Fat Jeff Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 My '19 GT had done the odd low speed wobble at approx 20 km/hr a few times last month. I upped the front tire pressure from 33 to 36 psi a few weeks back and today it happened about half a dozen times on one stretch of road while slowly accelerating...it was so bad the bike almost went out of control, I hit the clutch and let the bike slow down and when it is barely moving the wobble goes away. The road was a bit rough, but all Alberta roads are rough so nothing different there. I was a bit concerned once I hit the hwy to get home but it was fine, only seemed to do it at low speeds...checked the tires again this evening, still at 36 front and rear, no play in the steering or wheel bearings and I didn't have the bike loaded. Nothing has changed on the bike either, so this has me puzzled...it has 3000km and the stock tires...and even though my nickname is Fat Jeff, I'm a fit 165lbs. I haven't touched the suspension since I adjusted it a year ago, it's all stock, tires have no sign of abnormal wear, and chain slack is within spec. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted July 11, 2020 Supporting Member Share Posted July 11, 2020 15 minutes ago, Fat Jeff said: My '19 GT had done the odd low speed wobble at approx 20 km/hr a few times last month. I upped the front tire pressure from 33 to 36 psi a few weeks back and today it happened about half a dozen times on one stretch of road while slowly accelerating...it was so bad the bike almost went out of control, That's only 12mph, I cant imagine anything causing it to wobble so bad that you almost lose control riding that slow... Usually when people report a speed wobble it happens at 10x that speed. So no changes or maintenance performed?, the bike was 100% fine and then it started shaking out of the blue? 1 ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Jeff Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 Yep, it did it a coupe of times last month but only when I hit a rough patch of road so I wasn't too concerned but did up the front tire pressure by 3psi. Nothing has changed...seems to be lots of people complaining about it when searching the great google, but no real cause or cure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgy Knees Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Strange...have a good look at tyre fitting, bulges etc or maybe brake binding on one side.?? Never heard of this before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buggy Nate Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Just making sure you aren’t doing anything silly like taking your hands off the handle bars are you? We used to get so many customers come in and say my bike wobbles when I take my hands off the bars. Id say ‘don’t do that then’. 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTR Ignition Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Try dropping the front pressure back down to 33psi. TTR Ignition Systems - Teaching Old Bikes New Tricks Shift Sensors - Quick Shift Controllers Plug 'n' Play Quick Shifter Kits for FJ-09 US$150 + $15 shipping - In Stock North American Distributor for Shifting ContRoll Email Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member 1moreroad Posted July 11, 2020 Premium Member Share Posted July 11, 2020 Put it up on the center stand with weight on the back end. Make sure the handlebars turn cleanly and smoothly from side to side. Spin the front wheel by hand and look for hops and brake drag. If it's happening at 12 mph, you should be able to spin the wheel up to that speed for at least a few seconds. Spin the back wheel, too, in case there's something back there that's causing a hop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koth442 Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Sounds like a wheel is misaligned or something in the drive train is loose. Could be front OR rear. How's your rear tire pressure? '15 FJ09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shizzle Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Steering stem nut could be a possibility Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted July 11, 2020 Supporting Member Share Posted July 11, 2020 8 hours ago, Fat Jeff said: seems to be lots of people complaining about it when searching the great google, but no real cause or cure. But those search results are for HIGH SPEED wobble, which is more understandable. Other than the severe shaking, does the bike feel and sound normal? If you were to ride down the road and make big swerves side to side is everything smooth? If you accelerate and brake in stoplight to stoplight type riding is there any abnormal noise and does it track in a straight line? ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Jeff Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 Thanks for the replies, and nope, never take my hands off the bars! If you google low speed wobble or tank slapper, there is plenty on the web. I did check both front and rear in case something was misaligned, checked all fasteners and all is good. Front and rear tires are both at 36psi. Other than that wobble, everything was fine, I was a bit nervous coming home when crossing the Railway tracks at hwy speed as it’s a fair bump but the bike had no issues. One thing I recalled this morning was the first mod I added were anti vibration bar risers so I double checked the risers and was able to tighten the anti vibration bolts A full turn...not sure if that will help until I hit the city for a test ride down that same road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Front wheel missing any balance weights? Front tyre squared off? Front wheel bearing shot? Steering head too tight or loose? The only time I ever had anything even vaguely like that was with dried out and seized head bearings on an old GS550 that I bought 2nd hand. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted July 11, 2020 Supporting Member Share Posted July 11, 2020 4 minutes ago, Fat Jeff said: One thing I recalled this morning was the first mod I added were anti vibration bar risers so I double checked the risers and was able to tighten the anti vibration bolts A full turn...not sure if that will help until I hit the city for a test ride down that same road. Hopefully tightening the bolts is the solution. When you say "test ride down that same road", was this only happening on a certain section of road? ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Jeff Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 It was fine all over town yesterday, then on the way home on the last stretch of road it kept doing it over and over, prob half a dozen times. The pavement was a bit rough, but no more so than the other roads. Bike only has 3000km, no play in steering bearing and it moves freely so not too tight. Wheel weight is there plus it was smooth on the hwy. I may hit town tomorrow and see if tightening the riser bolts helped. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manxkiwi Posted July 12, 2020 Share Posted July 12, 2020 Sounds like a tough one to diagnose. I would check the wheel alignment next. With string or straight edges, don't trust the swingarm marks and don't think it's necessarily bang on from the factory. Having checked all you have already, that's all I can think of. It will be interesting to see if the problem goes away as soon as you put new tyres on?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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