. I never had wobbling without the reason, deflated or cupped tires. Weaving - never happened, not crazy about riding fast...

Does anybody else with (new?!?) Shinko tires have/had the same issue? In case it's the Shinko thing...
 
Shinko isn't known for being top quality like some other brands. That's not to say that it's a bad tire, you may just have to deal with something like that when running cheap tires, but others that run the same tire seem to have good reviews on it.
Yes, agree. If this is a Shinko thing, then I'm ok - no worries.
But never read anything about this when I was reading (a lot) about which "off-road" (90/10 or 80/20) tires to buy. To me it looks like there is a reason why is this happening, not motorcycle "anatomy".

... Also, in my experience it is not uncommon for dealers to half arse balance tires you didn't buy from them, either bc they don't care, or they want to be able to say "well you bought it on the internet, we can't guarantee quality of anything bought on the internet" because they want you to buy from them...
!#$1*%#!!@#%!!#$@!


... Either way, as far as balancing is concerned, if you feel like spending $35, buy a balancing stand on Ebay and watch a YouTube video on how to balance a motorcycle tire. If its off you can fix it. Also have to buy some 1/4 oz weights on ebay for a few dollars...
I was thinking for a while to invest in tire changer and the balancing stand. At least, if something's wrong I know I did it...
 
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Neither my Pilot Road 5's or my Dunlop Q3+'s have made the handlebars shake at any speed. I let go like you do sometimes, especially on longer trips. Yours didn't do it before, so it has to be something with the front tire. Nothing else changed. Balancing shouldn't be the issue. And 6 1/4 oz weights isn't bad, it took 8 1/4 oz weights to balance my rear tire the other night when I flipped it.

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AFAN have you checked the run-out of the front wheel? Could they have bent the rim ever so slightly?
 
That's not my case because I very often let go the handlebar off to see how my bike behave. The main reason is that's how you will find the front tire started cupping. Not on high speeds, only at 30-35 mph.
Also, if it was wobbling before I would not notice it now. Since I noticed - it wasn't happening before.

When you buy new shoes, do the new ones feel identical as old ones?



This sounds more as psychoanalysis
:D

No.........just exposed to 100’s of different bikes and dealing with the riders over a long period of time.


That's correct. Agree. That's what am I afraid off... :(



The videos are a bit old, and I'm pretty sure the technology improved a bit. I never had wobbling without the reason, deflated or cupped tires. Weaving - never happened, not crazy about riding fast...

Does anybody else with (new?!?) Shinko tires have/had the same issue? In case it's the Shinko thing...

My Shinko 705 ( front and rear) on my NC does not shake, but it does have some what of a “snow tire effect” and speeds below 40mph.


The video is old .......the article text is not. The physics and concept of a harmonic vibration at a certain frequency also has not changed with time. The point is this phenomenon is far more common than most people think.
 
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I’m commenting just for the sake of adding another data point. I have owned only one set of Shinko 705s. They caused no shaking or wobbling. I bought them from AMT, and mounted and balanced them myself. Then I later remounted the same tires on a different NC, and balanced them again. They still ride smoothly with no wobble.
 
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I’m commenting just for the sake of adding another data point. I have owned only one set of Shinko 705s. They caused no shaking or wobbling. I bought them from AMT, and mounted and balanced them myself. Then I later remounted the same tires on a different NC, and balanced them again. They still ride smoothly with no wobble.
I can second that, I mounted my 705's at home and used balancing beads and no vibration issues, a bit meh at lower speeds, not as confidence inspiring as my PR4's were in corners (that could also be me after wrecking [emoji28]) but no issues with vibrations at any speed and I've taken my hands of the bars at every speed from 75mph to as slow as 20mph, the simile to snow tires sounds accurate to me
 
AFAN have you checked the run-out of the front wheel? Could they have bent the rim ever so slightly?

I don't know how much it's accurate, but just did it by leaning the flat screwdriver on the fork as best as I can, and as close as I can, and turning the front wheel. It looks good to me. :(

Although, the front wheel, when I'm rotating it, makes this noise/sound - see the video. I'm assuming it's the brake pads? is this OK?
 
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