Getting Frustrated with the wobbles! (Advice plllease)

[Cazwik]

Thanks! It's alot better then what it was but I was thinking of taking it to a yamaha dealer in the next town to do a check over myself! I'll mention that Thanks !

[LeonW]

Hey Cazwik, I just ran across your post. I purchased my Roadstar several years ago and wasn't really impressed with the way it handled but just figured it was what it was. It felt a little loose in the frontend. A couple years later when I had the front tire replaced, the mechanic at the dealer told me the collars on the front axle were missing. He installed them and I could definitely tell the difference in the way the bike handled. Since you apparently had the tires replaced by a garage mechanic you may want to check and make sure the front axle got put back properly with all the parts.
Just a side note, right after I bought the bike I took it to the Yamaha dealer to have the oil changed and the bike checked out. They called and said there was no air filter in the bike. . Go figure! Other than that, the bike was in like-new condition and it's still going strong,

[HotRod]

As Shores said above, you need some more miles on the tires to get them scrubbed in completely. I cannot emphasize enough tire pressures in MC tires. 2 pounds can make a huge difference in the way a bike "feels" either good or bad. I would suggest upping your pressures by 2 pounds in each tire, but do it after you have ridden the bike testing all other changes and after you have put some more miles on them. You may find you wont need to after they are broken in.

Rod

[brianmac]

Hey I'm going to second the suggestion to get ride on tire balance and sealant to put in your tires. Good stuff is golden. If you have two tires that are a little out of balance and they spin opposite it will negate the effect but when you drive around town and the imbalances match up the effect will be synergistic and thus more amplified. My brother Kevin the diesel mechanic says where your tires balanced statically or dynamically? Or computer balance etc.

[Shores]

You need 200 miles at least on Twisties to scrub the tires in. Feeling unstable is different than wobbly. Are the handlebars shaking? Remove the balancing weights and add Ride On balancing gel per instructions.

[Brad_G]

I'm no expert but I'd say you probably haven't gotten them broken in yet. Yeah riding to work at 55-60 down the highway was a bit unnerving. I don't remember the exact mileage but it seems to me I was well over 300 miles before I thought it felt good. I do need to service the steering bearings as I know I fail the flop test. So that could have contributed to my issues as well.

At this point I'd say get out and get some more miles on before you start wrenching things trying to solve this issue. You may find it goes away on it's own.

[Cazwik]

So After action report :

So tonight, I tried something Lug mentioned to me a little while back and I couldn't do because I didn't have the adaptor . I took everything off. Turned the tires on the stand like shores said and didn't see nothing out of the ordinary.
Lugs mentioned that I may need to try to torque inches instead of feet for accuracy. I went to Harbor freight and got a 3/8 IN > 1/2 adaptor for the special tool. Tightened the steer nut and torqued it to 156 IN pounds. Also picked up a digital torque reader and it was at about 13.7 when ti was said and done. Popped on everything along with the new OEM windshield I got today and did a flop test and seemed very good. I said a prayer, talked to it a little bit , and took it for a spin. Handling off the bat was better. Went on the main road and cranked it , looked down and I was at 70. Didn't feel at all as bad as it did last night. Stopped at a gas station and popped on some dessert dawgs because it was chilly. Road a small highway and popped around a bit and I didn't fear for my life. I still feel a little instability but was alot better. The winds did die down quite a bit to 1-3MPH. Tomorrow I will try it out again and take off the WS to see if I notice anything different.

Brad_G

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Brad_G I put exactly 250 miles on these tires so far.

Not sure if I fixed it but I do feel a lot more comfortable riding! Next ill check alignment to make sure all is good there along with the fork spring fluids.

Thanks for everyone's advise! you guys are great!

[Cazwik]

Yikes.

[Cazwik]

Not sure how he balanced , but if I wanted to redo it what would it involve?

[Cazwik]

I would say maybe 100 miles. Do you think I would need more? Unstable would be the perfect description. Cruising around town is not to bad but I would fear my life getting on I20!

[Brad_G]

Cazwik

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Cazwik how many miles have you put on the new tires and what did you put on? Sorry if you mentioned this already but don't see it/remember. When I put new Michelin Commander IIs on my bike it didn't have what I'd call a wobble, but it definitely felt unstable at highway speed. Mine kind of felt like you were riding on loose rock. It took a few hundred miles before they broke in and felt good. So just wondering if you're seeing this handling from the new tires.

[Shores]

Ill jack it up and give a few spins tonight. To my knowledge there was no wreck. The previous owner bought it trying to to get money out of a resell. The owner before that just never rode much ( that's the story anyway) Looking around it there are no scuffs or big visual stand outs that would lead me to believe it was. For regrease is it simply screwing off the stem neck , taking the package out , regrease and replace? I ordered a service manual and the CD that came in didn't work. Still looking for one =/

To do top and bottom bearings you need to remove front wheel, remove top tree, remove forks from lower tree and remove lower tree.

[Cazwik]

Right now it comes above 60mph when i really crank it. . Riding it home I didn't notice anything except a little off steering here and there and I think (which isn't much in this situation) that was because the previous tires were so bad that had an off warped shape from being ridden withour proper PSI. I didn't notice a wobble because I babied it home and took it right in to get tires changed. After that when I started ripping and testing it out is when i noticed the bad wobble at high speeds.

[Cazwik]

Ill jack it up and give a few spins tonight. To my knowledge there was no wreck. The previous owner bought it trying to to get money out of a resell. The owner before that just never rode much ( that's the story anyway) Looking around it there are no scuffs or big visual stand outs that would lead me to believe it was. For regrease is it simply screwing off the stem neck , taking the package out , regrease and replace? I ordered a service manual and the CD that came in didn't work. Still looking for one =/

[roadiemort]

Shock mount welds have been known to fracture on these bikes also.

[Shores]

So I can start with the most likely. Should I try swapping out those steering head bearings?

At 6,000k I doubt they are worn out but could possibly be dry or loose. You could lube them with a heavy duty Marine Grease. Was the bike ever wrecked? If you roll the bike forward and slam on the front brakes do the forks seem to compress smoothly? With the bike on a jack and the wheels spinning fast do you see any wobble?

[Lug Nut]

Measure with a measuring tape... measure the distance from center of pivot swing arm to the rear axle. Should be exactly the same left to right side. If not make adjustments to get it equal. A long threaded rod with a nut/washer/nut on each end helps out (tighten one side snug and the side hand tight and then the washer is thin enough tobget exact measurement in middle of axle and middle of swing arm pivot hole.

put bike on jack and check swing arm pivot bearing...at your year and mileage most likely not worn/loose but something to check (refer to manual).

How are tires balanced? I really like Ride On tire sealant...one bottle in each does a great job and eliminates any balance issues and can help with a tire with a bump on it.

Fork oil and aprings also should be fine IF no one was in there messing around before you got bike. Might want to check fluid level and make sire its equal and at the right level (pop cap off and use clear plastic narrow measuring stick in mm.

[Brad_G]

Cazwik

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Cazwik I'm not sure you answered

davej

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davej question, or I'm not fully understanding. Was there any kind of wobble or uncertainty when you rode the bike home? It would seem with your current situation you would have noticed something if you were that uncomfortable when you picked it up. Or do you really have to running fast before you feel it?

[Cazwik]

So when I picked up the bike , I was a hour from home and it was kind of spontaneous buy. I babied it home and barely hit 60. I didn't have a helmet and was nervous. The tires psi could not be checked because the caps were stuck and they were visually cracked and worn.. didn't chance riding it hard till I got the tires changed.

[Cazwik]

So I can start with the most likely. Should I try swapping out those steering head bearings?