New front seals and progressive springs - now wobbles

[Valkcurious]

Had a shop do the seals and progressives and now notice a slight wobble . More noticeable on rough road and with one hand on bar. Had all new bushings etc.  Didn't wobble before . Had them go a little light( less fluid) on the forks for softer ride . Had the front brakes done as well and hear a buzzing when braking- was told that will go away ( hasn't yet at 300 miles). Just wanted to get some opinions/ideas here before I take it back in. 99 Interstate.

[Jess from VA]

Maybe a red herring, but whenever I hear about a wobble my first focus is the front tire.  You check the air pressure after it left the shop?

Still, I'd be taking the bike back and asking for the tech who did the work to ride the bike (assuming he has a motorcycle endorsement).

[Skinhead]

They probably didn't follow the proper procedure for tightening up the front axle, left some pinch bolts loose, or don't have the forks assembled squarely.  Take a piece of glass (like from a picture frame) and lay it on the fork legs, it should touch the legs squarely on all four corners.  If it doesn't loosen the pinch bolts on the clamps and make adjustments.

[sandy]

The shop did the brakes huh!. Go back and ask them who's brake pads they used. I'll bet it's EBC pads. Even Honda shops use them because (They say) the customer wants to save money.

[eric in md]

    ebc brakes pads will buzz forever,, tell ask them to put honda pads noise gone..

[Valkcurious]

It was a Honda shop... They're closed Mondays-- but I'll find out on Tues. Will the EBC pads last as long as Honda pads? They should have given me options if not ...

[Willow]

My best guess on the wobble is incorrect fork assembly, but Jess has a good (and easy to check) idea.

Maybe a red herring, but whenever I hear about a wobble my first focus is the front tire.  You check the air pressure after it left the shop?

Also check the rear tire pressure.

[Jess from VA]

Not only are EBC pads prone to noise on OE rotors, they are also prone to prematurely wear (expensive) OE rotors.

[old2soon]

Torquing sequence is VERY important when reassembling the front or rear wheel on our Phatt Gals.  SEQUENCE done incorrectly will give ya wobbles. RIDE SAFE.

[Valkcurious]

Thanks for the responses, air pressure was checked at 38 psi cold both tires (Dunlop Elite3). They did use EBC pads according to my bill--$35 ea pad ($70).

[mmurffy03]

wow the one time you needed a OEM part from a dealer they pull a switcheroo and slip a aftermarket unit on you I feel they should have asked you first and given you the option try 40+ psi first to remove the wobble

[Ricky-D]

I didn't read anything saying it was a "Honda" dealer shop.

Regardless, give them a chance to straighten things out for you.

Get a commitment from them about the brakes, that they'll make it right!

Tires are the main culprit regarding wobble. Maybe they changed the tire pressure!

Insure they didn't mess with the steering head bearings.

Reassembly requires that all fasteners are tightened properly.

***

[Brian]

I'd like to ask about adding less fluid to soften the ride. Wouldn't this make the forks spongy feeling or not dampening equally or at the same rate?

[Earl in Pensacola]

When you say that you went a little light on the fork oil, did you mean that you had them put in LESS oil or a lighter weight oil??  IMHO, you should not have put less fork oil nor should you have used a lighter wt. than OEM spec.  As it is, the factory wt oil and spec. amount still provides a reasonably soft cushion and yet is stable.  If anything a good many riders go up in the fork oil wt. so as to firm her up a little.  Check to see if any balance weights that were on the wheel are still there, then re-center (align) the front wheel by following "to the letter" the exact mounting procedure etc. for the front axle.  Lastly, do a quick check to see if your steering head bearings are still set at the correct pressure (you know, jack up the front of the bike and pull on the front of the wheel and feel for steering head slop and/or do the test where you use a fish wt scale to see how much pull it takes to move the handle bars off center.)

[MP]

I didn't read anything saying it was a "Honda" dealer shop.


***

"It was a Honda shop."

I would read that as saying it was a Honda shop.

MP

[Bone]

Had them go a little light( less fluid) on the forks for softer ride .

[Ricky-D]

None of that, will, all of a sudden, cause wobbling.

You have a problem with something else

unrelated to the oil in the forks.

***

I see in a post farther down the list that the dealer was indeed a Honda dealer. There- satisfied pee

[Hoser]

I must take exception to the EBC pads ruining the rotors.  I have used EBC organic pads on the original rotors for nearly 100.000 miles, and the rotors still meet specs.  The buzzing really does go away after a few hundred miles, BTW. Where they screwed you was charging you an OEM+ price for the EBC pads.  I would insist they reinstall the front wheel using the tightening procedure from the service manual. I would also make sure they used the organic pads, the sintered pads could very well damage the rotors, IMHO.  Hope that fixes it.  Hoser 

[longrider]

FYI,  the only time I had a wobble was the moment I made the mistake of installing E 3's front and rear.  My wobble was at 40+ mph and kind of felt like It was swimming.  Removed the front within 200 miles and installed avons and have never gone back.

warren

[Brian]

FYI,  the only time I had a wobble was the moment I made the mistake of installing E 3's front and rear.  My wobble was at 40+ mph and kind of felt like It was swimming.  Removed the front within 200 miles and installed avons and have never gone back.

warren

I just replaced my front with a new E3 and no problems nor with the E3 on the rear last spring. I do all my own work except mounting the tire on the rims. I followed the manual every time on tightening procedure. I have the dealer do the balancing as well, I add the appropriate amount of Ride-on when the wheel is back on the bike.