MT09 (FJ) Tracer Steering Wobbling

[nfuminhas]

I also have the same problem of wobble in my bike.
have someone here from forum has made a complaint to the Yamaha importer of your country ?
because if is structural problem, I think that should be the yamaha solve the problem.
and not have to spending more than € 500 in a steering damper....

[xlxr]

I have 2,000 miles on my 2015 FJ 09. No wobble problems, but I ride solo, no bags, with upgraded suspension and almost never ride over 90 mph. I read through this thread a few months ago, but wanted to get more miles on my bike before commenting. I think most of the wobble problems are related to improper set up, excessive weight too far back, and excessive speed.
 
The faster you go, the more the drive from the rear tire tends to lift the front, the forks fully extend and the front tire gets too light and starts to wobble. The best way to counter act this is with forward chassis pitch, lower the front, raise the rear. However, I have no idea how much is too much which can also cause wobbles.
 
This is a light bike, with higher CG than sport bikes, and shorter wheel base compared to full touring bikes, and aerodynamics simply not meant for triple digit (mph) speeds. These are the reasons Yamaha limited top speed.
 
Any motorcycle can develop a wobble problem if improperly set up or operated outside recommended parameters. Lots of small things can contribute to a wobble, you have to check each one until you find and fix the problem.

[bruceintucson]

Raise the forks in the triple clamps 4-6mm, set the rider sag using preload adjusters to 35-38mm, start with the rebound 7-8 clicks out from full hard. You can go higher with no issues up to 10-12mm (try 2mm at a time). Set the rebound to where it tracks the road, not so much that it's bounces off the top of every road irregularity; that will cause a wobble/headshake for sure. The springs are too soft, especially the rear (the spring has sooo much preload on it that even in the softest setting the rear of the bike has no free sag. So under hard acceleration you have too much weight transfer to the rear, (especially if you have some weight on you), the front end gets light (it's got too little weight on it from the Factory with the forks in the stock setting), the front wheel with virtually no weight on it is skimming the pavement, worsened with too much rebound damping, your arms are acting like sails/wings....ya it's going to headshake! :-) 

[duhs10]

...This is a light bike, with higher CG than sport bikes, and shorter wheel base compared to full touring bikes, and aerodynamics simply not meant for triple digit (mph) speeds. These are the reasons Yamaha limited top speed....

Although I don't necessarily disagree with you, its my understanding that Yamaha did not put limiters on the European models so Yamaha must have determined these bikes can run into the triple digits without major issues.
 
 
I personally have not had any issues with a front end "wobble" (even took it up to 115mph indicated just today) but I can definitely feel the front end get light under acceleration and at higher speeds.  I have thought the ride was a little harsh so I decided to fiddle with the suspension today.  The sag on my front suspension seemed appropriate approx 39mm so I didn't mess with the pre-load on the forks.  I did soften the dampening 2 clicks from stock.  (I found that the dampening screw on mine has a total of 13 clicks of adjustment and stock was 6 clicks CW from all the way soft, So i am currently at 4 clicks from all the way soft on dampening).  I didn't notice a change in the front end at speed (no wobble, just light) but did notice a slight improvement in how well the front end reacts to bumps now.
 
I then put the rear pre-load to position 5 thinking that more pre-load in the back would help stabilize the front at speed (stock was set to position 4).  However I felt that at position 5, the front end felt even more light and loose (still no wobble at 105mph indicated).  So when I got back to the house I went the other way and put the rear pre-load to position 3 and took it out again.  Surprisingly, it felt more stable with less pre-load on the rear.  I kept it at position 3 and then softened the dampening approx 1 turn from stock to get rid of some of the harshness.
 
First time messing with suspension on a motorcycle so I made 1 adjustment at a time and took it for a ride, came back made another adjustment, etc.
 
FYI... 175lbs rider, 6'0", tank bag and tail bag (on rear seat) probably 10lbs combined
 
 
 

[captainscarlet]

These are the reasons Yamaha limited top speed.

They haven't, except in the "land of the free". 
HTH
 
CS

[xlxr]

I did not know European bikes were not speed limited. I am in USA, and the internet is full of law suits related to wobbles from several different manufacturers. I assume the speed limitation in USA is to limit financial liability.
 
Regardless, there are several reports of FJ 09 wobbles on this forum, but they all seem to get resolved by the rider and by a variety of means.
 
Preload / rider sag and rebound adjustmemts can have a direct effect on chassis pitch and stability of a motorcycle. The problem is that high speed wobbles can also be caused by any combination of several different things, and any two bikes may or may not have the exact same causes of wobbles.
 
Preload / rider sag front and rear, and level the forks are set in the triple clamp are primary method to set chassis pitch in a static mode, sitting on the bike in the garage. Rebound (or compression) damping have no effect when sitting on the bike in the garage.
 
Hydraulic damping does become a factor when the suspension starts moving up and down while riding at speed. Too much rebound damping can cause "packing down", keeping the suspension compressed too much because the forks or shocks will not extend after a bump. Too much fork rebound damping can hold the forks down, compressed, which causes too much forward chassis pitch and instability. Too much shock rebound damping can hold down the shock, compressed, causing the front end to get too light and contribute to wobble.
 
Generally, if you stay within the manual's recommendations for these settings, and the bike does not have other mechanical problems such as too loose steering head bearings, or any of a long list of other problems, you should be OK. But not always. And the faster you expect to go, the greater the effect of small changes, problems, or mis-adjustmets can be.
 

[wessie]

Bzzt. The speed of the bike is limited in the UK and other European countries. There is a finite speed limit due to gearing and engine revs but few riders choose to explore those upper limits as the aerodynamics and riding position expose you to an uncomfortable riding experience. After exploring the upper reaches of the bike's maximum speed I choose not to go over an indicated 120mph (110 ish in reality). This speed is rarely seen and maybe only when overtaking or for a few brief seconds on a long straight as road conditions and traffic density mean such speeds are rarely safe. Worrying head shakes are not something I experience. Yes, like any bike there can be reactions to bumps etc but I don't blame the bike for those.
 
Where safe and permitted you can cruise all day long in relative comfort at 100mph indicated, fully laden with luggage for a 2 week trip. Not so good for the wallet due to fuel consumption but gets you to the more interesting roads in good time.

[steveb]

Bzzt. The speed of the bike is limited in the UK and other European countries. There is a finite speed limit due to gearing and engine revs

I think you'll agree that we're not talking about the same kind of "limited" here. :^) After my ECU flash my bike immediately increased its top speed limitation to match the European standard "limited" top speed. Do I frequently run it at 120+mph? Nope, but it's been there without any wobble issues. Like you I'll usually run at triple digits only when conditions are just right. Normal highway cruising in my area is usually in the 80mph area. Again, no wobble issues with or without FJR saddlebags and/or Givi topbox, nor with either the stock windshield or my current 22" Madstad. I have stock suspension (usually 5th position in rear, one line showing in front). I weigh about 210 lbs plus gear.

[captainscarlet]

Bzzt. The speed of the bike is limited in the UK and other European countries. There is a finite speed limit due to gearing and engine revs.... 

Err ok on that basis every vehicle ever built is limited.  However I think we both know we're talking about artificially limiting the speed of the bike to a speed lower than the finite speed limit determined by the bikes mechanical construction. 
Just so we're all on the same page. 
 
CS

[xlxr]

The loose nut holding the handle bars is the best speed limiter, unless it is not working. I have seen 100 mph, for brief moment while on a straight, flat highway, with properly set up aftermarket suspension. That's my limit.

[CDog]

I have a little over 15K Miles on my FJ and Bounce of the speed limiter in the twisties from time to time. 
I just got back from a 1K miles trip to Colorado and the roads there were way fun and in way bad shape. I mean 60 MPH in a lean and smack a pothole pretty hard.
 
I came from an FJR1300 with custom Penske Shocks and Custom Built forks.. The reason I say all of this is.. I have always felt this bike to be planted.. Now I have never been on a full on sport bike and thus have no reference, I have had my former FJR on a track.  FUN!!!
 
Adjustments I made almost out of the box.
Set front fork preload to 75% of max. It was about 50% from dealer
Preload on the rear spring up two for more preload. I did this after having the bike for a pretty short period of time.
I think this raised the ass end a tad giving the same result as lowering the front forks.
I run Pilot Road 4 on both ends of the bike.
I almost always have a GIVI top box on
 
I do remember not liking the stock tires much, the felt a little squirrely to me personally.
 
Thing is a bike can ALWAYS be improved. But this bike is the best value for the money that I have seen for my riding style. ***Makes zooming noises and runs down the hall

[Guest dmizer]

They haven't, except in the "land of the free". 
HTH
 
CS

And in the "Land of the rising sun". Bikes are speed limited in Japan as well.

[bror]

I have problem with weaving at 180 km/h
I did set the SAG on my bike yesterday....and tested a bit over 200 km/h...no or slightly (very windy wether) weave
Today i would fine set SAG and try to set rebound.

[bruceintucson]

Here's my take. The rear shock is junk, spring is too soft unless you weigh 120 lbs & there is too much compression damping. It will not follow the road no matter what you set it at, sends the road shock back into the chassis and upsets it (and the heavier you are the worse it is as it gets the light front end even lighter). Spend the money, get a quality shock sprung for your weight #1 priority.The rebound on the front forks is waaay more than you need; Yamaha kind of went overboard when everyone (rightly so) bitched about the soft springs and lack of damping on the FZ-09. While waiting on the tool from Traxxion to be able to take the springs out and install the .85 Sonic/Traxxion springs (same spring) I decided to replace 250 cc of the 5wt oil in the right leg with 2.5 wt. The fork compression circuit is pretty rudimentary and there is plenty of adjustment for rebound so figured it would take some of the hit out of the compression side of the fork. It worked wonders, and I only went from 9 turns out on rebound to 7 turns out with the lighter oil so still plenty left in adjustment. The front wheel now tracks the road better and doesn't just bounce off bumps. Set your rider sag to 35-40mm.Raise the forks 3-5mm will put more weight on the front end and it's not enough to make the FJ oversteer. After I got my flash back from David at VcycleNut on Saturday we went for a quick rode Sunday early AM before the 115 degree day set in. Flash is wonderful, Penske from Traxxion makes the stock shock laughable even if it needs some fine tweaking, and I got it to indicated 128 and it was completely stable! It starts to hit a wall above about 125 but still pulls, just not as fast.Spend some money & time. You've got a truly great motorcycle that needs $1k-1.4K worth of parts/work to make it amazing.....or quit bitching! :-) 

[chikung]

OK here's my opinion. I have a UK bike because that's where i live. Mine has never wobbled since iv had it and I ride at silly speeds often. The only thing I can think of is I have pointed my handguards into a downward position. This is because I like my levers pointing downwards. I have them as far down as they can go it they only just clear the fairing.
 
Apart from that man up!!