Balance off?

[Guest Brad25ca]

I have a slight wobble in the front end, nothing serious, but I feel it if I take one hand off the bars. I know that one of my front rotors is warped, and physics tells me that a spinning disc that's not true will tend to lay flat and not run straight. Is that putting my front wheel out of balance and causing the wobble? No problem with the head bearings, forks, tire or rim itself, air in the forks and tire are good. I'm planning on replacing the rotor and getting the tire balanced, but any thoughts would be appreciated.

Edited July 10, 2008 by Brad25ca

[Cutty]

Also check for a sticking brake caliper and lube brake pad sliding areas.

[bobcat]

If it were me with that problem the first thing I'd check would be the tightness of the steering head bearing....

[Guest rwalker]

I recently bought a '92 VR. I brought it home and rode it back to the dealer the next day. It was dripping oil in the driveway (A problem the dealer was supposed to repair before I took delivery), and on the way back to the dealer I discovered something scary: if the handlebars are released, the front end will start to wobble, moving the bars faster with increasing side-to-side movement until you are forced to grab the bars again. I informed the dealer of this and copied the post from this site about the cupped front tire and repacking and tightening the steering bearings.

 

After keeping the bike two weeks, the dealer tells me the oil leaks are repaired, but the wobble is a quirky characteristic that cannot be repaired. He said he replaced the front tire and repacked and torqued the steering head bearings, but the wobble is still there if the handlebars are released with the cruise set. He claims to have called Yamaha, and they told him that if the front tire and steering head bearings did not fix the problem, that the customer should be advised to keep hands on the bars at all times because this is a characteristic of this model that cannot be repaired.

 

Has anyone here encountered this quirk? If so, can it be alleviated? Or should I just make sure I keep my hands on the handlebars at all times?

 

I'm somewhat disillusioned and confused.

 

Help!

 

Randy

[bobcat]

I think that dealer is full of sh**... Still sounds like a loose steering head bearing..

This will not cost you a penny....between the handlebars is a big nut...I believe a 1 1/8 SAE will work..Loosen that nut..Under that nut is a spanner nut (notched)..take a long screwdriver, put the blade in a notch of the spanner nut and tap the spanner nut clockwise about a quarter turn or so...if it is still noticeable loose, tighten it some more but just until its snug...tighten the top nut and button it up, your done....

BTW...do this with the bike off the center stand...

This should tighten up your steering head...

[skydoc_17]

Hi Brad,

I had a similar problem on my 86' VR. After a new front tire, steering bearings tightened, front brakes checked, etc...etc... I sorta' gave up on it for a while and one day decided to take the front fork brace off to polish it and discovered that two of the mounting holes were cracked. I couldn't see it when it was mounted but sure enough after replacing the fork brace, all was well.

Just a thought,

Earl and jean

[Guest Brad25ca]

Thanks for all your replies. Although it seems like there is no play in the head, it looks like I will try to tighten it up, tire is almost new. It was just inspected, and they didn't find any issues with the head bearing. I'll look at the brace as well.

[Squeeze]

Please open the Pinch Bolts on the lower Fork Yoke before tightening the Steering Head Bearings.

[GeorgeS]

ANY Front end Vibration , Is Serious !!!!!!!

 

You have something wrong, get it fixed, and stay alive !!!!!!!

[Midrsv]

I would look at the tire first. I've found that as my tires wear and get to the last 3k miles of life or so they will start to wobble a bit when I release the grip on the bars. Everytime when I put a new tire on the front it's cured.

[Guest rwalker]

The bike has a new Dunlop N91, but the steering shake with no hands on the bars is still there. Has anyone heard of aftermarket, tapered steering bearings and a good aftermarket fork brace curing this condition.

Also, I don't think the guy with the wobble has the same problem as me: His sounds like an annoying wobble due to tires, warped rotors, etc. The bars on my bike will shake like they are in a blender if you do not at least place one hand on them once they start to move.

 

Needless to say, I am not very impressed with this bike or this dealer.

 

Randy

[Squeeze]

The bike has a new Dunlop N91, but the steering shake with no hands on the bars is still there. Has anyone heard of aftermarket, tapered steering bearings and a good aftermarket fork brace curing this condition.

Also, I don't think the guy with the wobble has the same problem as me: His sounds like an annoying wobble due to tires, warped rotors, etc. The bars on my bike will shake like they are in a blender if you do not at least place one hand on them once they start to move.

 

Needless to say, I am not very impressed with this bike or this dealer.

 

Randy

 

 

 

I had this on my '93. Once i go over a Bump or into a Pothole, the Bars would start shaking. I found the Forklegs moving different on their Travel. One Leg was stickier than the other. I replaced the Legs with another Set ond the Shake is gone. The Reason for moving differently is yet to determine. There are two Possibles, first, the Bushing of the inner Tube are worn and add a Lot of Friction or one Leg is slightly bend.