Low speed wobble

[Ramie]

I noticed on my new to me 01 Valk I/S I have a slight low speed wobble starting around 15 mph, I only notice it when coming to a stop, the front seems to want to wander a little.  Today I jack the bike up and check it and could find no front to back or side to side play so I pulled the front wheel and check that, seems to be balanced well and bearings seem fine as well as the tire, Avon cobra.  With the wheel off I check the steering and I do have a slight notch in the bearing, I can feel it fall into it with I straighten the bars without the wheel on so I plan on replacing that this fall after the riding season here.  While I couldn't find any play in the bearing it seemed to move a little to freely when turning the bars I expected to feel a little more resistance.  I'm not experienced when it comes to the steering head so not sure if it just my imagination or not.  Just wondering what others experience is when it come to the steering head.  Is it possible the notch if feel in the bearing is the whole cause of the wobble or should I be looking at something else?

[sandy]

I run Cobras and love mine. Run it at 42 PSI to avoid cupping. Also, check the manufacture date to see how old it is. It could be an old tire that is breaking down internally.

[BonS]

It seem counter intuitive but you should check your rear shock upper mounts. These have a history of failing and causing wander. My I/S forks move quite freely but I don't have any kind of slow speed wander. Notching is not good, obviously.

[Jess from VA]

Normal valk bar movement is pretty floppy (free and easy) with little if any resistance.  Up on the jack, a sight breeze can flop my fairing over (IS).

A number of new riders report a little wobble with slow speed stops, for awhile.  

Front brakes stop the bike, but more rear at slow-to-stop tends to keep her straight.

Most of us have installed taller risers.  Taller risers than stock also seem to straighten out/smooth stops (no matter if we are tall or short).  Are yours originals?

It's always worth your time to look at shock bushings.  Worn ones can lead to all kinds of seemingly unrelated symptoms.

[Michvalk]

Pick the front of the bike up, and spin the front tire. Watch closely for knob and out of round. It COULD be that

[Ramie]

Pick the front of the bike up, and spin the front tire. Watch closely for knob and out of round. It COULD be that

Thanks for the suggestion but I did check that and didn't see anything.  I didn't set up any type of gauge but I will keep that in mind.  As far as shock bushing go are stock the way to go, it seems to me I read somewhere about neoprene bushings?  It does seem more pronounced when my wife rides with.

It also could be I need to get use to the bigger bike, when I get on my vt1100 now it seems a lot smaller.

The Valk has been my dream bike for a long time, I've ridden other Hondas, Harleys, Kawasaki's, Norton's, Yamaha's but when I saw my first Valkyrie I knew I'd own one someday.

[Bighead]

My IS has the same wobble and I know of several others that do new tires or old cupped tires. But will say it is more noticeable with cupped tires. IMHO nothing to worry about trying to fix just ride it like you stole it

[Ramie]

My IS has the same wobble and I know of several others that do new tires or old cupped tires. But will say it is more noticeable with cupped tires. IMHO nothing to worry about trying to fix just ride it like you stole it

Thanks Bighead, I'm not to worried about it, it's just different than I'm used to.  I will eventually do the steering head bearing  because of the notch but I'm learning to compensate, so far I love it, all I need now is to name it, any suggestions?

[WintrSol]

My Tourer came with a car tire on the rear and a relatively new Shinko tire on the front, and plenty of wobble, which I assumed was caused by the weight and car tire. I didn't like the way it handled, so replaced the CT with a Metzeler ME880; much better, but still had the wobble. I added 5psi to the front tire, and the wobble changed, but didn't go away, so I had it replaced with a Dunlop Elite 3. Now, there is no wobble, and it feels much more secure feeling in hard cornering. This is the second time I've encountered a bad front tire on a large cruiser, BTW. Try adding pressure to the front tire and, if it changes, you may also have a bad tire.

[Bighead]

My IS has the same wobble and I know of several others that do new tires or old cupped tires. But will say it is more noticeable with cupped tires. IMHO nothing to worry about trying to fix just ride it like you stole it

Thanks Bighead, I'm not to worried about it, it's just different than I'm used to.  I will eventually do the steering head bearing  because of the notch but I'm learning to compensate, so far I love it, all I need now is to name it, any suggestions?

No real suggestions on the name but Dayum she is purty 
I like custom paint as ya can tell tired of seeing the same Ol factory stuff

[Daniel Meyer]

Take a good look at the rear tire, they are often the cause of the wobble you describe BUT...you state you can feel a notch in your steering head bearings? If so they are beyond toast. The forces involved in our steering heads are extreme and if you can feel notching or slop (either one) they are REALLY bad.

Replace the bearings and follow the torque specs and procedure in the manual exactly...the valk is quite picky about those head bearings. Retorque your new bearings at 10,000 miles and they should be good for life.

[Ricky-D]

YES, your problem is completely related to the indexed bearing in the steering head.

How they have become indexed doesn't matter but because of the indexing is the

reason for your handling problem.  There is an inherent danger with the bike in

this condition.

***

[Bighead]

So your saying mine was bad from the factory? Along with at least half a dozen others I know of. I feel no indexing or slop in steering head at all .

[Firefighter]

My 2000 IS did the same. I could never feel the notched bearings and tried adjusting (tightening and then tried to loosen up) the head bearings several times over a year or so. Then while changing the front tire I slipped the front forks out and wow, the triple tree felt like it was locked into the straight ahead position. I could never feel that with the  weight of the wheel and forks. Installed oem bearings and all was well, much easier to ride. It was fixed. I could see and feel the notches in the old bearing races. You may have to remove the handlebars also to feel if the bearings are indexed. Mine had 46,000 miles when I changed the bearings, but I had rode several thousand miles putting up with the bad handling. Caution! Use the manual.  Firefighter

[Ramie]

Took a quick look at the rear shocks and the top bolt is not centered on the bushing, according to some of Chet's info on Rattle bars that tells me the bushing is bad so i'll be replacing them hopefully this week if my local Honda dealer has any of the VTX poly bushing in stock. 
Father I was only able to barely feel the notch after I pulled the front tire and pulled the calipers out of way.  I hoping the bushing help with the wobble, I will update, thanks for all the suggestions.

[Ramie]

Quick update I can't believe how hard the bushings are to find.  None of the Honda dealers here in MN stock the poly bushings (52489-HN0-671) and I couldn't find any in stock at the major part houses.  I finally tracked down 4 of them at Coffey County Honda in KS and they're going to mail them to me.  I couldn't even find the standard rubber bushings here in MN.

[Gryphon Rider]

Quick update I can't believe how hard the bushings are to find.  None of the Honda dealers here in MN stock the poly bushings (52489-HN0-671) and I couldn't find any in stock at the major part houses.  I finally tracked down 4 of them at Coffey County Honda in KS and they're going to mail them to me.  I couldn't even find the standard rubber bushings here in MN.

When I buy them I always have to have them ordered in by my dealer.

[rhinor61]

after 15 years dont you think its time to just replace the entire shocks?

I wouldn't run shocks on my car/truck for 15 years, or replace a bad bushing on them.
Like tires they do wear out.

but thats just me perhaps..

BTW shock technology has improved in the past 15 years if your willing to spend the money.

J.

[Ramie]

It would be nice to be able to afford new ones but the bike took all my money and the bushings are cheep and so far the over all ride doesn't indicate that the shock need replacing.

[cookiedough]

My 2001 Valk I/S also has the front steering wobble at speeds say 20-35 mph only when slowing down.  I don't dare let go of the handlebars due to the slow speed wobble.  I just got used to it and will wait until my front Avon Cobra is replaced next season to see if it was just the tire.  Has done it since new Avon Cobra installed 4 or so years ago so might be just tire??   I had my rear tire replaced a few weeks ago and also with new Honda OEM rubber shock bushings for rear shocks and that did not help the low speed wobble even though the rubber bushings, especially top ones, were shot. 

Also just started developing a slight vibration when accelerating ONLY on the footpegs vibrating my shoes some.  Some say it might be time for a new universal joint but at only 30K miles???  I guess near 15 years is needing some new parts finally regardless of miles driven?

[Ricky-D]

It seems like there's lots of people wanting to hijack this thread.

Such bad manners will not be rewarded by me, at least.

You folks (Hijackers) should start a new thread, it's very easy

not to mention polite.

***

[Cracker Jack]

It seems like there's lots of people wanting to hijack this thread.

Such bad manners will not be rewarded by me, at least.

You folks (Hijackers) should start a new thread, it's very easy

not to mention polite.

***

You tell'em Ricky-D!!

[Gryphon Rider]

It seems like there's lots of people wanting to hijack this thread.

Such bad manners will not be rewarded by me, at least.

You folks (Hijackers) should start a new thread, it's very easy

not to mention polite.

***

Including the OP, so I wouldn't get too excited.

To opine on the original question, first bump the tires to maximum pressure, then change the steering head bearings.

[Ramie]

Update my bushing showed up today so I threw them.  The old uppers were shot but the bottoms weren't too bad but now I have the poly bushing all the way around


The wobble is a lot better but still a little there the change was noticeable.  I'm going to pump the front tire pressure up a little it was sitting at 38 so I think I'll try around 42 and see how it goes.  Appreciate all the info from everyone, thanks again. 

[Jess from VA]

Yeah, I'd say those were a bit worn.