Vibration when cornering

[Dag]

A new member of Norway has imported a 2003 model with 26000 miles. He has vibration when cornering. He has changed wheel bearings front and rear, new tires, checked the u-joint and stearing head bearing. He will check the pinion cup and gear. Some other good suggestions?

[The Anvil]

Tire pressure? If he's not running 40 or above then he should try that.

[5_19]

Dag,
Is the vibration the same for a left or right turn? At what speed is it the strongest? Any mods on the bike that could cause that problem?

[hubcapsc]

Swingarm bearings?

-Mike

[Ricky-D]

With a vibration like that, it would be good to check all the points where the motor and frame connect.

***

[Thunderbolt]

maybe some wear there.  Or the shocks themselves.

[mario]

shock bushings?

[R J]

+1 on shock bushings.

Look at the bolt in the hole, if it is not centered, get new bushings.

Also put 40+ air pressure in the tires.

You said he had new tires, what brand are they?

What is the manufacture date on them?

[Challenger]

My Avons began to vibrate while cornering after about 5000 miles, My Bridgstones have done it since new, even with 44 PSI. The higher the pressure, the farther you have to lean to notice it. Adjust pressure and see if it changes.

[DFragn]

Swingarm bearings?

-Mike

I don't think it would be the swingarm bearings. They don't get much work. Not like a wheel bearing anyway.

I had heavy movement up front [45k miles] and if I hit a sloppy pavement transition at 70 mph I immediately went into a tank slapper. Or at speeds over 85-90.
Never did I have a vibration or chatter in the curves. I did loose my front end though if I hit bump - that's not much fun heeled over! Made me timid in the curves.

After several months of wasted steering stem & wheel bearings I finally took a look at the swingarm. Replaced the swing bearings and all was good. Finally!

With my bad swing bearings, I found, caused my rear end to move over the rear wheel overall close to 4" at speed with rough Chicago Toll road transitions.
Needless to say in heavy rush traffic @ 70 mph.
Amazing how wide of a berth those speeding commuters will give up when they think your riding like an idiot! Glad I wasn't wearing white sweat pants...

The movement would actually begin slightly around 40 mph.

I'm not ruling out swingarm causing vibration in curves for Dag's friend, but my experience kinda shows otherwise.

I tend to believe mine were never torqued properly from the factory. Same btw for my ungreased slave pin.

[t-man403]

Fork oil?
Low pressure and you will have some scary things happening in the curves.

[Attic Rat]

I would try retorqueing the swingarm bearings. It is easy to do if you have the correct tool and it doesn't take very long to do.

[Jess from VA]

Vibration when cornering is almost certainly tires, new or not.

[Ricky-D]

I feel the discussion regarding the swing arm bearings is a red herring.

I know Dag is an excellent mechanic and probably checked all that stuff already.

Simply grabbing the rear wheel and moving it side to side would reveal any swing arm problem.

***

[gordonv]

Wasn't there a post in the last 3 month with the same problem? Owner couldn't find any problem, look everything over.

Same kind of posting here, lots of suggestions. If I remember correctly, the owner took the rear rim off for a second time and checked the bearings, and now found them to not be as good as he first thought they where. There was some post I think about how to "feel" for a bad bearing, and this might have made the differance.

[The Anvil]

Vibration when cornering is almost certainly tires, new or not.

Wasn't there some talk recently of a bad run of Avon tires?

But it's true. Even new tires properly "balanced" can have issues.

[Valkpilot]

Wasn't there some talk recently of a bad run of Avon tires?

I believe that info is several years old and refers to the previous generation of Avons.

It's Groundhog Day.

[Valkpilot]

Wasn't there a post in the last 3 month with the same problem? Owner couldn't find any problem, look everything over.

Same kind of posting here, lots of suggestions. If I remember correctly, the owner took the rear rim off for a second time and checked the bearings, and now found them to not be as good as he first thought they where. There was some post I think about how to "feel" for a bad bearing, and this might have made the differance.

I've found that simply rotating the bearing with your finger is not enough to always feel the wear.  You should also apply side load while rotating, i.e., push in or pull out as you rotate.   

That said, Dag reported that the bearings are new and unless they were inserted improperly, they aren't likely to be bad.

[Dag]

Thanks for all the suggestions 
The snow has begun to lay down here now, and he will use the winter to go through everything. Test run is probably in March or April when the roads are free of snow and ice.

[sandy]

Dag: Are the tires cupped. When too little air pressure has been run, tires become cupped and you hear/feel a slight vibration. Keep them aired up and change tires when they're due. That "may" be the solution.

[salty1]

Encountered a vibration when cornering after I had removed my front tire. Went back and reseated the wheel and finished tightening everything up according to the manual. Vibration was gone.

[RP#62]

Dag, is he new to the Valkyrie?  The reason I ask is that I remember when I first got my bike.  It was very smooth and a lot quieter than I was used to.  In fact I remember thinking that this is the first bike I'd ridden that I could hear the tire noise over the engine noise.  It was so smooth, the first time I cranked it over into a turn, the front wheel (stock Dunlop) made so much noise and vibration, I thought something was wrong with the bike.
-RP

[BradValk48237]

Is it  BIG VIBRATION or a little tickle in the corners?????    I agree with RP... tires on the Valks (and Wings) tend to roar in the corners at highway speeds and you feel a tickle/light vibration from the tire treads..... depends on tires and age of tires, but my 85 wing had it no matter what I did but it would get worse with more milage on the tires...

Front tire on the Valk is getting ready to be changed and I noticed it "vibrating" more at speed as it got more worn...... And my rear bushings are new, new dampers and front and back bearings are good....

Not saying its NOT a problem, but the smoothness of these bikes show alot of things that you might not notice on other bikes....

If its a "VIBRATION!!!!" then might be something else....

Did you ride the bike?

Brad