kakusaizou Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Just had a slight but heart-sinking shake at the bars when I hit a small bump merging left at 80mph. This was just after I did a chain adjustment. Now every time I flick the bars left or right above 60mph there is slight shake until it stabilizes itself. Could a tight chain cause this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member rmdet Posted May 28, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 28, 2015 Did you check the alignment marks on the rear, and if so, are they at the same mark? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cndnmax Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 My money is on alignment also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member rowdy Posted May 28, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 28, 2015 Oh yea! It's called "speed wobble" or sometimes, more ominously "death wobble" and I've had it on my bicycle descending a canyon at 55 mph (I almost crapped my shorts). There are many factors that can create it, and sometimes it takes a (bad) combination of things to create it. Here's some good info from wikipedia. I too would check closely you rear wheel alignment, as well as your headset tension. I think the short wheelbase on our bikes could make it easier to have this happen when something isn't quite right. I would also recheck the chain tension, but I doubt it is the cause. Also, wheels out of balance can cause it, and even having a death grip on the bars can contribute to it. Why can't left turners see us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member howworkclutch Posted May 28, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 28, 2015 The chain may be too tight. I had a Honda cb450 that would scare the pants off ya if the chain was too tight. My Harley developed a wiggle at 90mph. I suspect the guy who changed my rear tire over-tightened the belt tensioner. Since I rarely went faster than 80 I didn't worry about it. I changed the belt before a long run and the problem went away. -HowWorkClutch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beemer Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 It's probably the alignment but a fork brace is nice to help eliminate the "Death Wobble". Try that process of elimination. Can't seem to find a fork brace for our bike, poop! Has anyone seen any? Beemer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batscat Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Damn if you don't know what you are doing take it to a shop pay $20 to get chain done right before you kill yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member avanti Posted May 28, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 28, 2015 I always (and suggest) taking a picture of the alignment marks on each side of the bike, with a precisely centered camera placement, while it is working right (assumed) and BEFORE adjusting anything! The reasons I say this are: 1) I agree with the others who suggest a chain adjustment problem (especially since the issue seemed to have just appear post-adj), and 2) because the alignment marks are often not exactly perfectly aligned from side to side. Regarding the latter, my 07 has one exactly "on the mark" (exactly centered) on one side but just "early" on the corresponding mark on the other side. The difference is very slight, and might, just might not matter but since the bike works fine as is, that's exactly the relationship between the two marks I'll reproduce when doing my first adjustment. All the BEST!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kakusaizou Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 Interesting, the right plate moved and I had to adjust it AFTER lining both plates and torqing the axle nut. Should the right plate sit flush to the swing arm after torquing the nut? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmwpowere36m3 Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Interesting, the right plate moved and I had to adjust it AFTER lining both plates and torqing the axle nut. Should the right plate sit flush to the swing arm after torquing the nut?Yes, both chain adjuster blocks should be flush with the swingarm. Before tightening the axle nut, I insure the rear wheel is fully pushed forward. What I do is insert a small wrench between two teeth of the rear sprocket and rotate the rear wheel till the wrench is "sandwiched" between the sprocket and chain… Don't go crazy, you'll feel additional resistance when turning the rear wheel as the wrench gets sandwiched. This puts tension on the rear wheel pushing it, the chain blocks and the axle forward. Tighten axle nut and then spin the rear wheel the opposite way to release the wrench. Like this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kakusaizou Posted May 29, 2015 Author Share Posted May 29, 2015 Whipped out the chain alignment tool and it checks out. Loosened chain within spec. Head shake still there. Now I'm curious if it's just the characteristic of the bike. I'd like to know if anyone else experiences it by wiggling their bars left and right at about 60mph+. It's not an all out tank slapper but still doesn't feel normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cndnmax Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Head shake still there. Now I'm curious if it's just the characteristic of the bike. I'd like to know if anyone else experiences it by wiggling their bars left and right at about 60mph+. It's not an all out tank slapper but still doesn't feel normal. [ Not sure I understand. If you wiggle the bars your going to make the bike wiggle too.... Steering gets more sensitive with speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member rowdy Posted May 29, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 29, 2015 I took mine out today and pushed the bars a bunch of times to start an oscillation. The bars oscillated for a second then quickly straightened out. I tried this several times at various speeds between 60 and 80. Also on the ride, I happened to be in a headwind and the vortex behind some vehicles seemed almost like it could have put me into speed wobble. I wasn't brave enough to push the bars while that was happening. So far, I have never had it happen to me. Why can't left turners see us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member rowdy Posted May 29, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 29, 2015 Not sure I understand. If you wiggle the bars your going to make the bike wiggle too.... Steering gets more sensitive with speed. If you have the right conditions to start speed wooble, when you wiggle the bars they can go into a feedback loop that will keep them wiggling, even though you stopped wiggling them. See the wikipedia link I put up earlier in this thread. Why can't left turners see us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kakusaizou Posted May 29, 2015 Author Share Posted May 29, 2015 I took mine out today and pushed the bars a bunch of times to start an oscillation. The bars oscillated for a second then quickly straightened out. I tried this several times at various speeds between 60 and 80. Also on the ride, I happened to be in a headwind and the vortex behind some vehicles seemed almost like it could have put me into speed wobble. I wasn't brave enough to push the bars while that was happening. So far, I have never had it happen to me. That's what I'm talking about. Seems prone to shaking. I stumbled upon it like I described it in the first post. I've own sport bikes that never exhibited this kind of shake and am curious to know if I have a defective bike or if this is common amongst FZ-07s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cndnmax Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Not sure I understand. If you wiggle the bars your going to make the bike wiggle too.... Steering gets more sensitive with speed. If you have the right conditions to start speed wooble, when you wiggle the bars they can go into a feedback loop that will keep them wiggling, even though you stopped wiggling them. See the wikipedia link I put up earlier in this thread. Yes I'm aware of what speed wobbles are. But doing it on purpose is different and is not an issue with the bike. Just stop wiggling the bars lol OP I did find the fz07 to be more twitchy then my previous bike, it's probably what you are feeling also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member rowdy Posted May 29, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 29, 2015 If you have the right conditions to start speed wooble, when you wiggle the bars they can go into a feedback loop that will keep them wiggling, even though you stopped wiggling them. See the wikipedia link I put up earlier in this thread. Yes I'm aware of what speed wobbles are. But doing it on purpose is different and is not an issue with the bike. Just stop wiggling the bars lol OP I did find the fz07 to be more twitchy then my previous bike, it's probably what you are feeling also. Doing it on purpose is a way of determining if your bike has an inherent problem. In general, I agree, don't do that, but if you are testing to see if the bike has a problem it a good test. BTW: "twitchy" has nothing to do with "speed wooble". Why can't left turners see us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kakusaizou Posted May 29, 2015 Author Share Posted May 29, 2015 If you have the right conditions to start speed wooble, when you wiggle the bars they can go into a feedback loop that will keep them wiggling, even though you stopped wiggling them. See the wikipedia link I put up earlier in this thread. Yes I'm aware of what speed wobbles are. But doing it on purpose is different and is not an issue with the bike. Just stop wiggling the bars lol OP I did find the fz07 to be more twitchy then my previous bike, it's probably what you are feeling also. My first experience with the shake wasn't intentional, I hit a crack merging left and it sent the bars wobbling. Makes me second guess if I want to push the bike if it's this easy to induce tank slap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtmn Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 I have seen speed wobble on a weak fork before fix the fork I bet it don't happen again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cndnmax Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Doing it on purpose is a way of determining if your bike has an inherent problem. In general, I agree, don't do that, but if you are testing to see if the bike has a problem it a good test. BTW: "twitchy" has nothing to do with "speed wooble". I would disagree, speed wobbles aren't always the result of a problem with the bike. Cracks and bumps in just the right circumstance can cause it. That's why they have steering stabilizers available. upsetting the bike intentionally proves nothing. A twitchy bike can give the illusion of a slight wobble. My first ride on the bike i wiggles the bars a little and had the WTH was that reaction to the wobbly feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member rowdy Posted May 29, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 29, 2015 Doing it on purpose is a way of determining if your bike has an inherent problem. In general, I agree, don't do that, but if you are testing to see if the bike has a problem it a good test. BTW: "twitchy" has nothing to do with "speed wooble". I would disagree, speed wobbles aren't always the result of a problem with the bike. Cracks and bumps in just the right circumstance can cause it. That's why they have steering stabilizers available. upsetting the bike intentionally proves nothing. A twitchy bike can give the illusion of a slight wobble. My first ride on the bike i wiggles the bars a little and had the WTH was that reaction to the wobbly feeling. I consider it a problem with the bike, and if it is reproducible, it needs to be corrected, sometimes with a stabilizer. Stabilizers are for other things too, not just speed wooble. Wiggling the bars and having a "woobly feeling" is not speed wooble. Trust me, if you experience it, there will be not doubt in you mind. But, I've said my piece so back to our regularly scheduled programming... Why can't left turners see us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cndnmax Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 consider it a problem with the bike, and if it is reproducible, it needs to be corrected, sometimes with a stabilizer. Stabilizers are for other things too, not just speed wooble. Wiggling the bars and having a "woobly feeling" is not speed wooble. Trust me, if you experience it, there will be not doubt in you mind. But, I've said my piece so back to our regularly scheduled programming... I guarantee you can get any bike to enter a speed wobble if you try hard enough. I've had tank slappers before, I know what they feel like. All I'm saying is if you look the bike over and don't find anything wrong take it for what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmwpowere36m3 Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 consider it a problem with the bike, and if it is reproducible, it needs to be corrected, sometimes with a stabilizer. Stabilizers are for other things too, not just speed wooble. Wiggling the bars and having a "woobly feeling" is not speed wooble. Trust me, if you experience it, there will be not doubt in you mind. But, I've said my piece so back to our regularly scheduled programming... I guarantee you can get any bike to enter a speed wobble if you try hard enough. I've had tank slappers before, I know what they feel like. All I'm saying is if you look the bike over and don't find anything wrong take it for what it is. I agree, try "hard" enough and any bike will do it. Maybe what @rowdy is getting at is how easy it is induced… compared to other bikes. I haven't tried it yet on this bike, but both my other bikes ,at freeway speeds, if I jerk the handlebars I'll get an oscillation that'll damp out on its own. However I've never had it happen during "normal" riding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member norcal616 Posted May 29, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 29, 2015 I have felt the wooble described but I notice it when I'm pushing the bike and the surface of the corner seems to be shiny look from heavy traffic... But another corner that's almost just like the corner where I can feel the wooble has a totaly rough textured surface and I don't feel the wooble when pushing the bike...I contribute the problem to the tires cuz it's not often I'm using the sides of the tire which is still prolly " virgin rubber" which is slippery compared to the broken in rubber but on the other hand I'm not scared of the wooble or the fact the rear tire breaks loose when you get into the throttle ...dirt biking requires one to let the wheels break loose or grip harder when you least expect it... (virgin rubber is the rubber past the chicken strips to the direction arrow on the tire that rarely gets used on a street) ... Maybe the rear tire is too " squared off" 2015 fz-07- Hordpower Edition...2015 fj-09- 120whp- Graves Exhaust w/Woolich Race Kit- tuned by 2WDW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ralph Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Mine doesn't do it and I can't remember anyone else mentioning it so it's not normal or there would be lots of posts, if you're into wheelies maybe you dropped it down to hard and damaged the head races, or the races need adjusting but it does not seem a common thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.