Bike Listing To The Right

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....I realized that the fact that my throttle cable is no longer quite long enough (supposed to be plenty long when heli bridge installed and bars all the way back, now it binds the throttle at full right bar lock) might be related to the other symptoms. Will see.
If the throttle cable is too tight at full lock TO THE RIGHT, it would make sense that it's pulling the handlebar slightly to the left, and that could conceivably cause the bike to counter-steer slightly to the right.

Just a thought.

 
Wobble on decel with the hands off the bars is common on a lot of bikes. It's something about the weight and rake/trail. The solution is not to take your hands off the bars when weight is being transferred to the front wheel.
r
I've got this problem on my '13. New tires and suspension tuning have helped, but it still wobbles with hands off the bars around 45MPH. I wouldn't be so quick to blame Bridgestone for these problems, it's a feature of the bike.

CJ

 
Wobble on decel with the hands off the bars is common on a lot of bikes. It's something about the weight and rake/trail. The solution is not to take your hands off the bars when weight is being transferred to the front wheel.
r
I've got this problem on my '13. New tires and suspension tuning have helped, but it still wobbles with hands off the bars around 45MPH. I wouldn't be so quick to blame Bridgestone for these problems, it's a feature of the bike.

CJ
A "feature of the bike"????

Like throttle-by-wire, traction control, anti-lock brakes, cruise control, electric windshield, linked brakes?

"Feature of the bike" insinuates something that has been designed-in to the motorcycle's feature-set. Like Yamaha engineers decided "Hey, it doesn't wobble at 45mph. Let's add that as a feature."

I don't think this is a viable answer, or EVERY FJR built and sold since 2001 would wobble at 45mph. My '04 doesn't wobble...how can I get that "feature" back? I wanna be one of the "Kool Kids" too! :p

 
Why is this FJR "listing" to the right?
Is it a boat?
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I don't care if my FJR lists, that just tells me that I need to rearrange the ballast. What I want is that wobble feature. I don't think mine has that. As a matter of fact, I would not be satisfied with a 45 mph no hands on the bars wobble. I want mine to do it at around 145 mph. As soon as I get a chance I am going to try this out.

Now, if it does not wobble when I take my hands off the bars at speed will Yamaha warranty that? Of course now I have to teach myself to NOT hold the grip thingies at all times...

 
I don't care if my FJR lists, that just tells me that I need to rearrange the ballast. What I want is that wobble feature. I don't think mine has that. As a matter of fact, I would not be satisfied with a 45 mph no hands on the bars wobble. I want mine to do it at around 145 mph. As soon as I get a chance I am going to try this out.
Now, if it does not wobble when I take my hands off the bars at speed will Yamaha warranty that? Of course now I have to teach myself to NOT hold the grip thingies at all times...
Well, my 06 AE has the hands-off wobble at between 40-45 MPH, ONLY if I take the hands off the bars. It's definitely worse with worn tires, but it's there regardless. I don't get the wobble if I have even the slightest pressure on the bars. I've even tried it with one or two fingers on one side (throttle lock holding at 45) and no wobble. It only shows up hands-free in that specific speed range, and I don't do hands free unless I'm at speed on the slab and I need a quick stretch. Of course, then it just 'lists' to the left, as the OP's does. Again, I don't pay it no never-mind 'cause I try to keep my grubby mitts on the bars!
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I honestly have never taken my hands off the bars while the bike is rolling so I don't know. Does it happen on deceleration only or will it do it with the cruise set? I guess I need to find out.

On the other hand, why do I need to know this?

What I am going to do is see if the bike lists or wobbles. Seriously. Now I am curious.

 
My bike has only ever wobbled when the front is toast, and only during negative acceleration. A new front tire always fixes it. My bike has never listed; although, it has leaked.

 
negative acceleration
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Is that similar to deceleration?
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Yeah, when the front tire is nearing end-of-life, and I take both hands off the bars to do some upper-body calisthenics, the bike does tend to wobble a little bit, especially around 80 on a downhill sweeper.
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With good tires, at decent pressures, my fjr is stable, straight and well-balanced.

Never noticed any list-like tendencies. Maybe check forks are both equally adjusted/aligned?

Also might want to check engine frame mount points for correct torque and torque sequence. I know incorrectly torqued engine/frame mounts can cause weird stuff, like vibration at certain speeds, and I suppose it could affect handling as well

 
I hate to keep this going but...

On my way to work tonight I got the bike up to 65 and let go of the bars. It coasted smoothly down to 42 mph but it began to ease to the left so I had to grab the bars again. I considered setting the cruise and letting go and then... I realized I just did not care that much. I guess Yamaha did not add the wobble to my bike.

 
You have to wait until your front tire becomes scalloped a bit more. Yamaha would not have left off this important feature on your bike.

 
Probably all bikes do the "negative acceleration" wobble. Search google and let me know which bikes you DON'T find a post about someone complaining about it. It must be a feature!
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Not all, but most, yes. Bikes with a very relaxed steering geometry will not wobble (think cruiser type bikes), but they don't turn into a corner worth a shit either. In steering geometry there is an inherent compromise between quickness and stability. As you improve one you degrade the other.

The wobbling comes because the stability is low enough that the tiny deflections caused by worn tires put the steered mass into mechanical oscillation. You can get rid of it by putting new tires on because that removes the tiny deflections. Or you can get rid of it by putting more preload on the steering head bearings (or putting roller bearings in) because that increases the mechanical damping of the system, making it more stable.

The reason you first feel the wobbles while decelerating is because the bike and rider's weight is pitched forward on the bike, compressing the front fork and unweighting the rear shock. This temporarily sharpens the steering angles and makes the front less stable and more prone to oscillation. It goes to reason that you can get rid of the wobbles by increasing those steering angles, either by raising the front ride height (increase the preload), or lowering the rear (decrease the preload) or both. Unlike the ES, it is not easy to lower the rear ride height on an "A" model other than flipping the hard soft lever to soft (if it isn't already), but the front has 15mm of adjustment on the forks. Crank in some more preload up front and see how that affects the wobbles.

 
Well I got screwed.... Mine did not even have a wobble with the crap tire that was there when I got it. Mine has never been anything other than stable. Gravel roads excepted and even at that it is no big deal.

 
Mine didn't have a wobble on deceleration until the last set of tires. Started new with PR3's. Curious to see if it goes away with the next set.

 
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