Front end wobble at highway speeds near large vehicles

[Gamarth]

Morning all!

I bought a 2019 Tracer GT back in May of last year and due to some life complications, didn't get to ride it all that much. For the first time yesterday I did my first trip that wasn't just commuting and did about ~250 miles. I've noticed that when i'm at highway speeds, if i'm near a large truck/SUV or an 18 wheeler, that the front end wobbles a decent bit. Not enough to be a tank slapper, but it does make me a decent bit nervous. I understand that the bike is being battered by wind during situations like this, but I don't recall having this issue on my previous bike (07' Suzuki Bandit 1250)

Has anybody else experienced this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

[kilo3]

I noticed this as well, removed the hand guards and all is well.  Someone else had mentioned this before when I was searching.

[Gamarth]

I’ll give it a shot today and test it out. I wonder if some aftermarket guards would have the same issue. 
 

[1moreroad]

Check that the fork heights are the same and not too high in the triple tree. Male sure that the bars are square to the front end and that the forks aren't twisted. Make sure your suspension is dialed in. Soft suspension could make a wobble worse. 

 

[keithu]

Yeah, the aerodynamics of this bike are pretty awful. Wake from trucks will cause some weave/instability but I've never heard of the problem getting serious. I just accelerate past big trucks as quickly as possible. 

[knyte]

11 minutes ago, keithu said:

I just accelerate past big trucks as quickly as possible. 

Pretty sure I read in the manual this is what A mode is for - teleporting past semi trucks

[Gamarth]

Honestly that’s how I had been dealing with it too 😅 

I’ll do some research to see about how to check the front forks for issues, I haven’t ever done much in the way of mechanical work, but I should be able to learn about what to look for. 

[thewrenchbender]

Yup. Mine does it as well. 

Have only put 3k miles on it since getting it in June, but seems like a headwind or a stiff wind from about 45 degrees to the right makes it worse. 

Minimal wind or a tail wind seems to be a lot less noticeable.

Have a tall Madstad windshield and had also read about issues with the hand guards. For experimental purposes pulled the hand guards and went back to the stock windscreen. It did reduce the tendency to weave somewhat, but didn’t eliminate it. 

Need to wear some more tread of the OEM tire before I can swap it out and see if that makes a difference. 

I’m 6’ 2”, 195 lbs dressed (33” inseam) and also experience a similar weave at speed unless I practically climb up on the fuel tank-also tried that without handguards/stock windscreen.

Am afraid this winter may have to end up with a FJ-09 GPR stabilizer.

Coming from an FJR (loved it/chronic health issues/needed to down-size), having to spend another $500 on a “new” bike to make it behave a little better is somewhat annoying...

And yes, I’ve tried various neck bearing “pre-load”s, and according to my tire wear have the stock suspension well sorted.   

Hope this helps;

Mark

 

 

[TheBigG]

The Yamaha touring screen wobbles like hell but the bike feels very stable. Never felt nervous on this bike in such situations.

[Stew]

I just did 150 miles , mostly motorway (70mph speed limit) , in pouring rain and strong winds.

The bike was rock solid following/passing lorries , and that is with a puig touring screen on. I was doing between 70 and 90 (obviously I was never doing over 70mph officer) and the bike was perfect. Maybe the wobbly ones have a squared off tyre tire) or something that might make things a bit skittery.

[nhchris]

4 hours ago, thewrenchbender said:

.... Coming from an FJR (loved it/chronic health issues/needed to down-size), having to spend another $500 on a “new” bike to make it behave a little better is somewhat annoying...

And yes, I’ve tried various neck bearing “pre-load”s, and according to my tire wear have the stock suspension well sorted. 

The FJR is almost 300 lbs heavier than your 900 GT.  And that fact might be in play.

Downside of a light weight bike is it gets knocked around a lot more than a big touring machine.

I came from an ST 1300 and there was a learning curve with my FJ as I adapted to it.  I don't linger in the turbulent air of other vechs.  Either pass em or back off till it's clean again.  And when passing I expect a bit of tracking drift and jitter so it's not concerning any longer.

Edited September 8, 2020 by nhchris

[WKE002]

Body wobble from the wind yes, bike wobble not experienced. I tested where there are heavy truck movement from back, side and incoming trucks, after got the touring puig, also tested the same way... bike does not wobble. Truck moving at 80-120km/h based on my test. 

[keithu]

12 minutes ago, WKE002 said:

Body wobble from the wind yes, bike wobble not experienced. I tested where there are heavy truck movement from back, side and incoming trucks, after got the touring puig, also tested the same way... bike does not wobble. Truck moving at 80-120km/h based on my test. 

This. 

I think most of the "wobble" is actually just wind buffeting the rider's shoulders and causing steering inputs. With a wide bar and lightweight motorcycle, very slight pressure changes on the handlebars will be felt. 

[Stew]

5 minutes ago, keithu said:

This. 

I think most of the "wobble" is actually just wind buffeting the rider's shoulders and causing steering inputs. With a wide bar and lightweight motorcycle, very slight pressure changes on the handlebars will be felt. 

agreed. Keep it nice and loose. I barely have my fingers fully round the bars. The minute you tighten up, every tiny move is exaggerated, and things start to feel really horrible. It is counter-intuitive, but a 'must' learn.

[knyte]

2 minutes ago, Stew said:

agreed. Keep it nice and loose. I barely have my fingers fully round the bars. The minute you tighten up, every tiny move is exaggerated, and things start to feel really horrible. It is counter-intuitive, but a 'must' learn.

Same principle as riding on gravel, pretty much.  Keep it as loose as possible.