mealexme Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 (edited) Urg, sorry for posting such depressing posts recently, but now...low speeds (under 10-20) I take my hands off the bars and the bike weaves. At about 30-35 I take my hands off and the bars vibrate excessively to the extent that after less than two seconds you feel like you are going to loose =control (I was only taking my hands slightly off the bars to see how excessive it was at different speeds) I then took it on the dual carriageway and got it up to 85 (I know, I was going to try and keep it below 70, overtook a bus only slightly on the throttle, going up through the gears, thinking I was at 65, was actually at 85 :s) Anyway, any ideas what the problem could be?Holding the front wheel with my legs and turning the handlebar with my hands, there is no play so it cant be the barings. I am possibly thinking the right fork is has been pushed up through the yokes slightly, which I will check next time I am out by the bike, but surely the problem would get worse the faster I go if that was the case? Anyone any other ideas? Its not enough to really feel, it can be controlled when riding, except I find myself running wide going in and out of junctions because of it, so it needs sorting and any ideas are very much appreciated, because I have to buy quite a lot on a tight budget atm so dont want to take it to a machanics, nor uy replacement parts if I can help it. Thanks, AlexEDIT: Think it was fine before I came off it, so think the accident had something to do with it Edited April 3, 2012 by mealexme Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boothy Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Mine did it when I first got it, was just the front wheel not balanced properly. Have any of the front wheel weights been knocked off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mealexme Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 yokes are both same height, weights are still on the wheel. Something has to be out of alignment, but IDK what to touch, because I dont want to make it worse. I would have thought though, if it was out of alignment it would be worse at higher speeds than low Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hodgy Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Very carefull check for any lumps or bumps in your front tyre, both on the sidewalls and the tread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boro Jake Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Warped tyre/Wheels need balancing. Used to happen to me at 40mph, a new front tyre and wheel balancing sorted it.If your front has plenty of life just get em balanced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boothy Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Worth going and getting the front wheel rebalanced before you spend money on anything else just to see... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastanglianbiker Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 dont forget to check tyre pressure as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 dont forget to check tyre pressure as well this happened tome when I first got my blackbird - thought it was a warped frame, or wheels out of alignment...checked the tyre pressure out of sheer luck and instead of being at 42psi they were down to 20psi! Got some air in them and problem solved!!Failing that, have you fiddled with the rear suspension at all? Highering the rear suspension (usually to achieve a better turn in) will affect the rake (angle) of the forks, which WILL make the bars wobble - sport bikes have a sharp rake angle, but have steering dampers to counteract this problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davefly76 Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Sounds like wheel balance issue to me. Worse case is that you've buckled the wheel when you came off and possible damaged the tyre. It might be something simple like the balancing weights have come off though. Get it to a garage asap and let them have a good look around for you Alex. Better to be safe than sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Ok Alex....I'm not gonna preach at you...but if the bike was wobbling at low speed after an off I don't think I would have then gone on to see what it would do at higher speeds.... The wobble at low speed could be something that is about to fail....so you really don't want to be pushing high speeds when whatever it is could fail catastrophically..... I hope that the problem is minor and easily remedied....but I personally would not be using the bike until I found out what it was.....Just looking out for ya mate..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davefly76 Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mealexme Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 Ok Alex....I'm not gonna preach at you...but if the bike was wobbling at low speed after an off I don't think I would have then gone on to see what it would do at higher speeds.... The wobble at low speed could be something that is about to fail....so you really don't want to be pushing high speeds when whatever it is could fail catastrophically..... I hope that the problem is minor and easily remedied....but I personally would not be using the bike until I found out what it was.....Just looking out for ya mate..... Yea, fair point. And no, not fiddled with any settings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techno Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 My bike had a wobble like that at low speeds and went away above 40 the Tyre was out of shape, of out didn't do it before your off so am thinking it probably isn't anything like that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solo Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 ...low speeds (under 10-20) I take my hands off the bars and the bike weaves. At about 30-35 I take my hands off and the bars vibrate excessively to the extent that after less than two seconds you feel like you are going to loose =controlI've experienced front wheel wobble on my FJR1300, with hands off the bars while coasting from about 40 to 30 mph. The first time it happened I took it to the shop. The techs didn't find anything wrong. No loose bolts, bent suspension or wheel, etc. And on a test ride the tech was unable to get the wheel to wobble.Since then, I occasionally let go the bars, with one or both hands, at speeds under 40 to see if the wobble is still there. Sometimes it wobbles but usually not. And I don't think I'm experiencing as severe a wobble as you describe.I've had the bike up to (indicated) 150 mph with no hint of instability (both hands on the handlebars). I've concluded that my bike prefers that I keep my hands on the handlebars, at all speeds. If your bike has the same expectation of you, maybe the wobble fix is simply to get a grip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megawatt Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Sounds like steering head bearing problem to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mealexme Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 So, I got the bike looked at for £45. Wheel balanced, wheels aligned and just a look over. Also took the top box off... It is empty and wouldnt have been the cause of the bars vibrating because it was happening before I put the box on. But anyway, did all that and I can now do 50, take my hands off the bars, let it drop to 30 and the bars do not move. SORTED! So happy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davefly76 Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Sounds like wheel balance issue to me. quote] So, I got the bike looked at for £45. Wheel balanced, wheels aligned and just a look over. Davefly shoots, and he scores!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boothy Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Worth going and getting the front wheel rebalanced before you spend money on anything else just to see... I said it first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mealexme Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 Haha. Its still doing it at 60+ though :sMuch better than it was though, but still annoying me. Only very slight now too and wont send me into a tank slapper if I take my hands off the bars. Still not checked the tyre pressure, so thats next on the list. I was going to do it before it went to the garage but I didnt even have time to shower before taking it to the garage :s so it didnt happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mealexme Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 Any chance it could be the rear out of balance? Or wouldn't that effect the bars?Spose it would help if I put the origonal bar ends back on wouldnt it? (the larger, heavier ones) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastanglianbiker Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 it is pointless trying loads of different things untill you have checked your tyre pressure once you have done that try it with the original bar ends back in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzie Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 So its better but not solved?Well at 60mph plus my bikes bars will weave gently but thats little contusions in the road making it sway ever so slightly. It doesnt change direction and it seems perfectly normal. Or the head bearings are a bit funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harrydh3 Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 this happened to me a couple of days ago i rode arround the village to see if it would do it again....nothing so put it down to road surface Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RicKsTa Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 If you replaced your bar ends for cheap lighter ones then you will get a lot of vibration at higher speeds due to the OEM bar ends being a lot heavier and dampen the feedback in the bars.I would prob say same about head bearings though if it still persists with original bar ends on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solo Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Its still doing it at 60+ ...Only very slight now too and wont send me into a tank slapper if I take my hands off the bars. Still not checked the tyre pressure, so thats next on the list. I was going to do it before it went to the garage but I didnt even have time to shower before taking it to the garage :s so it didnt happen.You are in serious need of a minder, Alex. Or at least a mentor who you can call at all hours to come over and talk you out of your suicidal impulses.Did your instructors stress showering before a ride? Or was it checking the tyre pressures?What's next? Taking your hands of the bars at 80 mph, while standing up on the pegs - backwards and with your eyes closed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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