How I fixed my FJ's Wobble - Headshake

[Guest captrob73]

Here's how I cured the wobble that plagued my 2015 FJ09 since I purchase it new back in July. I know there's a couple treads about this issue already, but I couldn't find any data that helped me.      From the start the bike had a bad wobble at highway speeds and headshake at gear changes while under hard acceleration.  The wobble was bad enough at 80mph+ that was I avoiding  highway travel. After much trial and error, I finally dialed it in. At the settings below I was able to bring the bike up to the 115mph limit with confidence and pass by semi's on the highway with no issues. (not at 115mph)  I hope this helps somebody.
 
 
Here's the data
Bike - 2015 Yamaha FJ09
Mods - Short led turn signals front and rear.           Rear fender eliminator.           M4 slip-on           Center stand removed
Rider - 200lbs in workout cloths           6' tall           Rides w/ full face helmet, boots, gloves, armored textile jacket.  
 
Bike setting that worked for me.
Forks -  one line showing for preload, small adjustment screw all the way in.
Rear shock - preload set to first notch "softest" , small adjustment screw half way in.
stock tires at 36psi cold
stock windscreen in lowest position
Seat in high position
Hand guards in place
No bags or boxes
 
 
 
 

[awork13]

I set mine to the following to correct the head shake:
 
2 lines showing on the front preload
front rebound 5 clicks out
 
5th setting for the rear preload
3/4 turn out for rear rebound.
Of course it rides like a dump truck now.
 
Pretty sure the dampening in the front end is just not adequate enough for the bike.
 
 

[Guest captrob73]

I set mine to the following to correct the head shake: 
2 lines showing on the front preload
front rebound 5 clicks out
 
5th setting for the rear preload
3/4 turn out for rear rebound.
Of course it rides like a dump truck now.
 
Pretty sure the dampening in the front end is just not adequate enough for the bike.
 

I agree about the front end. I may purchase a spring kit for the bike, but I hoping someone figures out a fork or front end swap from a R1/R6 or ? Years ago I owned a Suzuki SV1000 and one of the popular owner upgrades was to swap in a GSXR front end.
 

[checkereddemon]

First of all, you *must* ensure that your bike's front end is properly setup to factory specs for steering head bearing torque values, proper inflation and balancing of the front tire, etc. Also, ensuring that your rear wheel is properly aligned, tire balanced, etc., is very important; it can be a contributing factor.
 
Most front end wobbles can be cured by ensuring there is proper preload and rebound damping on the front end and, sometimes, increased preload on the back. The first thing to do would be to increase the rear preload by 1 or 2 settings. Then take the bike out and see if it helped. The next thing to try is to increase the front's rebound damping by increasing it a click or two. Once again, take the bike out and test the effects.
 
You may have to jigger about like this multiple times until you get it properly dialed in.
 

[Guest captrob73]

First of all, you *must* ensure that your bike's front end is properly setup to factory specs for steering head bearing torque values, proper inflation and balancing of the front tire, etc. Also, ensuring that your rear wheel is properly aligned, tire balanced, etc., is very important; it can be a contributing factor. 
Most front end wobbles can be cured by ensuring there is proper preload and rebound damping on the front end and, sometimes, increased preload on the back. The first thing to do would be to increase the rear preload by 1 or 2 settings. Then take the bike out and see if it helped. The next thing to try is to increase the front's rebound damping by increasing it a click or two. Once again, take the bike out and test the effects.
 
You may have to jigger about like this multiple times until you get it properly dialed in.

Thanks Capt. Obvious
http://i1374.photobucket.com/albums/ag401/CaptRobb73/Capt__Obvious_zpsx1ft5ioe.jpg
 
 
 

[checkereddemon]

Sorry to have wasted your precious time, carry on....
 

[wessie]

Ooh, handbags.
 
More Walmart style than Louis Vuitton, though

[dom77]

Here's how I cured the wobble that plagued my 2015 FJ09 since I purchase it new back in July. I know there's a couple treads about this issue already, but I couldn't find any data that helped me.      From the start the bike had a bad wobble at highway speeds and headshake at gear changes while under hard acceleration.  The wobble was bad enough at 80mph+ that was I avoiding  highway travel. After much trial and error, I finally dialed it in. At the settings below I was able to bring the bike up to the 115mph limit with confidence and pass by semi's on the highway with no issues. (not at 115mph)  I hope this helps somebody.  
 
Here's the data
Bike - 2015 Yamaha FJ09
Mods - Short led turn signals front and rear.           Rear fender eliminator.           M4 slip-on           Center stand removed
Rider - 200lbs in workout cloths           6' tall           Rides w/ full face helmet, boots, gloves, armored textile jacket.  
 
Bike setting that worked for me.
Forks -  one line showing for preload, small adjustment screw all the way in.
Rear shock - preload set to first notch "softest" , small adjustment screw half way in.
stock tires at 36psi cold
stock windscreen in lowest position
Seat in high position
Hand guards in place
No bags or boxes

Thanks for the info I'm gona try those out, I'm a bit heavier than you 220lbs but at least it'll give me a starting point... I'm getting so much wobble on mine, completely unridable
 
 
 

[Guest captrob73]

 

Thanks for the info I'm gona try those out, I'm a bit heavier than you 220lbs but at least it'll give me a starting point... I'm getting so much wobble on mine, completely unridable  
Another thing I did recently was remove the stock windscreen. This also helped the wobble alot. check out my video in this tread. The video is a little long but I do some highway and secondary road testing.http://fj-09.org/thread/3557/video-test-ride-windscreen-removed?page=1&scrollTo=40418

 

[dom77]

Thanks for the info I'm gona try those out, I'm a bit heavier than you 220lbs but at least it'll give me a starting point... I'm getting so much wobble on mine, completely unridable  
Another thing I did recently was remove the stock windscreen. This also helped the wobble alot. check out my video in this tread. The video is a little long but I do some highway and secondary road testing.http://fj-09.org/thread/3557/video-test-ride-windscreen-removed?page=1&scrollTo=40418

 
 
 
i just setup your settings on the bike, im going for a ride tomorow and see how it goes, im a bit pissed at the bike with the twitchy throttle and that wobble... its my first new bike and im a bit dissapointed so far.
 
i guess if you took off the screen its that your still getting that wobble?

[bruceintucson]

New to FJ list (hello) but been riding since 1968. Wife is picking up a '15 in red tomorrow and the first thong I'll do is raise the forks in the triple clamps 5-6mm. Puts more weight on the front wheel, stops it from trying to lift off above 100 mph. With over 500K on m/c's over the years all bikes handling issues have been cured with:Raising the forks and/or raising the rear end; works for almost all bikes as they come from the Factory to understeerTapered steering head bearings.Better suspension components-duh! Yamaha is infamous the past 15 years or so for way too soft suspension springs front & rear.I'll let everyone know how it goes.

[jetfixer]

Hi Bruce, welcome from a former fz1 owner, aka quicksilverfz1. I look forward to your input and thoughts and hope your wife enjoys her fj as much as I do.

[Guest captrob73]

 
i just setup your settings on the bike, im going for a ride tomorow and see how it goes, im a bit pissed at the bike with the twitchy throttle and that wobble... its my first new bike and im a bit dissapointed so far.
 
i guess if you took off the screen its that your still getting that wobble?

   Actually I removed the windscreen because of the deafening wind noise. It's like a different bike without the stock screen, trust me.  

[Guest captrob73]

New to FJ list (hello) but been riding since 1968. Wife is picking up a '15 in red tomorrow and the first thong I'll do is raise the forks in the triple clamps 5-6mm. Puts more weight on the front wheel, stops it from trying to lift off above 100 mph. With over 500K on m/c's over the years all bikes handling issues have been cured with:Raising the forks and/or raising the rear end; works for almost all bikes as they come from the Factory to understeerTapered steering head bearings.Better suspension components-duh! Yamaha is infamous the past 15 years or so for way too soft suspension springs front & rear.I'll let everyone know how it goes.

That's for the input, I'm gonna try it.  

[crempel]

I set mine to the following to correct the head shake: 
2 lines showing on the front preload
front rebound 5 clicks out
 
5th setting for the rear preload
3/4 turn out for rear rebound.
Of course it rides like a dump truck now.
 
Pretty sure the dampening in the front end is just not adequate enough for the bike.
 

 
That's way too much rebound damping IMHO. The compression on these bikes is fixed of course, and it's way too stiff especially on sharp bumps, but the rebound circuit is actually pretty effective. The first thing I did to get rid of the harshness is back off (speed up) the rebound. I don't recall exactly right now, but I think 10 or 11 clicks on the front from full in helped a lot and about 2/3 of the way out also helped in the rear. You generally want rebound as fast as possible without inducing a second downward stroke which will feel like a pogo stick. Part of the harshness comes from the rebound being too slow is that when the wheel hits a dip or hole it can't follow the road, therefore it leaves the surface and slams into the road at the bottom of the dip, making the harshness feel even worse. Often mistaken for too much compression. You could experiment by finding a good bumpy piece of road and ride it with rebound adjusters in(slow) and then back them way off (faster) and see how it feels. The adjusters are so easy to do it only takes a minute at the side of the road. If you don't think it helped, set them back.