High speed shake

[1NorthRyder]

Last year the bike ran smooth as silk all the way up to 135mph (it's ok I was on a very deserted straight road). I put on a new front tire and and polished the front rim at which point I believe I lost a stick on balancing weight. I also installed dyna beads. This year the bike runs smooth until about 95mph when you start to notice a shimmy, by 105mph its back off on the throttle or get ready to be thrown off. I have the bike booked in to have the rim properly balanced as I think it is the loss of the weight that is causing this. I've checked the tire and it seems true and there does not seem to be any play in the bearing although I may get them to replace those just because the rim is off. Any thing else I should consider?

[N8171S]

Check the steering stem bearings.  I had the same problem on one of my valkyries.

[Valkorado]

You're probably right about the front tire if you think you lost a weight.  You might also check the shape of your shock bushings, bad ones can sure make a bike squirrelly.

[The emperor has no clothes]

You should do one or the other. Regular weights or balancing beads. But not both.

[Cracker Jack]

You should do one or the other. Regular weights or balancing beads. But not both.

Only because it's overkill. Both is not a problem otherwise. In fact neither one knows that the other one is there.

[DarkSideR]

3 things affect the high speed wobble.
 - 1) Low tire pressure. Air em up!
 - 2) Rear shock bushings.
  + When inspecting them the mount should be dead center in the rubber bushing. If the bushing is bad it will be collapsed on one side.
  + These usually need replaced on a regular basis.
 - 3) Loose steering stem.

Hope this helps,

Josh

[The emperor has no clothes]

You should do one or the other. Regular weights or balancing beads. But not both.

Only because it's overkill. Both is not a problem otherwise. In fact neither one knows that the other one is there.

I don't know the physics of balancing. But I do know there have been people who have had issues when using both in combination.

[Dusty]

 Any thing else I should consider?

A sport bike  should be the first thing you look at. 

Dusty

[Cracker Jack]

You should do one or the other. Regular weights or balancing beads. But not both.

Only because it's overkill. Both is not a problem otherwise. In fact neither one knows that the other one is there.

I don't know the physics of balancing. But I do know there have been people who have had issues when using both in combination.

I do know the physics of balancing. I don't doubt that people have had issues when using both. I do doubt that people have had issues because they used both if the use of both were done properly.

If someone left the wheel weights on from a previously balanced tire, that could cause a greater out of balance situation that the beads might not correct. (But of course in this case, it wouldn't have been done properly.)

[hubcapsc]

You should do one or the other. Regular weights or balancing beads. But not both.

Only because it's overkill. Both is not a problem otherwise. In fact neither one knows that the other one is there.

I don't know the physics of balancing. But I do know there have been people who have had issues when using both in combination.

I do know the physics of balancing. I don't doubt that people have had issues when using both. I do doubt that people have had issues because they used both if the use of both were done properly.

If someone left the wheel weights on from a previously balanced tire, that could cause a greater out of balance situation that the beads might not correct. (But of course in this case, it wouldn't have been done properly.)

The  front wheel on my 1800 is so out-of-balance that I couldn't get a
reasonable amount of RideOn to balance it. So when I changed the tire
next, I balanced the wheel with no tire. I still put in RideOn, since I hope
it might help with flats...

-Mike

[sandy]

What method did you use to balance the wheel. Add weights or drill into the wheel on the heavy side till it balanced?

You should do one or the other. Regular weights or balancing beads. But not both.

Only because it's overkill. Both is not a problem otherwise. In fact neither one knows that the other one is there.

I don't know the physics of balancing. But I do know there have been people who have had issues when using both in combination.

I do know the physics of balancing. I don't doubt that people have had issues when using both. I do doubt that people have had issues because they used both if the use of both were done properly.

If someone left the wheel weights on from a previously balanced tire, that could cause a greater out of balance situation that the beads might not correct. (But of course in this case, it wouldn't have been done properly.)

The  front wheel on my 1800 is so out-of-balance that I couldn't get a
reasonable amount of RideOn to balance it. So when I changed the tire
next, I balanced the wheel with no tire. I still put in RideOn, since I hope
it might help with flats...

-Mike

[hubcapsc]

Add weights or drill into the wheel on the heavy side till it balanced?

I did it at home with my Marc Parnes static balancer and weights. I imagined
how it would be cool to take it somewhere that could machine off the right
amount of stuff in the right place(es) to make it be balanced, but I don't
know of any such place.

I guess the drill idea would be about the same thing, except if I took
a drill to my wheel, I'd need a new wheel 

-Mike

[dago mooserider]

I had the exact same issue. Started about 100 and around 130 I was apologizing to my mother because I thought it was over. Bike had previously been rock solid. I replaced the rear shocks with progressives and it seems to have eliminated 90% of it. Still doesn't quite feel right at triple digits with a bend in the road and leaned over a bit. I going to look into the steering bearings next. I also noticed having the hard bags on seems to make it worse.

[bill-jr]

I hada similar issue and turned out to be my windshield was loose . . .

[1NorthRyder]

I did have the rear shocks off but everything there seemed good at the time. The new tire and loss of the balancing weight are the only real changes I had. If it is a balancing issue though I am surprised I don't feel anything until I hit 95mph. I put a new rear wheel on last month but that made no difference and as I say up too 95mph it is a smooth ride.

[..]

I did have the rear shocks off but everything there seemed good at the time. The new tire and loss of the balancing weight are the only real changes I had. If it is a balancing issue though I am surprised I don't feel anything until I hit 95mph. I put a new rear wheel on last month but that made no difference and as I say up too 95mph it is a smooth ride.

Shocks on the same setting?

Lotsa weight in one bag and none in the other?

[1NorthRyder]

Hey Britman, no, bags can be full or empty, passenger or no passenger and the shocks are at the same setting. Hopefully when I get ti in to Turple Brothers in Red Deer AB they will have an idea what hte cause is. It's only a problem when I'm passing multiple transport trucks or I'm in a hurry to get away from my wife.

[Gryphon Rider]

Hey Britman, no, bags can be full or empty, passenger or no passenger and the shocks are at the same setting. Hopefully when I get ti in to Turple Brothers in Red Deer AB they will have an idea what hte cause is. It's only a problem when I'm passing multiple transport trucks or I'm in a hurry to get away from my wife.

I know Glenn Turple (the surviving one of the two brothers the business is named for) and he is a good man of high character; I think you'll be in good hands.  At 89, Glenn still rides his GoldWing trike, even when there's snow in the air!  My dad would bring his GW from Calgary to Turple Bros. in Red Deer to have one of their mechanics do the stuff he wasn't wanting to tackle himself.

[1NorthRyder]

Hey Britman, my daughter has been working at Turple's for the past 6-7 years now and i've heard good things about them. I don't have a Honda dealer anywhere close to me here in Northern Ontario so when I knew I was heading out for a visit I booked the bike in and hopefully they can resolve my issue.

[RWhitehouse]

Out of balance wheels result in a vertical up-and-down "hop". Almost feels like riding on a rumble strip or something, which steadily gets faster and more intense with more speed. Front wheel you feel it in the handlebars, rear wheel you feel it in the seat.

Loose stem bearings/worn shocks generally cause a side to side wobble/instability, aka death wobble or headshake. This also tends to show up at higher speeds.

[1NorthRyder]

Problem solved. Moisture caused the dyna beads to clump and the rim did require a small weight. Smooth as silk on the highway now.

[old2soon]

Problem solved. Moisture caused the dyna beads to clump and the rim did require a small weight. Smooth as silk on the highway now.

             I am currently using BBs as my balance media with Excellent results. Can't recollect the exact mileage I had on the ones I took out of my front tire but around or slightly better than 20 G and I could have put them right back in but opted for new ones. Not even a HINT of rust on the BBs. And as I back Phatt Ghurl Down my driveway when putting Her back in Her cave I hear them sliding around when doing that with the engine off!  And I have pushed Her bout as far and fast as she wants ta go with nary a hint of an unbalanced issue. Balance beads are nice. They were my first non traditional balancing on any tires. BBs do as well if not better for a lower cost and no dust generated-so far. RIDE SAFE.

[..]

Problem solved. Moisture caused the dyna beads to clump and the rim did require a small weight. Smooth as silk on the highway now.