Front end wobble continued

[gstanfield]

OK, I still have that stupid wobble in the front end. It is present from around 40-60mph, and is terrible between 45-50. At those speeds if I let go of the handlebar it will shake violently to the point of bouncing back and forth from lock to lock. Above 60 it is smooth as silk, below 40 it is pretty much non-exsistant, maybe a lsight pulse at those slow speeds. I have had it up to 145indicated and it is still smooth, it never gets bad again, just at the previous mentioned speeds. I checked the tire pressure and the previous owner had been running them at 30psi front and rear. I set them up to 42psi and it didn't change anything, but the tires are pretty badly cupped. I still have a fair amount of tread left on the tires, and so I don't want to throw them away if something else is the culprit. Money is really tight right now thanks to my accident, but I should be back to work in about three weeks or so, which means I can't really spend much moeny trying to fix this thing.

At the advice of a friend who works on bikes I put it on the center stand, put some weight on the rear so the front tire is off the ground and checked for any amount of play in the steering head bearings. I turned it side to side, it felt very smooth and I could not get it to shake any at all. As best I can tell this should indicate the bearing is OK. I was wondering if anyone has any good suggestions of what to check next?

could shock oil level make it do this weird wobble at given speeds? Is there some way to check these pretty easily or do I need some specialty tools? I am a mechanic/machinest and I have plenty of tools and a pretty good knowledge of meachanic things, just no expereince on bikes. I may be overcomplicating things due to a fear of the unknown, but that's why I come here to feed off the knowledge of the great guys here.

Thanks for any suggestions. I forgot to mention it is a 2003 ST1300 NON-ABS
George

 

[crinteastwood]

George: never had it bounce from lock to lock - kind of hard to imagine that, but it sounds like your front tire is shot. Mine did the same upon de-acceleration and a new boot cleared up any problems
Mick

 

[coldoughboy]

I had a similar problem althought mine would shake above 50 all the way up to 90 and so I replaced the front tire (it needed it anyway). This did not solve the problem. I took it to the dealership and I had blown out the front fork seal on the right side. They replaced both the left and right under warentee and said that they had not seen that happen before. The bike rides very stable now. You can look at your front forks and mine was noticably dirty around the seal. I hope this helps.

 

[SToler]

I have the exact same problem with my 03. 40mph shake that goes away above 55mph or so, and doesn't come back. I have ordered new tires that should be here this week, but I don't know if I can get them mounted until the 10th or 11th.

I have my fingers crossed that this is a tire problem and not anything bent or broken.
(I just bought the bike and don't know all of its history)

I will try and let you know the outcome as soon as I get the new tires on.

Scott

 

[Erik]

It's prolly the tire. But also I would check as others mentioned the torque of the front and rear wheels. checking the torque is easy and free! Make sure to loosen everything on the front, pinch bolts etc, and bounce the front end before re-torquing. the rear is easy just loosen and re-torque.

 

[gstanfield]

thanks for the replies guys. I'll check the torque for now, and get a tire just as soon as I can afford to. BTW< A service manual will be mine some3day, but until I get back to work I am very low on funds, could someone tell me the torque specs on this thing? I'd appreciate it greatly.

Oh yes, I had also checked the fork seals, forgot to mention that, but they are nice and clean and look just like new. SToler, I won't be able to get a new tire in the next couple of week,s so I'll be anxiously awaiting your reply to see if it fixes your machine. I guess my next research is going to be what tire to run on this bike. I've seen a lot of posts on it already, need to go through and read a couple hudred of them. I gotta find out what tire gives the maximum milage, as I tend to ride a lot and there aren't a whole lot of curves in Wyoming to worry about so sticky isn't too big of a concern.

Thanks again,
George

 

[SToler]

SToler, I won't be able to get a new tire in the next couple of week,s so I'll be anxiously awaiting your reply to see if it fixes your machine. I guess my next research is going to be what tire to run on this bike. I've seen a lot of posts......

Thanks again,
George

I will let you know.
As for picking tires, from what I have read you might like the Z6 front and ME880 rear. That rear tire is supposed to get very good milage but not as sticky as some others. I've ordered Z6s front and rear. But, like you said, there is enough information on this website to make a good decision about what tires you need.

 

[gstanfield]

Thanks Leo, I'm gonna order a service manual just as soon as I get back to work. I wanted one earlier in the summer, but I had the bad luck to blow myself up in June and so things have been a little short in the cash department since then. I do appreciate your taking the time to write it all out for me, thanks again.

George

 

[dbst1300]

My first ST1300ABS came with Dunlop 220 tires. They had a terrible headshake between 40 and 50 mph during acceleration or deceleration. I have run Bridgestone 020s, Metzeler Z4 front/ME880 rear, and Z6s since then on both of the ST1300ABS bikes I have owned and I have absolutely no headshake except with the original equipment 220s.

Dennis

 

[Rob Hephner]

Cupped tires is the problem.

 

[gstanfield]

Well there seems to be enough people who agre with my previous conclusino that it must be the tires. I'll be buying a set just as soon as I can afford to. Now to just figure out which ones.

George

 

[SToler]

George:

I won't be able to get the tires on my ST this weekend. The tire changing machine I have(had) access to has been borrowed. Also, the Honda shop that I was going to have change the tires is at the Honda party for new bike releases. I couldn't believe it, but they took their entire staff and shut the store down until Monday.
I will probably get the tires changed on Sat. the 17th. I hope that is soon enough to let you know if that fixes the problems.


Scott

 

[gstanfield]

Sure thinig SToler, I won't be going back to work until the 19th and hen two weeks after that before I have money for tires anyway. I do apprefciate you telling me, have fun and ride hard.

George

 

[gottaride]

Every bike I've ever had with Battleaxes do it to some dgree at some point or another in their life. Those 020s always cup pretty badly. Consodering that motorcycle dynamics have the front tire riding on one side or the other and never in the center, it's certainly no wonder these tires like to settle into tank slappers.

 

[Highrider]

Front end wobble

I have noticed the same problem manifest itself during the last few weeks at the same speeds. I have an 05 with 3200 miles and I have been watching the tire pressures closely. By looking at, and measuring the front tire, it seems fine.

This weekend I am going to check the balance of the wheel assembly and the tightness of the steering head. I noticed if I put my bike on the center stand and pull the front tire off the ground, the steering seems looser than my 02 ST1100. I believe the change in front geometry from the 27 degrees that was on the 1100, has made the 1300 more sensitive to these conditions.
I will report back after I have checked the balance and steering.

 

[gstanfield]

What tires does your 05 have on it? My 03 has the dunlops, not the battleaxes that it seems most people end up with. I'm gonna try to get some tires on it, but it'll be about a month before I can afford it and I'll be sure to post the results as soon as I get them on there.

Thanks,
George

 

[Highrider]

I have the Dunlop 220's

 

[SToler]

George,

Problem solved. Got the tires changed yesterday and wobble is gone! I am very happy to find that the bike is okay and that I just had a bad front tire.


Hope you get the same results when you get new tires.

Had Dunlops, swithched to Z6s.


Scott

 

[gstanfield]

Cool, thanks for the report and I hope you enjoy the Z6's. I will be going with either the Z6/880 combo or the Michelin Pilots, depending on avaliability and price at the time I come up with the money.

George

 

[crazykz]

Cool, thanks for the report and I hope you enjoy the Z6's. I will be going with either the Z6/880 combo or the Michelin Pilots, depending on avaliability and price at the time I come up with the money.

George

Dave at Motorace.com says he has three sets as of last week he can sell.

Curt