shimmy

[TXFireman07b]

for a while I have noticed when I decelerate, my front end shakes a little. I can remove my left hand and not feel it shake so bad, but when I remove my throttle hand it tends to shake some. When I was riding on my trip through Arkansas mountains, I noticed when I was riding and got up to around 110 the front end began to shake pretty bad.. I was wondering if it might be something in the tree? the shocks? or just maybe an unbalanced tire? any ideas or suggestions? I did notice on some of the left curves that it bounced a little. I have a dunlap on the front and a DS on the rear. The shake was happening even before the DS was installed so I am thinking maybe the front tire? I am planning on changing the front tire to Avon in the morning, so I hope that fixes the problem, but was looking for any help..

[Ghillie]

a tire starting to delaminate can cause a shake

[Valkpilot]

a tire starting to delaminate can cause a shake

+1

My Toyo DS tire started to delaminate around 19k miles.  I was sure I had a front-end problem until I noticed the rear tread was deformed.

TXfireman07b says this started before he changed rears, so I'm guessing he needs to start checking alignment and bearings everywhere if the new front tire doesn't fix it.

[bogator]

  Doe's it shake when you take both hands off the bars??..............LOL ........tire is the problem......have a good one.......................

[SideCar]

+1 on it probably being the tire.  Fork issues can cause it, but 99% of the time, it's a tire issue.

[Pete]

+2 on front tire. Check for wear patterns and any signs of tire delaminations, such as blisters or knots especially on the left side.

[oldman]

At one time I could take both hands off the handlebars, then it began to shake a little when I remove them, I replaced the wheel weights with Dyna Beads now it's back as smooth as ever. I believe that as tire wears the balance changes, I can't say that the Dyna Beads will fix your shake but if your tire isn't worn out it might be worth a try.

Ps if you already have dyna beads please disregard this post ..

[bigdog99]

sounds like an E# on the front or back,,,,,,,,thats why i went Avon front and Hankook on back

[bigdog99]

sounds like an E# on the front or back,,,,,,,,thats why i went Avon front and Hankook on back

sorry E3 on front

[Joe Hummer]

You need to check your steering head bearings.  I just tightened mine and the wobbles went away.  Mine would happen at 40-45mph when I let go of the bars.  Easy enough job and you really don't need the special tool the manual claims.  You can use a screwdriver and hammer to tap on the nut to tighten.  Use a fish scale to set the tension.  I believe the manual shows what the reading is supposed to be and how to do it. 

To do this, you will need to remove the handlebars and the top plate on the triple trees.  Set a heavy towel on the tank to protect it when you set the handlebars on the tank.  You don't have to remove any of the cables/wires from the handlebars. 

Joe

[Lyn-Del]

9 times out of 10, when I have that problem with the front end, it's low tire pressure on the front tire.

Of course, I learned this the embarrassing way -- I took the bike to a dealer's service dept.  And was lucky that the guy liked me so told me to check the pressure instead of logging it in and charging me the minimum charge.

[6jugzz]

All info should be ck'd out that has been mentioned, but...........I had none of these issues and had the shakes. But since I have been mounting my own wheel on my bike (and taking extreme care to CENTER the wheel between the forks) I have had no problems. I also had a Shinko tire to delam. on me with no shake or shimmy.

[john]

I was riding and got up to around 110 the front end began to shake pretty bad..     

[TXFireman07b]

I changed the front tire to an avon and had it balanced with weights, still have not tried the dyna beads but will see how the avon rides before I try the other options. Thank you for the input.. I value everyones expertise and wisdom when it comes to the golden Dragon.. I love my bike because I anticipate it giving me many miles and years of riding pleasure... I have not had much of a chance to ride it but the time I did get to ride, it felt much better... Ill let you know.,
Thanks again..