Dumbfounded with headshake problem

Thanks everyone for the input. Gives me a lot to think about and look at. we replaced both tires here after the problem started, and a couple days ago tried a new different brand of front tire to see if it could be the tire, still have the same problem. Also, narrowed it down more to it only happens when the bike is straight up and down, at a bit of an incline there is no head shake. Don't know, but will keep working to a certain point then will live with it until it gets worse and becomes more obvious.

thanks again

 

I think you just need to stop riding without any hands on the bars and forget about this issue.

 

Paraphrasing Mr. Spock, "I hope you live long enough to prosper."

 

what kind of tires did you have to begin with and what kind did you just put on the bike?

 

I have seen this a million times.

You let off the bars at 50-60mph, it will cost a second fine, then as it slows it starts to head shake. Just a little at first, but as it keeps slowing down it gets so bad you have to grab the bars because it will not recover it's self.

It is EXTREMELY common, and has a very simple fix.

Your current front tire is out of round. There is no fix for it, and it has nothing to do with balance.

You just simply need a new front tire. I promise a new front tire will cure this.

I have changed more motorcycle tires (and semi tires...lol) in my life than i could ever count.

 

another obvious, but not mentioned thing to look at, and this DOES make a difference. wheel alignment. if your front and rear are not straight and perfectly aligned, the issue you speak of can manifest itself in such a fashion. check it out and try that.

I've had it on a few bikes, and aligning the wheels does it. the EX500 forum has a "string thing" technique that works well. check it out.

 

It won't be an alignment issue. That can cause the bike to pull to one side or the other, or feel odd tipping in to one side.

hell several bikes come from the factory with the rear wheel off set from the front wheel. It does not cause a headshake problem.

When you are hands off and the bike is on decell and you get headshake, you need a new front tire. I promise.

It would be really great if tires wore evenly, but they never ever do.

 

He has already tried a new front tire MANRACING,it didn't cure the problem.

 

I saw that he said that, but it was not clear if he had installed NEW tires or some old crap tires.

I have been a mechanic for a long time, and have found it wise to often disregard what the owner says, and start from scratch when problem solving.

Honestly I have seen this same problem many many times. The cure is always the same. New front tire. If it still shakes with a new tire, you have a bent wheel. Which should be obvious to see as the bike is rolling.

You could lean forward on the bike and watch the front wheel at 30 mph and see if it is bent. If it is bent enough to cause a headshake problem, it will be very obvious.

A curb check will typically bend one side of the wheel, and that will typically not cause any problems if it is not bent enough to lose air pressure. That would look like a knot on one side of the wheel. A bent wheel will be both sides of the wheel moving out from center. It will be very obvious.

So obvious I am assuming that if it were bent they would have seen it already.

Leading me back to the tire is not worn evenly, which is very common. New front tire. Life is good.

personally I recommend Michelin tires. They are built well, and work well.

 

Headshake on a bike at speed is scary. It has to be a real sumbitch in a semi.

 

ow the humor....lol

Never driven a semi, i have no idea what they do or don't do.

Motorcycles on the other hand...

 

Not to worry, there are probably ten or so dudes here that have experienced same and have a fix for not only semi's but everything else from skateboards to nuclear subs. Same dudes that have VFRs that go 180mph and get 75mpg..

 

I think it would be more of a hazard to the on-road users if the lori driver was "getting head" as opposed to getting the front end wobbles.

Far as an out of line wheel goes, I have used a 1/4 in extention through the hoe and given dah wheel the spin test to see if it was out of balance. Used truing stands as well. When I lived in NJ I bent three wheels in my career going over rail road tracks. Here in south FL they are smooth as chit and you can hit them at 50 mph and get sum air. :smile: People still care about Mileage? Gee mine went down 3 mpg since I turned my mixtures screws a half turn :smile:

 

Agree a out of round tire will give you soo many problems even on a big truck!

 

A lesson I learned recently that may help explain why the front tire replacement was unsuccesful was that the use of Dynabeads will cause a headshake in roughly 30%-40% of 6 gen VFR's. So if your installer is using them, ask him to do a more traditional static balance using wheel weights instead. If he his in fact using dynabeads, this will more than likely solve the problem.

 

I've got the same issue. Under closer inspection I realized one of the front rotors was bent. Think it was that way when I bought it. After putting new pads on I could see the caliper moving on one side as I rode. Need to fix or replace rotor. Anyone have a right side rotor for non-abs VTEC?

 

Hi guys,
I have been suffering this phenomenom as well. It drives me nuts... Eversince I got the last Dunlop qualifiers put on it began. I had the tire rechecked at the shop and lived with it. The next winter I changed the oil in the forks and checked the head set. At 20K miles I did not expect they are ready for replacement. The head shake only go worse as the tire worn out. Even cruising with one hand I could tell things just were not happy up there. I just went to a pair of Bridgestone BT016 and can't wait to find out how they compare. After wearing out 3 set of Dunlops I am hoping for a few extra miles out of the BT016s.
I totally can sympathize with you