No hands headshake

[charlie b]

My 97 ST1100 has proven a great bike. Bike has roughly 53K miles on it currently. The bike is stock without any major mods (stock windscreen has been cut down about 2 inches to adjust for my height (rather, lack thereof). Also, the bike has 1 inches risers. Love the bike, but I do have onee concern, though. When traveling at relatively low speeds if I remove both hands from the handle bars the bike begins to headshake almost immediately. It starts as a mild oscillation and worsens the longer I dare to have my hands off the handlebars. Does not do it as long as at least one hand is one a grip. I've had the bike at it's limits in terms of speed and it is as smooth as can be. Of course I'm not taking even on hand off at 130 plus. At normal highways speeds the bike remains stable with even a very light pressure on either grip. I've not tried taking both hands off the handlebars at highway speeds. Tires are in great condition and have about 3K on them (rear tire even less. Wear is even and no signs of cupping. I typically run between 35-40 pounds (cold) in the front depending on load, outside temps and type of riding I'm going to do on a particular day. Pretty much do the same with the rear tire. Front suspension work was performed on it by a local shop with a good rep at about the 40K mark. Forks show no signs of leakage and no signs of damage having been tweeked. NO signs of tire imbalance or missing wheel weights. Wheel runout appears to be withing specs. I recently read where the ST1300 had a propensity to headshake at higher speeds (about220 and above) I was wondering if other owners have had this issue. If so, what was causing it. Any suggestions?

 

[ToddC]

Only time that has happened to me on any bike.....it was the tires. 35-40mph. I bet 97% it is the tire. JMTCW. T

 

[John OoSTerhuis]

Hi Charlie. We’ve known about (and discussed to near death) the ST1100 “decel wobble” issue since the mid 1990s. You’ve arrived at the one sure fix: always keep one hand (heck, one finger!) on a bar while decelerating down through ~45mph.

I think it’s just a function of the geometry of a heavy sport touring bike (compromise). Anyway, some ST1100s are more prone to exhibit the “head shake” than others. Lots of things have been tried over these many years to ameliorate the wobble. Tapered steering stem bearings seem to be the most effective. BTDT Others claim tires. Front and rear suspension upgrades/other tweaks.

A search here and on ST-Riders.net will get you a lot of opinions. I recommend you don’t worry about it and juST GO RIDE.*

Regards, John
* Official motto of the ST1100/1300 Owners Club (STOC)

 

[ToddC]

Oh ya..... Welcome from WA STate.

 

[Bush]

I'll never understand why anyone thinks that taking both hands off the bars of a 700 pound motorcycle while riding along, at any speed, is a good idea. Even at slow speed, if something unseen went under that front tire, like a dog out of nowhere, that bike would be on the ground before you could say Holy S**t. With hands on the bars, you could likely keep control.

Since I started this post, I see John has answered with what I was about to say, so I'll leave it at that.

 

[Larry Fine]

My suggestions, presuming no mechanical defects:

Take both tires up to 42 psi

Try lowering the rear suspension

Keep top box lightly loaded

 

[kiltman]

Replace your steering head bearings. I’ve had three ST 1100s they all did what you described, after replacing the steering head bearings that issue went away.
I set my cruise and can ride with no hands for miles. The bike is solid as a rock!
My style of riding doesn’t garner approval... but I do respect my learned friends who have posted above, they are amazing folk.

 

[Jjonahjamison]

I had pretty bad head shake as my last Michelin Pilot Road 4 GT got near (and later past) the wear bars. No issue with hands on the bars, but I was worried I had a suspension or bearing issue, and was unable to replace it on a trip long past where I wanted to (no in stock tire availability late in the riding season). Upon installing the new tire, it went completely away.

So another vote for “potentially the tire”

 

[rwthomas1]

I'm searching for a reason why I'd take both hands off the bars on something as big as an ST1100. I don't think I've ever done it. If I needed to, I'd pull over.
RT

 

[Larry Fine]

I set my cruise and can ride with no hands for miles. The bike is solid as a rock!

Same here, except my 1100 veers to the right. Any idea why?

 

[kiltman]

Same here, except my 1100 veers to the right. Any idea why?

Have you bounced the front tire in the fork before tightening the axel?
My 97 would pull to the right... I think it was in an accident but I had no way of knowing. Bouncing the front tire helped to some extent.
My 1990 and 2002 rode straight they wouldn’t pull to either side. Held the line like riding the old Bonnevilles.

 

[SMSW]

I set my cruise and can ride with no hands for miles. The bike is solid as a rock!
My style of riding doesn’t garner approval... but I do respect my learned friends who have posted above, they are amazing folk.

What style is that? I assumed you were using hyperbole to make a point. Or do you ride for miles w/ no hands?

 

[SMSW]

Same here, except my 1100 veers to the right. Any idea why?

Its a right handed bike.

 

[kiltman]

Or do you ride for miles w/ no hands?

Yes

 

[Bush]

Same here, except my 1100 veers to the right. Any idea why?

Crown of the road.

 

[SMSW]

Yes

And that begs the question. What are you doing with them? A crossword puzzle? Texting? Playing cards? Holding your kilt down?

 

[kiltman]

And that begs the question. What are you doing with them? A crossword puzzle? Texting? Playing cards? Holding your kilt down?

Mostly to relieve any tension in my arms. Mostly it’s reminiscent of when I was a kid riding a bicycle...it was just something we did...

 

[Shawn K]

Same here, except my 1100 veers to the right. Any idea why?

Lots of pocket change.

 

[Whooshka]

I'm searching for a reason why I'd take both hands off the bars on something as big as an ST1100. I don't think I've ever done it. If I needed to, I'd pull over.
RT

On a long stretch of highway I'll set the throttle lock and take my hands off to stretch my hands, wrists, do shoulder rotations, etc. My 13 is stable as a rock. I run Angel GT's with a fork brace.

 

[Bmacleod]

Same here, except my 1100 veers to the right. Any idea why?

When I first got mine, it veered to the left. I lined up the front end and it is straight as an arrow now. Give it a shot. Its free.