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New tires or fork bearing?

jggassert

jggassert

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So I went to my local dealer to have my new Avon trailrider tires mounted and balanced. On my way home I noticed that if I take my hands off the bars at any speed the bars shake a lot. With the factory tires I did not have this issue. My concern is whether it's just poorly balanced tires or do I need to replace the bearing? Less than 10k miles on bike. It's also worth noting that the dealership mechanic did not properly tension the chain when they put everything back together as well.

Now before you chastise me for letting go of the handlebars, yes, I do understand it's not smart.


Primum non Nocere
 
Sorry, I don't have a specific answer, but these thoughts come to mind . . .

If I had paid a dealer to do the work and it was not satisfactory, I'd take the bike back and have it corrected.

I know nothing of this tire's handling character. Have you used them before with success?

The steering head bearing wouldn't go bad overnight. It the same one you rode to the shop on with the old tires. If you suspect that it's loose, raise the front of the bike and see if it has play. I've not heard of this being a common problem on this forum, but things happen. The prime suspect is the tire or the work the shop did.

You might check the tire rotation arrow on the side wall. Is the tire a front tire type, the right size for the rim, and do they have it rotating the correct direction? Are there weights on it that suggest they attempted to balance it? Is the tire bead seated evenly around the rim on both sides?
 
+2 Back to the dealer. Either a poorly fitted/balanced tyre or a defective tyre. If the stem bearings were to blame they most definitely be doing it with a worn tyre ie the one you took off.
 
670cc said:
Sorry, I don't have a specific answer, but these thoughts come to mind . . .

If I had paid a dealer to do the work and it was not satisfactory, I'd take the bike back and have it corrected.

I know nothing of this tire's handling character. Have you used them before with success?

The steering head bearing wouldn't go bad overnight. It the same one you rode to the shop on with the old tires. If you suspect that it's loose, raise the front of the bike and see if it has play. I've not heard of this being a common problem on this forum, but things happen. The prime suspect is the tire or the work the shop did.

You might check the tire rotation arrow on the side wall. Is the tire a front tire type, the right size for the rim, and do they have it rotating the correct direction? Are there weights on it that suggest they attempted to balance it? Is the tire bead seated evenly around the rim on both sides?
Click to expand...

I figured I would ask because other bikes have had issues with bearings but the tire were the only thing that changed. Yes they put weight on both front and rear. In almost 20 years of riding and countless tires I've never had a shop put wheel weights on. I guess I've been fortunate that they have always been able to get everything balanced out.

I'll check those things. The service manager was very clear that it will cost me $$ to bring it back. So I'm just gonna look for another shop that does it and see what comes of it.
 
jggassert said:
In almost 20 years of riding and countless tires I've never had a shop put wheel weights on. I guess I've been fortunate that they have always been able to get everything balanced out.
Click to expand...

I don't understand this since other than using "magic" liquid or bead balancers, adding weights is the only way they can "get everything balanced out". In some cases a tire/wheel combo may be balanced as is, but that is rare. In fact, the new bike comes from the factory with wheel weights, because that's how it's usually done.

jggassert said:
I'll check those things. The service manager was very clear that it will cost me $$ to bring it back. So I'm just gonna look for another shop that does it and see what comes of it.
Click to expand...

I'd make it very clear to the service manager that you will no longer be doing business with a shop that has that attitude.
 
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If you bring a properly functioning motorcycle to a shop, and they fit a tyre, and thereafter the bike is handling poorly, then the shop is responsible and have an obligation to set matters right, free of charge. We all here agree on this. You could also point out the incorrectly tensioned chain.
 
670cc said:
I don't understand this since other than using "magic" liquid or bead balancers, adding weights is the only way they can "get everything balanced out". In some cases a tire/wheel combo may be balanced as is, but that is rare. In fact, the new bike comes from the factory with wheel weights, because that's how it's usually done.


I guess I've just never seen the wheel weights before. These things are huge and stick out like a sore thumb. My '76 CB550 never had any that I knew of and it was always smooth.
Click to expand...
 
Check and make sure the tire bead is set all the way around on both sides of the tire. You will need to look very closely to figure this out. If not set, you should be able to go back to the shop and point out that they did their job incorrectly and you have proof. They should not charge anything. If they try to charge you, report them to better business bureau.
 
If the weights are huge its likely a bad tire. It's not that unusual for a few to be defective on any manufacture run. Two winters ago I had a set of tires put on my truck that were impossible to get a good balance on. It's always an epic as both vehicle tire shops and mc shops will spend a bunch of time trying to get the balance and you have to go back a number of times until finally they admit there is a problem with the tire. I'd check the seat to make sure it looks the same all the way around the tire as well as the valve dot (not on all tires) which is a mark that should be lined up with the valve when mounting the tire. Total BS that this shop will not stand behind their work. Perhaps we should learn which shop it is?
 
I agree with everyone else here, take it back to the dealer. However, if you're at the point where you don't trust them here are a few quick things you can try:

1. Inspect the tires to make sure they don't have any obvious bulges, cracks, etc... even if it's brand new. Check the date codes too, make sure you didn't 5 year old crap tires.
2. Note the PSI in them and leave it overnight, check it again a day or two later to see if you've got a bad rim/bead seal.
3. Do an alignment of the rear using an alignment tool and not the marks on the swing arm.
4. Loosen the front pinch bolts completely and the front axle bolt just a little bit. Sit on your bike and compress the front forks up and down a few times. Retighten with torque wrenches.

If after all that there's still problems then you might just have a bad batch of tire and it might be a good idea to get the tools to mount tires yourself or switch dealers.
 
One point.........just a thought .......on decel head shake hands off the bars. This has come up many times before on many different bikes:

Hands off the bars head shake is fairly common. The cause can range from being a "normal" to a problem with tire balance, tire tread pattern, tire mounting problems , tire PSI, steering head bearing, swing arm bearing, luggage loading, suspension setup etc etc. ........ BUT ..... it can be a normal condition with DECEL HANDS OFF THE BARS ! The shake might have been there before the tire replacement........... but was not noticed.
 
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jggassert said:
Yeah and that's what I am used to prior to these new tires being installed.
Click to expand...

Mine used to be 100% shake free during hands off, but after my first very long trip, my rear tire began to square up. On the return trip home, I noticed some head shaking began with hands off. This was not the case before the rear tire began to wear/square.
 
OneGun said:
Mine used to be 100% shake free during hands off, but after my first very long trip, my rear tire began to square up. On the return trip home, I noticed some head shaking began with hands off. This was not the case before the rear tire began to wear/square.
Click to expand...

You may be right about the squaring, but I note that when the rear of the bike is loaded for long trips, the steering geometry change exaggerates the tendency for front end shake.
 
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