Front End wobble 84' GS1150ES

[Anonymous]

I have developed a bad wobble when I let go of my handlebars. Any ideas on how to fix this, or what to look for?

[spots25]

headstem bearing? wheel balance? wheel bearing?

[Anonymous]

Worn front tire

[Brando]

How about poor bike design

I've got a 83 GS1100e that has the same problem and I see others on this site that have this problem. I get a wobble at 90-110mph with my hands on the bars. I've had the front tire (new) balanced, put new 20wt fork oil in, played with the pre-load, checked the head bearings. This is a serious problem and to me it feels like the front end is to light and therefore prone to being instable. A couple times I thought I was going to crash as hitting the brakes and letting off the gas won't kill the wobble once it gets going. If I don't fix it soon then I'm going to sell the damn bike before it kills me.

[tfb]

Brando,

That sounds like a real worry mate. Check your wheel bearings (front and rear) for freeplay. I say this because you don't directly say that you have checked or fixed them. Wheel bearings wear out every few years, and worn bearings are enough to chuck you off. So if you feel any freeplay in them (checking the bike on the centrestand), replace them pronto and take things from there.

Guest, take the advice of Test1 and replace your front tyre. A worn front tyre, esp. on the 1150 (which I believe has the 16" front wheel) will get the wobbles upon deceleration every time.

Mike.

[Anonymous]

My 1985 700es will start shaking at about 45 mph when I let go of the handlebars, not at higher speed and definitely not if I hold onto them. There were a few other posts on this subject. I'm wondering if they all do this to a certain degree (not the high speed wobble, but low speed hands off the grips...) Mine has a nearly new Metzeler ME 33 tire. 16 inch front wheel.

This winter I am going to take it inside and as part of the maintenance check the steering head and wheel bearings, they feel OK, but I wouldn't mind getting rid of this problem if at all possible.

[gsBert]

i have teh same front end aas you on my 82 1100 guest...

i have the same wobble...

increasing your front tire air pressure will help some, but people with that 16" front wheel and/or the 1150 front end know to never let go of the bars.

if it only happens while transferring weight forward, even with 38 lbs of air in the front tire (hot) have your forks rebuilt..., else be smooth and learn to live with it

[Robert Corrie]

My 1150es had a wobble until I changed the tires. The 1150e has never had one. The 1100e doesnt either.

[duaneage]

It is possible that a belt has broken in the tire, not common but a shake at 45 indicates trouble. At that speed the sidewalls are just beginning to tighten up a bit. Might help if someone could ride alongside and see what is bouncing, try to get an idea of which way it is moving. 45 is not too fast to try this.

Is the wheel straight? How about the bead area where it contacts the tire?

As to a shake at 100 mph, maybe it is not a great idea to go tht fast :roll:

[Brando]

Steering Dampner is the cure

Did a ton of reading since I posted. From everything I've read including a Suzuki recall for wobble where Suzuki installed steering dampners on all that years models to cure the problem. Now the question is where can I find a good and affordable steering dampner?

[Road_Clam]

Re: Front End wobble 84' GS1150ES

I have developed a bad wobble when I let go of my handlebars. Any ideas on how to fix this, or what to look for?

Bent front wheel? If you dont have acess to an indicator to check wheel runout, you can use a pencil. Just clamp the pencil to the fork tube pointing at the rim edge, and get the front wheel off the ground, and spin the wheel. Watch the pencil point, if it drags on a certain area, but not another, you have a bent wheel. (This method is crude, but gives you an idea what's going on).

[BadBillyB]

Re: Steering Dampner is the cure

Did a ton of reading since I posted. From everything I've read including a Suzuki recall for wobble where Suzuki installed steering dampners on all that years models to cure the problem. Now the question is where can I find a good and affordable steering dampner?

Heres where I will probably get mine....I get a bad shake on my GS1000 at anything over 85-90 MPH and I have brand new Dunlops on it.....They are listed in the Chassis section......Billy

http://www.starracing.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?

[RacingJake]

Keep the bike on the ground and tighen the head bearing somemore until you feel alittle more resistance with the bars. Then go for an Ops check.

[Brando]

Which dampner?

If you go to this website and click on the video you'll see what my tank slapper looks like. Lucky for me I've had so many that I know how to pull out of it without dumping but it's only a matter of time.

http://www.joe250.com/motorcycles/ride/tankslapper.htm

I'll try tightening the head a bit more but I think the dampner is the answer. I saw that dampner for $70 on Star Racing but I wonder if that's too cheap a dampner. They range in price up into the $1,000's Which one is best...and how much do I want to spend to go fast. I'll pay a couple bills at most I think. Any recommendations or experiences with dampners would be most welcome.

[skip]

I would change tire if they are showing any sign of wear. My bike had the wobble and it turned out to be two broken belts in the front tire. It only had 500 miles on it