Steering Shimmy.....Bearings...balance....???

So I have noticed that speeds about 35 the handlbars seem to shimmy. As soon as I slow the speed I dont notice this. Think its just the balance on the tire or are the bearings the culprit>?

 

Check the Tire Wear.

Check the Headset Bearings.
Put the Bike on the Center Stand. Have an assistant hold down the back-end to get the Front Wheel up.

Move the Handle Bars from lock -to- lock and observe how the Front End moves during the teat.

The movement should be smooth and steady without a hitch or a slow-down.

Look for something stuck in the Tire Tread.
Look for the shadow of a Wheel Weight missing.

 

I would suspect the front tire is the culprit. Is there uneven wear on the edges of the tire blocks? It is usually caused by chronic low tire pressure that causes uneven wear between the trailing edge of one tread block and the leading edge of the adjacent one. The usual symptom is instability felt on deceleration at about 35mph with a loose hold on the bars. I suspect you need a new front tire. What is your current front tire pressure?

Ken

 

This is one XJ rider that has tried just about everything. Tire pressure, new tires, balancing, wheel bearing check, axle and pinch bolt torque, head bearings and torque, rear tire pressure, rear tire replacement, etc. Nothing has helped or changed the situation, at all. The only thing I haven't done is replace the swing arm bushing.

I am a member of an FJR forum, where those bikes have this issue as well and the owners complain just the same. Have not seen a reliable fix there either.

 

Well, ... Give DYNA Beads a shot.

The MAJOR Selling point of the DYNA Bead System of Balancing the Front-end is:

The Beads make the Balance PERFECT --> EVEN if the Balance of the Tire changes due to wear.

If your Front Wheel is rolling P-E-R-F-E-C-T-L-Y in Balance.
The whole Front-end is going to be Vibration free.

http://www.innovativebalancing.com/

 

Rick left out part of the steering head bearing check:

While the bike has its front wheel off the ground as he outlined, crouch or kneel in front of the bike and grab ahold of both front forks near the bottom.

Try to move them fore/aft. This will reveal any play in the steering head bearings. The "smoothness of turning" test Rick describes will reveal a damaged or "detented" race.

psteele If you're running "fully dressed" as in your avatar, you may need a steering damper or different rear shocks. Frame mounted fairings and high-CG luggage present their own handling challenges.

Strange steering issues can be caused by problems from the rear of the bike, like badly worn rear shocks, loose swingarm bushings or even a worn out rear tire.

But I would start up front.

 

This post addresses my problem too, when running my full dressed 82 Seca 750 coasting from 35mph I get that steering shake too. If I have a firm grip on the bars it's some what noticeable, if I loosen the grips it feels like a death shake.. my tires are 1 season old 5k even wear, I have a steering damper installed. I do need rear shocks left rear just started to leak (I want a good set, I'm a big man and I have taken the trunk off a couple times to fit a hefty heffer the back. Any suggestions?) for the front I was going to start with the steering bearings. Time to contact chacal for parts?

 

Suggestions for shocks: Progressive 12-series; any of the more expensive Progressives; Ikon; Showa or Ohlins if you really want to spend money.

You will be amazed at the effect worn real shocks have on front end stability. I'm not promising your headhsake will go completely away, but once you fit a set of new rear shocks you may be surprised.

 

I have the same problem. My bars vibrate or oscillate with a loose grip or when I take my hands off the bars. I have ignored this issue because I usually keep my hands on the bars. But now I'm thinking I should probably get this fixed. So a couple of questions; how serious is this issue? How likely would this be caused by a warped front rim?

 

New Shocks are a shock.
A shocking: $350.00 Pr.

 

You can get away with around $230 for Progressives if you shop sales and promos; but you can also spend upwards of $1100 if you want to go and get all crazy.

You can also go the eBay and/or JCWhitney route for under $100.

But you get what you pay for.