Hey guys how's it going?
Been riding my lil gs more n more and the front end started getting a bad wobble over the last week.
I redid the oils in the forks checked tires and had them rebalanced, and still the wobble is there.
Around 60mph I can feel it vibrating in my hands and around 90mph it gets tough to hold her straight.
Was thinking maybe getting a damper but should I look at anything in particular?

Bearings OK? No movement if you lift front wheel (centerstand) and try to wobble it by hand?

Check steering head bearings for smoothness and tightness.  Put on centerstand, pushdown on passenger handle with one hand, and move handlebars back and forth with other hand.  If you feel a detent in straight ahead position that's probably it.  Bounce up and down to feel tightness.

jus checked, bearings are fine, no side to side movement or up and down.

I think I did the steering check correct  I think I felt the detent that you mentioned not 100% sure though.
I'll start there though. do I need to do the whole set upper n lower?

Also check your wheel bearings, a good bike should track strait with out effort at 80mph I'm able to let go of my bars going that fast.


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Quote from: robfriedenberger on May 27, 2014, 12:37:34 PM
Also check your wheel bearings, a good bike should track strait with out effort at 80mph I'm able to let go of my bars going that fast.

normally that's how she was but just last week it started and jus getting worse.
I'm going to order new bearings for both the wheels and the triple clamp. atleast I'll know they are all good then 

Order the sealed bearings, the sizes on the wiki are accurate. The sealed bearings end in rs2 I think ?


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Quote from: robfriedenberger on May 27, 2014, 03:55:37 PM
Order the sealed bearings, the sizes on the wiki are accurate. The sealed bearings end in rs2 I think ?

will do thanks for the info

Is the tire bead consistent?

As far as i can tell. The tires r balanced. I had then done since the wobble

There is no excuse for what I'm about to do

headstock bearings worn or dry, wheel bearings worn (front and or rear), swing arm bushings worn, swing arm bent, rear axle miss aligned, front forks un even or tweaked in clamps, Bent forks, bent wheel/s ( run out and axial) . carcas/belt serpation of tire, Bent frame   thats about all i can think of off the top of my head

Ken, what (if any) modifications have you done to your bike? Suspension changes, ride height, clip ons, etc? Just making sure how much of a stock bike you have.....

Haynes manual has a fault finding section at the back of the book. One of the descriptions is "handlebar shakes or vibrates excessively"

Tires worn or out of balance, swing arm bearings worn, rims warped or damaged, wheel bearings worn (worn front or rear bearings can cause poor tracking, worn front bearings will cause wobble), handlebar clamp mount bolts loose, fork yolk bolts loose, engine mounting bolts loose (vibration increases with rpm)




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Wow, that's allot to check out, haynes manual where are you. Guess that's next on the must have list.
Big Rich I haven't done any mods. It's s stick as it gets. Well i went lighter on the fork oil, 7wt instead of the 10 that it asked for. Other than that nothing that should hunger the bikes performance

There is no excuse for what I'm about to do

Why the lighter weight oil? I think that's the first time I've heard somebody putting lighter oil in GS forks.....

But a wobble can be caused by so many things, it's hard to pinpoint for sure what it is. Go thru everything already mentioned of course, but remember it can also be from the rider / passenger placement, unbalanced saddlebags, worn out tires (some tires are more prone to wobble too), etc, etc.

Quote from: Big Rich on May 28, 2014, 06:19:49 AM
Why the lighter weight oil? I think that's the first time I've heard somebody putting lighter oil in GS forks.....

I really don't know about this wobble issue, so I'll keep quiet on that...
But this fork oil weight caught my attention... I've never heard of someone doing that either - but I'll try to keep an open mind to reason 

- Bboy

Quote from: BockinBboy on May 28, 2014, 07:06:23 AM

Quote from: Big Rich on May 28, 2014, 06:19:49 AM
Why the lighter weight oil? I think that's the first time I've heard somebody putting lighter oil in GS forks.....

I really don't know about this wobble issue, so I'll keep quiet on that...
But this fork oil weight caught my attention... I've never heard of someone doing that either - but I'll try to keep an open mind to reason 

- Bboy

the lighter weight is due to me being a lighter rider myself, since there isn't an adjustment in the forks I typically ride a lighter weight.
the front is still stiff in corners and soft on the straight ride. More or less personal preference. the lowest I would go is 7 wt on street bikes, for my weight, the 10wt that is recommended jus rides a little to stiff for me, even after adjusting the fluid level.

So the bearings in the wheels seem good, have took apart the triple clamp yet but its the next im going to check. thanks for all the advice. so glad I became part of this forum