High speed wobble

[SALISH]

New to forum. I need some feedback from you guys. I have a high speed wobble and I tried everything.  Majority of the people say not enough weight up front or suspension is not set up correctly. I did set up front and rear suspension for my weight and I did play with settings quite a bit. I managed to get it somewhat dialed in by trial and error. While on highway I did oposite of what people said and I shifted the weight back which seamed to help. While before I was not able to go above 85 I managed to get it up to 105. I still do feel wobble from time to time and I was wondering what helped other people solve this issue. By the way bike is 2015 with 8000 miles. Any input is appreciated. 

[nhchris]

What’s the mileage on your odometer?

[SALISH]

Bike has little over 8000 miles. Has a 80on/20off road tires. 

[Instinct28]

Mine does it too, lots of peeps say it sometimes is the wind shield and or hand guards. I haven't removed mine yet but that might take place today after work. My bike is a 2015 with 20,000 on it 

[SALISH]

I actually removed them. I live in Texas and I don't mind wind on my hands because hot here all the time. Could it be Shenko tires? I have E-705 which is 70/30 tire which came with bike. I still have stock tires. I don't think it has to do with balancing because there is no shake or vibration. 

[knyte]

Front forks / rear wheel out of alignment?

[bwringer]

I strongly suspect it's the tires.

The Shinko 705 is not even available in the correct rear size, although it's hard to say for sure whether that could cause this sort of instability. It sure won't help.

Worn tires of any brand or type absolutely can cause this. However, the Shinko 705 has a large block tread, which normally wears in a very uneven "scalloped" manner. This is not evidence of any defect or problem; it's just how block tread and knobby tires normally wear. But this wear can cause instability, especially on a bike with front-end geometry that's more sporty than dual-sport.

Also, if you still have the original tires from 2015, they are definitely no good now, plus they have some unknown amount of wear. So please don't install those and then go out and ride 100mph.

I'd very carefully evaluate the steering stem bearings and how they're adjusted, although they shouldn't be worn out by now. And of course damage or misalignment from being dropped can cause all sorts of issues. Off-pavement drops very often tweak the forks, for example. The stock shock isn't the finest on earth, but it should still be working perfectly fine at only 8,000 miles.

If that line of investigation doesn't turn up any smoking guns, then your best bet will be to replace the tires with fresh buns of the correct size and type.

There are some dual-sport tires available in the correct 180/55-17 size for the rear, if that's how you want to go, and of course there are skrillions of choices in street tires.

https://www.americanmototire.com/dual-sport/?narrow=[["Aspect ratio"%2C"55"]%2C["Brand"%2C"METZELER"]%2C["Brand"%2C"CONTINENTAL"]%2C["Brand"%2C"BRIDGESTONE"]%2C["Brand"%2C"AVON"]%2C["Tire width"%2C"180"]]

Edited April 13, 2022 by bwringer

[SALISH]

Knyte in which respect front fork? Do you mean adjustment? 

I get rear alignment.  That will be next thing I guess.  

[SALISH]

Bwringer. Thank you for your input. At this point I tried everything else. As it goes for head bearing service was performed at the dealer( that is not guarantee it was fixed correctly). Tires are pretty new but I get your point of not being correct tire for the bike. I will have to go route of getting new Tires and see if that fixes it. 

[knyte]

31 minutes ago, SALISH said:

Knyte in which respect front fork? Do you mean adjustment? 

I get rear alignment.  That will be next thing I guess.  

https://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/tips-tech/tech-tip-front-fork-alignment/

 

I've no idea if this is the cause, but it might be worth looking at.

[PhotoAl]

40 minutes ago, SALISH said:

As it goes for head bearing service was performed at the dealer( that is not guarantee it was fixed correctly).

Got a chuckle out of that.  Know there are some really great folks out there working on bikes but there are also lots of mistakes.  

For alignment I've used the string method on my bikes in the past.  Simply described it is wrapping a string around the back of the rear wheel and running it forward to a stick in front of the bike.  The string should just barely touch the tire on the forward edge of the tire.  This establishes two parallel strings with the front wheel in between them.  Measuring the distance from the front and rear of the edge of the front wheel will make sure the wheel is straight.  Alignment is when it is straight and equidistant from the strings.  Im sure there are some good YouTube videos about it.

Haven't aligned my 900GT with 18,000 miles on it as I'm very careful when adjusting the chain.  I do not use the marks but count the number of flats on the bolt turned and make sure each side is the same.  Gets harder as you get older, "was it 8 flats or 7 flats" 🙂  

[2and3cylinders]

What she said...

[Instinct28]

3 hours ago, SALISH said:

I actually removed them. I live in Texas and I don't mind wind on my hands because hot here all the time. Could it be Shenko tires? I have E-705 which is 70/30 tire which came with bike. I still have stock tires. I don't think it has to do with balancing because there is no shake or vibration. 

Dang, I was optimistic about removing that stuff and problem solved but if it didn't work for you then maybe not. 

 

[SALISH]

1 minute ago, Instinct28 said:

Dang, I was optimistic about removing that stuff and problem solved but if it didn't work for you then maybe not. 

 

Yea I was also hoping this to help out. I didn't remove the guards all the way. I just took out bulky fearing by removing  2 front bolts. I still have the thin part. Looks weird with no ends or metal piece by itself on the end. 

[1moreroad]

https://www.motionpro.com/c/alignment-tools