New 2010 FJR with head shake

[redneckj]

I bought a new 2010 FJR last Friday. The bike has about 200 miles on it now. The bike is super smooth except on decel from about 60-40 MPH. If I take my left hand off the handle bar, the front end shakes. If I take both hands off the bars it shakes really bad. Air pressure is set to 40 in the front and 42 in the rear. I also loosened up the front brake calipers, pinch bolts and front axel. I then retorqued everything. That did not help at all. I have also verified that the fork tubes are at an even height in the tripple trees as well. What else can I check myself. The bike does have a warranty and I can take it in. I was just trying to see if I could dial it in and not deal with the headache of taking it into the dealer. Thanks in advance, Jay

 

[ahchiu]

Check the torque on the steering head it should be 37# for the lower nut, 13# for the lock nut and around 68# for the top one

 

[Bustanut joker]

chiu has the right idea an ya might also want to check the tire balance.

Or? either quit asking your bike questions er teach it to speak

 

[ionbeam]

Check the torque on the steering head it should be 37# for the lower nut, 13# for the lock nut and around 68# for the top one

The bike is under warranty, if the owner has the opportunity he should have the dealer look at it if for nothing else but to get the issue on record. Yamaha has a track record of being casual with some of their torque values so checking the steering torque is a good idea. You never know with new items, it may make sense to have the dealer measure the radial and lateral run-out of the rim too.

If the steering head and rim are correct the next suspect would be tires, not the brand but a tire construction or mounting issue. I mounted a new tire and my stable FJR instantly it became a wobbler. Even though I didn't buy by the tires from my dealer he still spoke with the Pirelli rep; with no argument the rep told the dealer to swap my front tire with a new one. Swap done, wobble gone.

 

[gumba]

Welcome to the crowd. This is common problem with all motor-scooters. Have spent the last 40 years and 1 million miles chasing a fix for the dreaded 45 mph head shake. Can tell you that with certainty that it is all of the above. In your case, I would bet that it is wheel axle fork tube placement. New bike, new tire - are probably not your problem. The dealer installs the front wheel on assembly and they usually hand that over to the least senior.

My latest find is fork tubes that were out of true. Cured that by loosening every thing up and torquing the lower triple clamps first. Currently have 9k on a BT023. The tire looks like it is totally ****** but no head shake. Had the same result with 2 front tires.

 

[Fred W]

I would not discount the possibility that the tire is the root cause just because it is not heavily worn. It is 3 years old, has hardly any miles on it, and has been on the bike the whole time. Just because it is new doesn't mean that it is flawless. With so few miles on the OEM tire, it very well may have taken a set from sitting in the same place too long.

Yeah, go ahead and check that the steering head bearings aren't too loose, but that shouldn't induce wobbling, the correct preload just helps dampen them out when they are already there. You'd have to have something in the rotating mass of the wheel that is out of kilter to induce oscillation (wobbling).

Also, FWIW, any mis-alignment issues of the forks and or triple clamps should only cause pulling (in one direction or the other) not oscillation. BTDT.

 

[Fontanaman]

I had the same thing but at 25k miles. Based on the advice of forum member escapefjrtist I set my fork rebound damping 2 clicks from max - this took care of most of the handle bar shake. Not long after I had GP Suspension installed removing any remaining trace of handle bar shake. The bike is real solid now and I should have upgraded my suspension a long long time ago. It is much more fun to ride and the wallowing is gone.

The fix then is to rotate clockwise those rebound damping adjusters all the way; then back out two clicks. Your suspension will be shot at 20k miles and you can get an upgrade like a lot of forum members have done.

 

[TechJunkie]

Had a brand new tire mounted on my 08. Same exact tire model as the original. Prior to having the tire mounted the handlebars were stable, no shake at all. As soon as the new tire was mounted the dreaded headshake appeared. Immediately took it back to the dealership that mounted the tire. Tire was in balance and no other cause could be found. Ran the tire until it was shot and changed it with a different model. The problem was immediately solved. I am sure other things can cause it but for me the tire was the culprit.

 

[russperry]

My bike has the same problem and none of the suggested fixes so far has completely eliminated it. Torque on the stem, new tires, tire pressure, etc... have had little effect. The only one I haven't tried yet is going to tapered bearings and I'm going to try that at the next major service.

I disagree with the comment that its a common problem with all motor-scooters. I've owned 7 motorcycles in my life (admittedly not nearly as many as some) and this is the only one that has ever shown this behavior. In the end, I've chosen to deal with it since the bike has so many other awesome characteristics but my view is that this is a fundamental problem with the bike's design and you either have to deal with it, buy a different one and hope for a better result, or move on.

 

[Fred W]

I am sure other things can cause it but for me the tire was the culprit.

Not very often. At least not with these bikes. It is usually the tires, most often the front one.

And just because it is a new tire doesn't preclude it from being the cause. The BT021 stock tires are notoriously bad this way.

 

[TechJunkie]

*snip* my view is that this is a fundamental problem with the bike's design and you either have to deal with it, buy a different one and hope for a better result, or move on.

I am not a motorcycle expert by a long shot but if it was a design flaw wouldn't 100% of FJRs exhibit this behavior? Mine was definately the front tire and after a different tire the wobble is gone. Sorry your issue has been more difficult to track down. Things like this really nag me until I resolve them.

 

[maddad]

By new we are assuming it's a brand new bike and only 200 total miles on it, not just 200 miles since you got it. I'd be wondering for the last two years has it been sitting on the side stand leaving you with a dent in the tire. I'm not sure this is even possible, but almost every shake I've seen, it's usually the tire. You see it more as you slow down between 40 and 60 because the engine torque causes more weight on the front wheel.

 

[redneckj]

440 miles today and visited two Yamaha Dealerships.

Dealership one. Rebalanced the front tire and torqued the head bearings to spec. HEAD SHAKE IS WORSE NOW THAN EVER. The shake is also now on acceleration too.

Dealership #2 (two hundred miles away from the first stop) Explain my situation to the service manager at 6:10, they close at 6. He said, " Ill bet they didnt balance the tire correctly". He checked the balance and told me, "well, they did use the correct amount of weight, but, they didnt put it in the correct place." BINGO!!! Problem solved. Smooth now.

 

[SkooterG]

440 miles today and visited two Yamaha Dealerships.

Dealership one. Rebalanced the front tire and torqued the head bearings to spec. HEAD SHAKE IS WORSE NOW THAN EVER. The shake is also now on acceleration too.

Dealership #2 (two hundred miles away from the first stop) Explain my situation to the service manager at 6:10, they close at 6. He said, " Ill bet they didnt balance the tire correctly". He checked the balance and told me, "well, they did use the correct amount of weight, but, they didnt put it in the correct place." BINGO!!! Problem solved. Smooth now.

Pathetic. A dealer can'perform the simple task of balancing a tire correctly?

Glad you got it worked out.

 

[bluesdog]

Please feel free to share with us the name/location of Dealership #1

We do not wish to allow them access to our bikes :angry2:

 

[Fontanaman]

Please feel free to share with us the name/location of Dealership #1

We do not wish to allow them access to our bikes :angry2:

+ 1 It is for this reason I started working on my own bike again. The FJR is pretty easy to work on. But just in case there is a job I do not want to tackle who the dealer is who hires people who can't balance a tire?

 

[petey]

440 miles today and visited two Yamaha Dealerships.

Dealership one. Rebalanced the front tire and torqued the head bearings to spec. HEAD SHAKE IS WORSE NOW THAN EVER. The shake is also now on acceleration too.

Dealership #2 (two hundred miles away from the first stop) Explain my situation to the service manager at 6:10, they close at 6. He said, " Ill bet they didnt balance the tire correctly". He checked the balance and told me, "well, they did use the correct amount of weight, but, they didnt put it in the correct place." BINGO!!! Problem solved. Smooth now.

Pathetic. A dealer can'perform the simple task of balancing a tire correctly?

Glad you got it worked out.

+1...That's why I balance my own tires/wheels... :angry:

 

[Bustanut joker]

*snip* my view is that this is a fundamental problem with the bike's design and you either have to deal with it, buy a different one and hope for a better result, or move on.

I am not a motorcycle expert by a long shot but if it was a design flaw wouldn't 100% of FJRs exhibit this behavior? Mine was definately the front tire and after a different tire the wobble is gone. Sorry your issue has been more difficult to track down. Things like this really nag me until I resolve them.

Nail on the head statement.. I've owned 20 plus scooters and a few were notorious head shakers. The early Kawi KZ series shook like orgasmic sheep from 60 to 40.

I don't know where I got the info (I was drunk a lot more back then) but I was told harmonics had something to do with it. Figured that was a stoopid deduction as I have never carried let alone played a harmonica.

It isn't a design flaw by any stretch, just something unique to certain machines. Mass production doesn't assure mass quality. **** happens.

 

[Fontanaman]

*snip* my view is that this is a fundamental problem with the bike's design and you either have to deal with it, buy a different one and hope for a better result, or move on.

I am not a motorcycle expert by a long shot but if it was a design flaw wouldn't 100% of FJRs exhibit this behavior? Mine was definately the front tire and after a different tire the wobble is gone. Sorry your issue has been more difficult to track down. Things like this really nag me until I resolve them.

Nail on the head statement.. I've owned 20 plus scooters and a few were notorious head shakers. The early Kawi KZ series shook like orgasmic sheep from 60 to 40.

I don't know where I got the info (I was drunk a lot more back then) but I was told harmonics had something to do with it. Figured that was a stoopid deduction as I have never carried let alone played a harmonica.

It isn't a design flaw by any stretch, just something unique to certain machines. Mass production doesn't assure mass quality. **** happens.

If a bike vibrates and it is not due to bad / poorly set up suspension, tire balancing, steering stem/bearings etc etc then it is likely a mechanical resonance issue.

We will leave it to Bust to explain how he knows how sheep shake during orgasm. But one has to wonder......