If I let go of the bars when there is engine braking or a rough road, the bars wobble back and fourth sometimes as much as couple of inches. As soon as I touch the bars again, it goes away. My rear wheel alignment is fine(not using the swingarms marks) and my wheel balance and steering head bearings (I think) are O.K. as well. There's 12,000 miles showing. Thanks.

Sounds like loose sterring bearings to me. I have bought a few new bikes (Kawasaki's) and they came out of the box loose.

If the stem bearings are loose every time you hit a bump a slight notch is formed. After enough of this you have a notch that can be felt.

Put bike on centerstand, raise front wheel off ground and slowly turn bars from lock to lock, paying close attention to straight ahead. If you feel a spot where the steering falls into you have notched bearings. They need replaced with tapered roller bearings.

My bike has this notch and handlebar shake. I hope to install tapered bearings over this winter.

My 03 has done that since day one at about 45mph. I'm gonna do the tappered bearings one of these days.

headset or
tires or
rear end weight...

You might also wanna check the basics... Tire pressure, etc. Did this just start, or has it been there for a while?

tapered headset bearings installed today.

AMAZING difference. No pronounced wobble on the decel. No pronounced wobble on concrete rain grooved highway. Even with the same front tire, as I hear it's even better with a new front :grin:

on the Con side, the front end is kinda numb, but i guess that's the trade off... i like it :cool:

You may have them adjusted a little too tight, if the front feels funny.

I replaced mine last winter with 14k on them, and the stockers were definitely loose, barely finger tight.

With the same tire I had before, I have absolutely no decel wobble at all, even up to the time of tire replacement with 11k on it, and some minor cupping. Even 2-up loaded with luggage, no issues with wobble.

I definitely agree the problem is induced by the tire, but good, properly adjusted bearings, will eliminate the problem.

had a dealer do the install, the service guy is an XX rider (doesn't own a computer lol) and both him and the sup did the job.. both really anal about stuff, i'm betting that they went with only oem recommend torque...

so i'm leaning on it being my comparison of what is was before (probably loose), and the fact that i'm comparing the tapered to the stockers

I want to replace my steering bearings with the tapered ones for a winter project on teh bike...

How long does it take?

Whats the hardest part?

The front end steering wobble is often caused by one of 2 things,
1. Tires, as tires wear they cup, or if they are mismatched from the bigging, your bike can get an osolating or side to side dropping of the front tire as it tries to fall into the imperfection or difference. this is the most common cause.
2. Heavy loads on the rear of your bike will some time cause this because you are offsetting the pressure neccesary to maintain proper drag on the front wheels geometery, kind of like a bent shopping cart with a floppy wheel. On some bikes this efect is also known as a high speed wobble, but that is a whole other story.
Your steering stem would be next to the last place I would look, as they will often only cause a thumping or popping noise when loose or worn out, but the bike can be ridden just fine because as the wieght of bike pushes down on the front forks, it tends to seat itself.
I'm not saying that it's not the stem bearing, but rather I would try a different set of matched tires first, especially considering your bike only has 12,000 miles on it. Honda builds better bikes than that.
If your bike was old I would look at bearing first, and even then I would go for the swingarm bearings nto steering. Tires! go for the tires, and as a side note I have found worn Dunlops are prone to this issue.

My bike was 11 months new (6000 miles) when I found out my stem bearings were already notched...

And I rarely pop wheelies or abuse the front end....

Before a guy goes and starts spending hundreds of dollars on new tires, I would HIGHLY recommend what Pete said... putting the bike on the centerstand, having someone sit on the back, and turning the bars from side to side to see if you feel a notch...

Doesn't cost you a penny...



"Well, ma'am, it doesn't seem so in this case now does it"
--Maverick: Top Gun

Wow!, 6000 miles ya say, that is truely odd. I would have to speculate that was a manufacturing defect.
My question would have to be, did this problem really cause you to have a stupid steering wobble and did it fix the problem, or rather a catch in your turns?
Let me just say again..... WOW!

Still haven't nailed down the exact reason.... I had the stock BT57's...

No wobble at any speed...

I got a nail in the rear so I decided to replace both to keep a matched set.

Left the dealer... Wobble from 50-40 if I let go of the bars....

Its not a super severe wobble... It doesn't progress to a tank slapper or anything...

Went back to the dealer, they put it back up... Double checked all the balances etc etc... Finally... Sure enough nice notch in the bearings.

Which still doesn't explain why it did not wobble on the way to the dealer, but wobbled with the new tire.

I suspect that the stock bt57 which has the nice groove right down the middle 'tracks' better and possibly kept a true enough line that the tire didn't wobble...

With the avons, which have a much different tread pattern... There is no center groove, but groves that criss cross over the middle of the tire... I think the different tread pattern is not quite as stable as the groove line down the middle.. That in combination with the notch in the bearings causes the wobble at that speed range.

I have a new avon front that I'm going to swap out and see if it fixes teh wobble, but I suspect that its the combination of the tire and bad bearing.

With a good bearing, I suspect the current tire would not wobble.

FWIW I think notched bearings on a heavy bike like the XX is fairly common... (moreso then smaller bikes)

Heavier bike with Heavier riders typically...

Is this the same guy that weighs in at around 295 and somehow pulls the F---'n bike on to the centerstand while still on the bike? :shock: If this is, well no F---'n wonder you got a notch in your bearings! :razz: :razz: :shock: :grin:
OK on a more serious note.... I'm going to assume that you understand why tires cup, and therefor would have to agree with you on the fact, that a tire that has a center groove or a solid strip is going to be far less likely to wobble. Any tire that has a cross center patern, or any tire that has a cross patern that meets in the center of the tire will eventually have some amount of wobble to it as it wears. However those tires that do have a cross patern have their inherient benifits, that relate directly to tire wear, temp., and improved traction.
If this stupid wobble that started this thread is minor I would suggest that you whoever you are, evaluate your riding style and make an educated decission from there.
If you want greater traction, be prepared for some wobble.
If you are looking for straight line stability, look for the groove.

As a post note..... have ya ever wonderd why truly hard core sport bikes have steering dampeners...... some of it has to do with rake angles and some....... with tires..... think about it.

I had the dealer do it so I don't have personal experience. From my conversation with the service guy I got the take that the toughest part is getting the old bearings, upper and lower, removed... and that putting things back together are not that hard.

they charged me 130 buckeroos... so a standard 2 hours at 65 per hour i supposed was expected.... imho, lotta money, but not something i wanted to dig into at my lack of mechanical expertise....

an upgrade i would recommend for stability...

I plan to replace mine this winter (sooner than I think, 32F this morning :shock: )

After I do I will do a write-up on it.

COO!

NIK, you're abusing your front end just by how big you are!!!!

Same goes for me.

No I don't... I only shove my dick in the exhaust... NEVER in the ram-air ducts!!!!!

Mine were slightly notched when I bought it used. 3800 miles.

I added grease to them and rotated the bearings (not the races) and adjusted them several times, no help.

Now they are more notched. I don't do wheelies, ( I leave that for the XR) but I do loft the front end off of slight pavement rises.

i've done about 450 commuter miles on highways and streets with my new tapered bearings and can honestly say, they make a huge difference in the wobble issue.

they definitely feel different than the stockers!

i'm going to hold my full opinion until i have new tires though, as i've heard it's possible that my front has a pattern burnt into it from my old bearings.

got 'em from http://www.cbrbearing.com/

I have to admit, i DID replace the bearings in my front wheel also, so i guess i am NOT a controlled experiment, but only a happy customer!

I have a 98 and I too had that stupid wobble. Worse when I put on the Givi top box, even if empty.

Tightened the steering bearings a little, and it got better, but not completely gone.

Then my local dealer offered me a complete 00 front wheel from a wrecked bird to try on, tire, bearings, brake discs, axle and all, and the wobble is gone. Can let go of bars at ANY speed now, it's like a brand new bike, possibly even better!

By the way, this is my first post, have been lurking for a while, really nice forum, keep it going!

Geir

Nik,
I really appreciate that you're going to try to replace the bearings yourself... :shock: it gives the all rest of us serious confidence that.....













....if Nik can do it, then, no doubt we sure as hell do it in our sleep!!! :lol: :cool:

I have been waiting for someone to address the wobble problem. I have 2000 miles on my 03 and i has had the wobble since about 1000 miles.

who with the wobble also has givis? i've noticed it since i put them on, seems to do with the extra weight behind the rear axle. i'm gonna put a spacer on the top of my shock when i have my tire off for replacement, then we'll find out.

this is of course after i heal up from getting taken out by a car on my dirtbike. :cry:

Wobbles around 45 MPH sometimes just happen. That's all. They are there, it's a matter of physics, no big deal.

They can be made worse by:

Rear weight (bags, passenger)
Loose/bad steering head bearings
Low air pressure
High air pressure
Worn/cupped tire
Misaligned rear axle
Bent forks
Bad fork seals
Low/high fork oil level
Position of the moon

I think the manufacturers' selections of rake and trail dimensions also come into play. It's likely that a bike with no wobble tendencies could be designed, but the downside would be that the steering would feel heavy, ponderous, and slow. What they give us instead is a compromise between stability and manuverability.

Just replaced my stock BT57 with Pilot Sports. No wobble before with 7,700 miles. New tires wobble @ 40-50 MPH.
I thought maybe they did a poor job balancing them, but after reading these posts, I guess they just wobble. Bugs me a little when coming out of turns with light bar pressure going into second gear. Guess I'll just live with it. Maybe some rainy weekend I'll lift the front end and check the bearings and take the rims down and have them check the balance again.
Rainy weekend, here in Seattle wonder when that will happen?

Dano

Oh ya, no Givi's a few low smooth wheelies and I weigh 190. I don't think it's the bearings.

This is EXACTLY what happened to me.

No wobble on the way to get my tires changed. Put the avons on... Wobble on the way home.