Chasing Front-end Shimmy/Wobble

[Capn Ron]

Well...THAT was easy!   

[aviationfred]

Persistence pays off....


Fred

[Firehawk068]

I wanted to post another Follow-up update on the topics in  this thread..............
After receiving the free replacement tire from Shinko, I put it in the corner of my garage and just held onto it.
I knew I had a Monster trip coming up in August with Cap'n Ron, and knew I wanted a brand-new fresh set of tires on the FJ at that time.
I ordered a new rear one to go with it, and stuck that in the corner as well.

Fast-Forward to the end of July...............

Trip preparations were well underway. I removed the old front Pilot Road-2 once again(for the last time), and the Shinko rear (which had probably half it's tread left still on it) and mounted both new Shinko's on the bike.
Put fresh oil and filter change, new rear brake pads, clean and lube the chain, and thorough inspection of the bike......It was ready to go!
While Ron was working on his FJ, I took mine out for a test-ride..............
Stupid wobble/shimmy was back! It was as bad as the first time!
Not having any time left before our trip, I decided just to run it....................That was a mistake!
The shimmy/wobble bothered me for the whole trip! It was made worse by all of the camping gear, supplies, and clothes I carried during the trip. Low/medium-speed corners were the worst. I really had to focus on holding the front-end steady through the corners instead of the corner itself, or my line through the corners......................The twisty roads we ran were still enjoyable, but this problem made them more of a chore.
In hindsight, I should have just swapped another new front tire on before we left! 


Today that's what I did.

Removed the Shinko Raven. (it looks almost new even though it has 6,000 miles on it) and installed a brand-new front Continental Conti-Motion. I've ran these before, and I liked them except for rear tire mileage (can barely get to 4000 miles on a rear Conti)
I still have the rear Shinko Raven on the bike. It still has around half its tread left.
I will NEVER buy another Shinko Raven front tire as long as I live!

[Firehawk068]

Took the FJ for a 117-mile ride this past Saturday.

No more shimmy/wobble at any speed! 

I've come to the conclusion that my FJ and Shinko Raven front tires disagree with each other............

[Millietant]

I had a similar shimmy experience when my FJ was new, with the Pirelli Phantom's that were fitted and then again 20 years later with Bridgestone BT 45's - although the shimmy never really bothered me as it was un-noticeable unless I completely unweighted the bars, and it was worse when the bike was loaded up for touring but never noticeable when cornering, basically just on the over-run, slowing down though 45-40mph.

Because the shimmy came and went with tyre changes, I guessed it was just a "feature" of a particular front tyre shape/tread.

With the FZR 3.5" wheel on the front and the 17" rear wheel, running a pair of BT 023's (120/70 front & 170/60 rear), there's no sign of any shimmy, even hands off and the bike now steers much more predictably than I ever remember it doing for the first 29 years of its life with me !!

[balky1]

I had a similar shimmy experience when my FJ was new, with the Pirelli Phantom's that were fitted and then again 20 years later with Bridgestone BT 45's - although the shimmy never really bothered me as it was un-noticeable unless I completely unweighted the bars, and it was worse when the bike was loaded up for touring but never noticeable when cornering, basically just on the over-run, slowing down though 45-40mph.

Because the shimmy came and went with tyre changes, I guessed it was just a "feature" of a particular front tyre shape/tread.

With the FZR 3.5" wheel on the front and the 17" rear wheel, running a pair of BT 023's (120/70 front & 170/60 rear), there's no sign of any shimmy, even hands off and the bike now steers much more predictably than I ever remember it doing for the first 29 years of its life with me !!

I have the same experience with BT 45, but it started to happen when the front tire cupped. Never while it was in good condition (I simply adored those tires when new).