Premium Member superfist Posted July 30, 2019 Premium Member Share Posted July 30, 2019 On 4/30/2019 at 9:33 PM, fjrpittsburgh said: When I've see wobble on the front end of a bike on decel with hands off the bars, a new front tire always solved the issue. If you don't keep enough tire pressure in that front tire, it will wear funny and scallop. I always keep 40 to 42 psi in the front tire and I never have that issue any longer. I've learned this trick from multiple experienced bike guys over the years. Some people think that high of pressure will reduce the contact patch size on road. You can follow me and see the results for yourself. Couldn't be further from the truth. Keep that tire pressure up a few pounds. You'll soon see the excellent results on better tire wear and longer tire life. I had the issue with mine as well. When I had about 500-1k miles I noticed a slight wobble. Chased it round and round and the dealer's aadvice was "We can't find anything, stop taking your hands off the bars!". By the time I replaced the tire there wasn't any evidence of scalloping or odd wear on the stock front tire. I've had a front Metzler Roadtec 01 and now a Michelin Road 5 front and both have been absolutely steady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted July 30, 2019 Supporting Member Share Posted July 30, 2019 5 hours ago, thejrod said: I think it's a fundamental chassis imbalance - it's not super stable under decel. I completely disagree, I believe it is bike setup. After reading several members experience, I had to go try for myself today. I tried at least a dozen times on a level road as well as a downward slope and speeds from 40 to 55mph, maintaining a set speed and then suddenly drop both hands off the bars and coast down to 20-25mph (until I got so slow that I started weaving side to side) and couldn't get it to do anything except decelerate in a straight line. No luggage on the bike except a tank bag, no hand guards, aftermarket suspension setup track-side by a suspension tuner, forks raised 5mm in the clamps, half worn tires with 38psi F/R. 1 1 ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skipperT Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 (edited) 6 hours ago, betoney said: I completely disagree, I believe it is bike setup. After reading several members experience, I had to go try for myself today. I tried at least a dozen times on a level road as well as a downward slope and speeds from 40 to 55mph, maintaining a set speed and then suddenly drop both hands off the bars and coast down to 20-25mph (until I got so slow that I started weaving side to side) and couldn't get it to do anything except decelerate in a straight line. No luggage on the bike except a tank bag, no hand guards, aftermarket suspension setup track-side by a suspension tuner, forks raised 5mm in the clamps, half worn tires with 38psi F/R. Bike setup? I definitely agree that is part of the issue. There can be many contributors to wobble which have been explored a ton on these pages. Setup is part of it for sure. Another is when guys have 3 bags on the back of their FJ which Yamaha says specifically is NOT recommended. I also wonder about the aerodynamic and handling effects of some of these bigger ADV style box luggage cases which seem heavier than the Yamaha city hard cases. -Skip Edited July 31, 2019 by skipperT 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichNDC Posted July 31, 2019 Author Share Posted July 31, 2019 Well, thanks for all the replies. I am curious to see if others who are experiencing this have it disappear when they change tires. I only have 3600 on mine, no tire change in my near future. Mine was totally absent when the top box was off, but it has now shown up slightly with no box or side cases. I am just gonna live with it. I know for sure the head bearings are set right, have played with tire pressure, pre load, all of that. It just is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted July 31, 2019 Supporting Member Share Posted July 31, 2019 37 minutes ago, RichNDC said: I am just gonna live with it. I know for sure the head bearings are set right, have played with tire pressure, pre load, all of that. It just is. What about fork height? The height of the forks in the triple clamps can change the steering sensitivity, a lot of folks raise theirs 5-10mm. ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chitown Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 (edited) I'd be leery of any remote poster declaring the cause without riding the bike. Mainly because I've experienced it on several different bikes and it's been a result of different causes. On one it was a very worn tire. On another, overloading the rear of the bike. Another was aerodynamics of a top case (regardless of loading). If a light touch on a bar is enough damp(en?)ing to forestall it (and it always has been) not going to spend any time looking for something to fix. Edited July 31, 2019 by chitown typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clicknow Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 After reading this thread I thought I would see if my 2018 GT had this wobble and yes it does at 42mph with top box,have not tested without top box yet. regards graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member roadrash83 Posted August 1, 2019 Supporting Member Share Posted August 1, 2019 I have the wobble and did not have it when the bike was new. Nothing has changed but the Dunlop tires have over 5000mi on them, can't wait for them to wear out and on go the PR5s. He who dies with the most toys wins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clicknow Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 I must say iam not happy about this,are there some GT owners that do NOT have this wobble? regards graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjrpittsburgh Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 Yeah, I've seen a few bikes wobble with no hands on decel. Sometimes it's the bags or windshield, but's it's almost always a worn front tire. Keeping 42 psi in the front tire does help considerably. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBB Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 45 minutes ago, fjrpittsburgh said: Yeah, I've seen a few bikes wobble with no hands on decel. Sometimes it's the bags or windshield, but's it's almost always a worn front tire. Keeping 42 psi in the front tire does help considerably. 42 psi up front is waaayyyyy too high, that’s a rear pressure. Original manual says 36, but I run 33. Red 2015 Tracer, UK spec (well, it was until I started messing with it...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted August 1, 2019 Supporting Member Share Posted August 1, 2019 I know this is crazy talk here - but what happens when you decelerate normally, ya' know, with your hands on the bars? ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chitown Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 35 minutes ago, BBB said: 42 psi up front is waaayyyyy too high, that’s a rear pressure. Original manual says 36, but I run 33. It's not way too high if the tire is rated for it and it works for rider preferences and conditions. Nor is your pressure too low. There are trade offs certainly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clicknow Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 46 minutes ago, betoney said: I know this is crazy talk here - but what happens when you decelerate normally, ya' know, with your hands on the bars? It's all normal ,you can not feel any wobble what so ever regards graham 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member texscottyd Posted August 1, 2019 Supporting Member Share Posted August 1, 2019 1 hour ago, BBB said: 42 psi up front is waaayyyyy too high... Nice @BBB! Have any thoughts about oil or break-in procedures? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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