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Cruiser
Posts: 133
New Castle Delaware | About a week ago I was slowing down coming to a lighy and the front wheel wobbled so bad I thought I had a flat. Pulled over nothing wrong with the tire. Started back out no problems. Few days later same thing. Started experimenting at different speeds and found out it does it between only between 35 and 40 mph. Set it on 38 on cruise and wobbles so bad handle bars just flopped all over the place. Dealer can't get me in till Thursday but told me to check my air pressure. I am running 38 psi. Any Thoughts? |
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Visionary
Posts: 2027
Brighton, TN | There is something wrong with the front tire in my experience. Replaced the front tire wobble and handlebar shake go bye bye.
I had the same exact problem. Normally, after 12,000 to 14,000 miles it just seems to get unbalanced. I was running 38-40psi. Checked wheel bearings when I replaced the tire. Nothing unusual. New tire, no wobble. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 133
New Castle Delaware | Thanks pollolittle, I have 11,300 mi on bike but had original tire replaced at about 3200 mi after hitting a piece of rebar stickong up through the slab at a expansion joint at a bridge just out side Little Rock AK last August. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1436
| Thats what I had only it was highlighted by tar snakes, scared the hell out of me. New rubber took care of it. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 140
| What's the rear shock pressure? |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | in the service manual there are troubleshooting checks to narrow down the problem. I believe one of them is while sitting the bike try moving the handle bars forward and backwards, there should be no play. Also putting it on a jack, wheel off the ground and the bike stable, try to move the front forks to check for play. Check the front wheel for play in the wheel bearing or the axle bolt loose. Also check for any looseness in the rear. Again, all the steps should be in the service manual.
If that troubleshooting does't show any problems, then I would have to agree with Po - get a new pair of shoes. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 133
New Castle Delaware | Lowtone9 I have about 12 to 15 lbs in rear shock. Varyder I will check that out when I get out of work today. I have a appointment Thursday at the dealer but wanted to hear any ideas from you all.
Thanks
Dave |
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Cruiser
Posts: 181
Henlow, Bedfordshire, England | i had the same problem with my previous bike and the answer always was replacing the tyre. just starting to get wobbly over white lines with my vision now at 7000 miles, my guess is the rear tyre needs checking as well. for some reason this affects the front as well.............. |
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New user
Posts: 3
| Have 8k on a set of Avon tires. At 10 to 25 mph feeling the wooble. Never felt it before my last 800 mile trip. Was thinking wheel bearings. Still dont have any idea? |
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Cruiser
Posts: 72
Newberry, Mi. | As eluded to above, check for excessive play in your steering head bearings. Also ensure your triple tree pinch bolts on the front end are tightened properly and check to make sure your front axle nuts are secured correctly. If all is right so far, check your swingarm pivot bolt and ensure excessive lateral play isn't present. Also inspect the rear axle nuts and adjusters.
Although it could be you front tire causing the wobble, it may also be any of the items I've mentioned and it's not a bad idea to inspect these things as well.
Edited by Rob41 2009-07-31 12:22 PM
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | the wife unit is starting to ride more in the short trips around town. last night it was threatening to rain, and did rain lightly before we go home last nite and she was okay. Today it was in the 90's and we went out for lunch. The wind was kickin' and we hit some road snakes, so I was expecting her to say something. She seemed to be very content and even when I asked she said was everything was fine.
The Vision was squirrelling around my with the wind pushing and snakes it still held steady. I point this only to say that if you are sucking the seat from the pucker factor then there has to be something wrong.... |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 43
| BikerDave don't ride it till you get it fixed. Had my front wheel wobble at highway speed and tossed me off like nothing. ROAD RASH SUCKS. Turned out I had a bad wheel bearing on my 2001 tc |
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Cruiser
Posts: 72
Newberry, Mi. | Good advice Victory rider. I really hate it when I don't know for certain exactly what the problem is.
Like when someone (with good intentions) "says change the front tire, I did and my problem was solved". Well maybe it was a bad tire, but it may also have been loose or out of adjustment front axle nuts. The wheel was removed for the tire change.
In my experience as a shipboard engineer, I know that it's absolutely critical to be able to pinpoint the cause of all problems. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 133
New Castle Delaware | Well I just picked up the vision from the dealer and they said my tires were cupping that my front tire pressure was 10psi low (checked before i took it in and it was at 38psi) This is what they wrote on the service report. " Test rode- Yes it does shake - found front tire pressure too low - has slight cupping, this with the roads graded to the right will cause head shake at different speeds and on different roads- both front and rear tires were 10 psi low - do not take hands off handle bars --there will always be a low frequency shake--- on most machines -- also checked suspension settings ---OK"
No asking if I want new tires or anything just wanted my money for the 12K service. Rode the bike around and seems like it wobbles now up to 45 mph. I checked for play in the handle bars but I don't have a jack to raise the front end for the other tests in the manual. I think I will get up early tomorrow and ride over to the dealer I bought it from in Cherryhill NJ and see if they will help me. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 72
Newberry, Mi. | Wow, don't even consider using that dealership for anything that matters. Their comment "--there will always be a low frequency shake--- on most machines --" shows they either don't care or they have no clue what they are doing!
You should have ZERO shake, low frequency or otherwise on any properly maintained motorcycle.
It may or may not be your front tire, but you do have an issue that needs to be resolved.
Good luck |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 804
Perry Hall, MD | Haven't turned a wrench on bikes, but experience with a wobble within a specific speed range on cars/trucks is almost always a tire balance issue. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 133
New Castle Delaware | Well just got back from the dealer in Cherryhill NJ where I bought my bike. They were shorthanded but the sales manager who sold me the bike came out and checked out the tire and showed me where the cupping was and pulled the lone mechanic out of the shop and told him to take it for a test ride to make sure that he thought the cupping was the problem. The mechanic came back and said he agreed with the diagnosis. They were surprised how good my tread was with 11.5K on the bike even the rear is still good. Bottom line if you want to get rid of the wobble put a new tire on. They were too busy to do it so maybe I will have the dealer in Delaware put one on before my trip to the AVR in 10 days. BTW for all you guys that have rattles in your trunk also check out the little plastic cover in the bottom of the trunk. The manager came out with some velcro tabs and put them on and it seemed to quiet that rattle down. Thanks guys for all your posts |
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Cruiser
Posts: 72
Newberry, Mi. | Be sure to give us an update on the "wobble" issue after you get the tire changed. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 721
| While worn tires are one of the leading causes of front end wobble, that is JUST ONE of the causes. Owners of Honda's GL1800 Goldwing have been dealing with this problem since day one and the vast majority of riders have found that the problem begins in the steering stem with the stem bearing. On the GL1800 Honda went to cheaper ball bearings versus the tapered roller bearing they had used in the GL1500, owners of the GL1800 (including myself at the time) that changed to the tapered roller bearings found that the problem went entirely away and never showed up again. My personal experience with the stem bearing problem showed itself when I put on a set of new tires on my '03 Goldwing, I got less than a mile down the road and felt the deceleration wobble so, knowing that it WAS NOT the tires, it had to be the bearing.
I recently put new Dunlop E3s on my Vision (after 16K miles) and I have noticed a little bit of front end wobble so I am going to have my dealership check the torque on the stem bearings on Monday. From my own experiences I have found that sometimes after putting on between 10K and 15K miles on a new bike the steering stem bearings should be checked and retorqued if necessary, which is something most service departments rarely check (perhaps they prefer to sell you tires instead?). |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 721
| Ok, I should have checked my service manual first before posting but oh well! Yes, Victory does use tapered roller bearings in the steering stem, so the bearings shouldn't be the problem UNLESS they need to be retorqued. |
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New user
Posts: 4
| my wobble did not start until i put new tires on my vision, I had 21000 mile on my original tire and never had a problem until I replaced them |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 742
North Orange County CA | snowskier - 2009-08-03 1:54 PM
my wobble did not start until i put new tires on my vision, I had 21000 mile on my original tire and never had a problem until I replaced them
I would check the front axle and the rear wheel alignment.
I'm not sure about the Vision but on virtually every bike that I've ever owned it was possible to screw up the wheel tracking by:
1) over-tightening the front axle nut thereby pulling one of the fork legs inward slightly - pushing on the lower legs while tightening the pinch bolts can accomplish the same thing.
I managed to do this on my BMW once with butt-cheek tightening results.
2) Incorrectly replacing the axle spacers (switching sides of the wheel or spacers reversing them). Ever look at the way a 1960s brit bike wheel is put together? The engineers must follow the dictum "never build anything with 1 part when 15 will do the same job".
3) Misalignment of the rear wheel when replacing the tires or adjusting the belt can also cause wobbles and uneven tire wear that will exacerbate the problem.
Good luck. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 162
Extreme Southern, AZ United States | On the other bikes (HD) Yamaha (cruisers) with 16" front wheels/tires, the tank slappers start with the rear wheel esp the rubber mounted harleys. The exception is the bikes with 21" front skinny wheels/tires. I rode Mike S's retro bike (AZ Victory) and got into a tank slapper running down the access road in Tucson. There are a lot of grooves there and it started when I hit 45 coming down from 50+. Slowing doesn't help. Heaven help you if you hit the brakes esp the front brake. Only thing helped was to grab a handful of throttle. Straightened right out. Took it easy coming back down. Shouldn't happen on a Vision or any of the other big front wheel/tire bikes. I know it does though. Another way to stop it is also counter-intuitive. Take your hands off the bars. When you get into one of these, you don't realize it, but you are adding feedback to the slap. If you take your hands off the bars, you quit adding input to the slap and it USUALLY (not always) stops. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 133
New Castle Delaware | UPDATE: Well took the Vision to Sparkling Image a custom sport bike shop that works on my sons GXR 750. They put a new E3 on the front and checked everthing in the front suspension. Picked the bike up today and took it out on the road no wobble, vibration or low freqeuncy shake. My baby is back and ready for a trip to the AVR! Thanks again for all your comments and concerns!
Edited by bikerdave48 2009-08-05 7:06 PM
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New user
Posts: 1
| Has anyone got over 8000 miles on the front Dunlop tires without seeing a weird wear pattern?
08 Victory Vision Tour 16442 miles |
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Bad Front End Wobble- Anyone ever?
