Front wheel shimmy/hop

[bigtallguy]

Just got back from a weekend ride and started having front wheel shimmy or hop from about 85mph and up. It's not a constant thing, more like on one second, then off one second, repeat. I wiggled and pulled on the tire every way I could think of and didn't feel any slack or looseness in the bearings and the tire isn't cupping. I have about 4k miles on the front tire (PR2). I'm thinking the tire needs re-balancing, anything else I need to check?

 

[fjrrider]

Just got back from a weekend ride and started having front wheel shimmy or hop from about 85mph and up. It's not a constant thing, more like on one second, then off one second, repeat. I wiggled and pulled on the tire every way I could think of and didn't feel any slack or looseness in the bearings and the tire isn't cupping. I have about 4k miles on the front tire (PR2). I'm thinking the tire needs re-balancing, anything else I need to check?

A couple of things to think about here. For me just about anytime I have had front wheel issues, putting a new front tire on has always fixed the problem.

Heres the good one, 4K is good milage IMO. I cant get that out of any tire, so I think you did alright with that tire, put a new one on see what happens before you try any kind of adjustments.

Some say they can get 14K - 16K out of a set of tires, I call BS, either that or there riding on egg shells!

 

[bigtallguy]

A couple of things to think about here. For me just about anytime I have had front wheel issues, putting a new front tire on has always fixed the problem.

Heres the good one, 4K is good milage IMO. I cant get that out of any tire, so I think you did alright with that tire, put a new one on see what happens before you try any kind of adjustments.

Some say they can get 14K - 16K out of a set of tires, I call BS, either that or there riding on egg shells!

Well, the tire looks good and has plenty of tread left on it, not cupped or deformed that I can tell. I usually get around 15K miles on a front tire so I would be suprised if it wore out this fast, considering I have about 9,200 miles on the rear PR2. This would be the first time I've ever had a tire go out of balance enough for me to feel it if that's what it is.

I'll replace the tire if all else fails though, thanks.

 

[not2shabby]

I'd try a rebalance first. Are any weights missing from the previous balancing? I'm going to put a new set of PR2's on this week, the ones on the bike now have almost 10k miles. I'd look it over for any damage/bulges, etc. and check the pressure too.

 

[fjrrider]

Well, the tire looks good and has plenty of tread left on it, not cupped or deformed that I can tell. I usually get around 15K miles on a front tire so I would be suprised if it wore out this fast, considering I have about 9,200 miles on the rear PR2. This would be the first time I've ever had a tire go out of balance enough for me to feel it if that's what it is.

I'll replace the tire if all else fails though, thanks.

I've got a Pirelli Strada on the front with 3800 miles and its past the wear bar, it still feels OK on the road, its takes a little more effort to turn but thats about it.

Your way past me, you gotta be doing something right!

 

[bigtallguy]

Re-balanced and it's better, but I still get a little shimmy from 90mph and up. Maybe I suck at balancing, I dunno. Is it odd that it's not a constant shimmy?

I looked over the tire really well and couldn't find anything wrong, pulled and wiggled the front end and didn't feel or hear anything odd again. The only thing I've done recently is swap the stock windscreen to the rifle for the winter, maybe that's it...

 

[wheatonFJR]

Higher speed vibs that got greater with more speed(>80mph) was a improper balance issue on one of my tires a few years back.

 

[nessundoma]

I experienced slow speed headshake upon decel_hands-off_ with new (<750mi)Conti road attack just last week. I checked the front end, balance and confirmed 36psi per manufacturer. I also road tested @39psi without improvement. The contis' appearance is normal. So today, I replaced the tire w/ Pilot Power 2 @39psi. Absolutely no headshake under similar riding conditions.

I've sent an e-mail to customer svc. requesting a warranty adjustment. We'll see what happens.

 

[bigtallguy]

I experienced slow speed headshake upon decel_hands-off_ with new (<750mi)Conti road attack just last week. I checked the front end, balance and confirmed 36psi per manufacturer. I also road tested @39psi without improvement. The contis' appearance is normal. So today, I replaced the tire w/ Pilot Power 2 @39psi. Absolutely no headshake under similar riding conditions.

I've sent an e-mail to customer svc. requesting a warranty adjustment. We'll see what happens.

Well, as much as I hate to replace a tire that looks good, I might just have to suck it up and do it :angry:

 

[ThrottleJunkie]

Just one other "cheap" thing to try: Check your front suspension settings and make sure they are balanced side to side. That is, where ever they are set at make sure they are the same number of clicks out for both rebounds. I had them get out of whack once and it drove me crazy until I just re-set them to the same, then the problem went away. Not so much an up-and-down thing, but more or a wiggle when hitting bumps or dips.

Just a thought....