High speed wobble

[SALISH]

15 minutes ago, KellyL said:

A basic check for the steering head bearings is straightforward. With the bike on the centrestand, get someone to push on the tail so the front tyre is off the ground. Turn the handlebars to check for notching, and go to the front of the bike and grab the lower part of the fork. Wiggle it around and check for play, which feels like a 'clunk'. While you're at it, grab the wheel and wiggle it to check for same in the axle.

My money is on the E705 tyres though, especially that incorrectly sized rear. AFAIK the E705 is also H-rated, so I'd be nervous about going at the 105+ mph you mentioned.

Thanks for info. I'll definitely do the check for head bearing. You are not the first that pointed to tires. I think that might be my next thing to do.Today people suggested alignment check with string method and I did that. It looked good. 

[Lone Wolf]

Tire is out of balance. Easy to check if you have a static balancer, if not pull the front wheel and just have a shop check it.

I have had that happen more than once, usually on older tires. Can cause a really bad speed wobble, and for me it went away with new tires / balance.

Obviously they wear, lose rubber, can become out of balance. That is one if the reasons new tires feel so smooth, if they are balanced

Your bike is low miles, not enough time for bearings to get jacked unless it hit something

[SALISH]

Thank you all for your input. So far I checked the alignment, no play in head bearing or front wheel bearing. I tried removing removing hand guards and both position of windscreen. I think I dialed in my suspension as good as I can. I can cruze on highway till 80 mph. From all you input it really comes down to tires. I understand they are 70/30 and front one I originalnsize but the back one is thicker ( not original). They are pretty new but I can only ask for so much from them. I do have extra rear tire and I checked manufacturing date and it is not original. (manufactured in 2018) has plenty of thread left. Fron one is shot so I will get new tire up front. 

I also think that it has to do with less then perfect front suspension but I will update thread once I put new tires on. Again thank you all for the info. You guys are awesome. Glad I joined this forum. 

[skipperT]

@SALISH things will be much better with a new front tire. Cupped/worn front tires=steering wobble. 

also I realize that you didn't “feel” anything loose in your front end steering bearings.   However Yamaha calls for a 2 part torquing sequence. Might be a good idea to retorque them anyway. 

-Skip

[SALISH]

To all that have provided feedback, I appreciate your input. Just wanted to provide update. I installed a new tires on my bike and I can say that wobble is gone. I took it for a test ride  ( first 50 miles easy I know) and I noticed no noticeable wobble. I mean I do get some passing big trucks but that is understandable. 

[Ride365]

Yup ANY wobble or unstableness I had in the front end went away immediately after installing Michelin Pilot road 4's on my GT.

[Wintersdark]

On 4/15/2022 at 1:41 PM, skipperT said:

@SALISH things will be much better with a new front tire. Cupped/worn front tires=steering wobble. 

also I realize that you didn't “feel” anything loose in your front end steering bearings.   However Yamaha calls for a 2 part torquing sequence. Might be a good idea to retorque them anyway. 

-Skip

I've never actually done this, just check via the classic front end elevated/check for play test.  My issue is that I can't really work out *how* to do it properly; mostly in terms of getting proper access as there's so little room around there.  

I mean, you'd have to remove the handlebars and the tank plastics, right?  Is there a good guide you can recommend on how to do this *properly* on the Tracer?  I've seen a few youtube videos, but they often end up with people not using the correct tools or saying things that make me strongly question whether they actually know what they're doing or not. 

I've got a torque wrench and the spanner adapter thing, and I *think* the torque wrench must be at 90 degrees to the spanner adapter, right?

[texscottyd]

31 minutes ago, Wintersdark said:

…saying things that make me strongly question whether they actually know what they're doing or not. 

Welcome to the internet!  I’ll be your tour guide for the day… 

[skipperT]

1 hour ago, Wintersdark said:

I've never actually done this, just check via the classic front end elevated/check for play test.  My issue is that I can't really work out *how* to do it properly; mostly in terms of getting proper access as there's so little room around there.  

I mean, you'd have to remove the handlebars and the tank plastics, right?  Is there a good guide you can recommend on how to do this *properly* on the Tracer?  I've seen a few youtube videos, but they often end up with people not using the correct tools or saying things that make me strongly question whether they actually know what they're doing or not. 

I've got a torque wrench and the spanner adapter thing, and I *think* the torque wrench must be at 90 degrees to the spanner adapter, right?

Bars have to come off, yes.  Creative way to do this is have a buddy hold it patiently or suspend it from the ceiling and protect the windscreen, ICluster, etc.

Tank plastic may not have to come off depending on your indivdual needs to get in there with your spanner adapter. And Yes, ANY adapter has to be 90 degrees to the torque wrench when using the SUGGESTED torque value selected on the wrench.  You can use it straight ahead (in-line) with the torque wrench however the wrench setting must be LESS. How much less depends on the length of the extension, and there’s a formula to figure out what setting to use instead. It would be the same scenerio if you used a dogbone wrench on there.  Usually I set my rig up 90 degrees and carefully use the shortest extension possible to clear the plastics, tank, etc.  not 100% accurate but *good enough* in this case. (I support the extension wrench adapter rig carefully so that the torque im reading is not from binding up the rig while tightening, difficult to explain by typing).

It’s also easier to get the upper triple clamp off if the front end of the bike is elevated slightly (front tire just touching the ground, you get a feel for it) as this causes less “binding” between the forks and the steering stem. it will still usually need to be “persuaded” with a rubber or plastic mallet/hammer. 

-Skip

 

[Wintersdark]

1 hour ago, texscottyd said:

Welcome to the internet!  I’ll be your tour guide for the day… 

lol yeah; my expectations are usually quite low, but there's things where you can tell that doing something incorrectly may render the whole job useless or even harmful.  I feel that generally when people are showing how to do something without using the proper tools, when the proper tool is both readily available and inexpensive, I need to question their judgement overall.  

And while I'll admit to not knowing a lot about calculating torque, I do know that if you're doing it wrong and not accounting for the wrongness, you're applying the wrong torque.  When the whole job is to torque bearings to a specific value (and in this case, two specific values) if you're doing it to the wrong value, you could well be making things worse.  

And it's really amazing how many super-janky steering head setting videos there are out there.  

26 minutes ago, skipperT said:

Bars have to come off, yes.  Creative way to do this is have a buddy hold it patiently or suspend it from the ceiling and protect the windscreen, ICluster, etc.

Tank plastic may not have to come off depending on your indivdual needs to get in there with your spanner adapter. And Yes, ANY adapter has to be 90 degrees to the torque wrench when using the SUGGESTED torque value selected on the wrench.  You can use it straight ahead (in-line) with the torque wrench however the wrench setting must be LESS. How much less depends on the length of the extension, and there’s a formula to figure out what setting to use instead. It would be the same scenerio if you used a dogbone wrench on there.  Usually I set my rig up 90 degrees and carefully use the shortest extension possible to clear the plastics, tank, etc.  not 100% accurate but *good enough* in this case. (I support the extension wrench adapter rig carefully so that the torque im reading is not from binding up the rig while tightening, difficult to explain by typing).

It’s also easier to get the upper triple clamp off if the front end of the bike is elevated slightly (front tire just touching the ground, you get a feel for it) as this causes less “binding” between the forks and the steering stem. it will still usually need to be “persuaded” with a rubber or plastic mallet/hammer. 

-Skip

Supporting from the ceiling is a good idea, and definitely the way I'd go, having no patient buddy support hands.  That's a good idea, though, and solves what was one of my first problems.  

I think I understand what you mean regarding the extension - in that you want to avoid rotational force on the adapter/wrench other than in the intended direction; so to prevent the extension from pitching/yawing relative to the adapter and steering stem.  I dunno if I'm saying that right, but I feel I've got a pretty good idea of what you mean.  Same principle as just using a torque wrench with an extension normally, but a bit more fiddly due to how the whole assembly will move on the extension. 

Thanks for this

[skipperT]

5 hours ago, Wintersdark said:

lol yeah; my expectations are usually quite low, but there's things where you can tell that doing something incorrectly may render the whole job useless or even harmful.  I feel that generally when people are showing how to do something without using the proper tools, when the proper tool is both readily available and inexpensive, I need to question their judgement overall.  

And while I'll admit to not knowing a lot about calculating torque, I do know that if you're doing it wrong and not accounting for the wrongness, you're applying the wrong torque.  When the whole job is to torque bearings to a specific value (and in this case, two specific values) if you're doing it to the wrong value, you could well be making things worse.  

And it's really amazing how many super-janky steering head setting videos there are out there.  

Supporting from the ceiling is a good idea, and definitely the way I'd go, having no patient buddy support hands.  That's a good idea, though, and solves what was one of my first problems.  

I think I understand what you mean regarding the extension - in that you want to avoid rotational force on the adapter/wrench other than in the intended direction; so to prevent the extension from pitching/yawing relative to the adapter and steering stem.  I dunno if I'm saying that right, but I feel I've got a pretty good idea of what you mean.  Same principle as just using a torque wrench with an extension normally, but a bit more fiddly due to how the whole assembly will move on the extension. 

Thanks for this

You’re welcome. You described it much better, and by your description I think we’re both on the same page. 
-S

[Paladins31]

After I removed the handguards I noticed a lot less buffeting/wobble at Interstate speeds of 75-85mph.