Head shake/twitchy front end

I have not experienced this personally even on a stock dunlap at over 6k miles with more cups than Victoria's Secret. Even at speeds over 100.
I have new tires on now though.

 

I don't know enough about this stuff to make any mechanically related comments, but this much I do know: If I felt uncomfortable on my bike - and you've mentioned that you do on more than one occasion - I would find a way to get it fixed.

Take it to another Honda dealer. Take it to an independent dealer. But do something to get it fixed. There's nothing wrong with giving a dealer a little hell about finding the problem. If they are not interested in spending time on my bike for my safety, then so long. They'll never see me again.

I'm sure this is all good and sound advice here, but if there is a problem more significant than air pressure or old tread versus new tread, the last thing I'd want to do is find out about it at 80mph.

I learned from VFRworld what ATGATT means. Is there a similar acronym for "Make sure your bike is mechanically sound before you ride it all over the place!" ?

 

Thanks Pliskin, that's good advice.
here is another acronym for you: TCLOCS. this is a pre-ride checklist.
T-Tires
C-Controls
L-Lights
O-Oil/Fluids
C-Chassis
S-Stand

 

+1 Additionally Dampers are often installed by the uneducated to fix what is really a poor suspension set Up for the specific weight of said rider in relation to stock springs. A damper came stock on my zx10 and I never turned it up, ran it loose as possible(takes away from handleing speed). People complain about headshake on that bike due to the power. The real reason is because the rear squats under acceleration raising the front forks changing the RAKE. Anywho! Im gonna say it again: ALWAYS replace both front and rear tires at the same time and PLEASE get something other than OEM replacements, you will not regret it. These tires would blow your mind I bet, I ride hard and Im thinking for this bike they would be perfect: Pirelli Diablo Strada - Rear Tires - Read Reviews and Buy at KneeDraggers.com

 

have you hit any big pot holes? You may have a virgin tire on the front but it may have had a large enough crack to damage the tire.

Impact gets the tire b4 it bends the rim.. I'd swap it in a heartbeat... When you only have 2 wheels, keep em both in A+ shape. there are no do overs if you go down.

Don't stop looking for your comfort. There is clearly something wrong with your ride from what your saying. In my neck of the woods the dealer is an option but we also have 3 or 4 awesome general bike shops. I'd put good money on the general shops being better service shops than the dealer we have. Check around the local bike forums,... I'm sure someone in your area knows a bike yoda who can and will help you find your problem.

 

Haven't seen it listed yet and as eveything else seems to be covered one suggestion to look at is how far the forks have been dropped through the Triple clamps.

I tried mine at 15mm for a few thousand miles but found while fantastic to chuck around in tight twisties my VFR had become nervous at high speed so lifted it by 9mm to 6mm, big difference very stable at high speeds but noticeably slower to turn in, thinking 10mm might be worth trying next.

Has anyone done work to your forks ie oil change etc ?

 

First of all, I'd like to say thanks to everyone for providing your opinions and advice. The response has been EXCELLENT!

Jessiah1 -- in retrospect, i would have replaced both tires at the same time. i only used an OEM replacement because i didn't want to mix front and rear tires. i totally understand that there are many aftermarket tires that would absolutely outperform the OEM donuts. my concern is this: if i drop another $250+ on 2 new tires and have them replaced and the problem is still there, i just "wasted" $250. although at least i'd have 2 nice, new tires to ride on.

dutch_105 -- i don't remember hitting any big pot holes. i have also run my hand over the entire front tire and didn't notice any bumps/cups, etc.

John451 -- i don't believe anyone has messed with my forks at all. i had some Helibars installed, but it felt just fine after that was done. that was about 2k miles ago.

again, thanks all for the info and suggestions. i'll probably contact the dealer again and get his take on the issue. then maybe drop some coin on 2 new tires and try to sell the others to defer the cost a bit.

 

Final thought: I believe the direct culpret is the suspension and the front tire is showing the issue due to the new rear( I have seen this on more than one sport bike where the greater rake increases head shake even worse) Did you know that when you change just the rear you raise the rear because of the new tread? With a worn down front you just increased the rake!. I have 400 miles on my 08 and yesterday I started playing with the preload and rebound. I added preload front and rear and I can tell that I will never be able to prerfect the forks because there is no damper adjustment, but it is better. There is an issue up front that I know will cause the same issue your having. I can feel it steering the bike over bumps and cracks, this is going to cause uneven wear to the tire. I can make it better but I cant fix it with these forks. Making the suspension stiffer shows this much more, this bike favors a soft suspension(the touring crowd) So yes you are going to buy new tires and it is going to happen again after they have worn down. Which is why I am suggesting what I plan to do soon which is get a very nice high miliage tire with good grip like that there Pirrelli. Best you can do is get suspension help and then new tires. I bet everyone who owns this bike and has replaced a rear without front has found this problem, especially with the stock bricks. Thats it Im done, I promise!:smile:

 

well, i rode last night and i've concluded that the problem is not the tires. i believe that the problem lies in the steering. it's extremely loose and free. i know that bikes break in and bearings become freer with some use, but this is a little bit ridiculous. the whole chassis seems to squirm quite a bit. i notice it when accelerating from stop (the whole bike seems to wiggle some), when i hit bumps/pulling into driveways, etc. it's almost as if i can no longer "feel" the front tire. shouldn't there be at least a little resistance from the steering head? i tried to tighten the head last night, but couldn't budge it. now keep in mind that i was trying to use a slip-lock set of pliers and covered the nut with a towel to protect it. i'm getting a little frustrated. i'm going to take it to the dealership tonight and have them take a look.

 

I had the same problem with my 99 on the head shake and tore my front end down in the winter, I put the tapered head bearings in and thought for sure my problems were over, put it all back together and eagerly went out for a test ride, and I'll be a son of a bitch if that thing didn't start shaking again :rant: I've have come to the conclusion that some some tires cup worse than others on the VFR's, when I finally replaced my front tire the head shake disappeared, it was still worth it for me to put in the tapered bearings because it slightly improved the feel...

 

Had tapered bearings packed with quality marine grease installed in mine 2 years ago after the previous ball type had become a notchy off centre made a big difference butter smooth with light resistance.

Sounds like ILVFR75 safest bet is to go to a known good motorcycle mechanic to give his VFR a good going over, torquing down the steering head bearings with pliers is not ideal.

 

Tolds you RW. it's a tire thing, plain and simple. Pirellis for the win, oh wait RW hates that when I do this. lol

 

What your describing happens when sport bikes have too much rear height(increased rake), it can become way worse with the combination of a worn front tire and new rear. Loose steering is usually a sign of bad rake. Its entirely possible Im wrong BUT lets try one more thing. Have you messed with the stock preload adusters at all? Id like to know where they are set and your weight(humor me). Also would like to know the exact tire pressures, use two different gauges(many are not accurate). When I checked my stock tire they were over inflated 38 front and 46 rear, common dealer moron just fills tires till rock hard. If the rear is over inflated it raises the rear of the bike. So to recap: Tire pressures/how many lines showing front preload adjusters/what click setting on rear shock(position 2 from bottom is stock)/and your weight sir:redface:. :smile:

 

OK update for y'all.
I took the bike to the dealer over this past weekend and had one of the senior mechanics ride it. He came back and admitted it felt a bit funny to him. He pointed out that the front tire had raised bumps all over the center portion of the tire. I had felt the tire before, but never side to side. I immediately could feel what he was talking about. So for all you guys/gals that were sure it was a tire issue, looks like you could be right. I ordered a set of Pirelli Diablo Stradas from MotorcycleSuperstore. They were recommend by folks on VFRW as well as receiving excellent reviews on Motorcyclesuperstore.com. That means I'll have a Bridgestone BT020 rear tire available for sale soon. It only has about 250 miles on it and is in prestine condition. If anyone is interested, please let me know. Thanks all for the help and I'll update y'all again when the new rubber is installed.

 

OK, yet another update.
I've had the Pirelli Diablo Stradas installed and took a test ride this weekend. The head shake is totally gone and the front end feels much better. I'm finally happy again with the feel of the bike. I just hope that the Pirellis last longer than the 3100 miles I got out of the Bridgestone front. Thanks to all of you that provided advice and suggestions. To all of you who insisted the tires were the problem, you can feel free to tell me, "I told you so". Ha ha ha. Thanks again.

 

mmm, these are puzzling symptoms!

I've just had the head race of my 750FT adjusted, no shaking, just clicking.

I have had shaking at 30-40 mph before - taking hands off bar led to a bit of shaking. It was the front BT020 which had cupped.

Tyre change cured it.

Some shops here try to get away without balancing the rear because they don't have the fittings. I've ridden with unbalanced rear and never really noticed a difference!