front end shakes

Overkill · December 11th, 2013, 04:13 PM

Ok i finally got to spend sometime driving my new to me 2001 250 and after about 30 miles of trouble free riding i thought i would take my hands off the
bars and see how straight she track's. Well doing about 50 mph i did and after
about 3 seconds the front wheel forks and bars start to slowly wable back and
forth. I immediately grab hold of the bars and all is well. So try it again with
the same results. While holding the bars even loosely there's not any vibration
or shake at all. This leaves me scratching my head. The forks look straight as well as i can tell. The rim seems straight "had it up so i could turn it looking".

I would think "i could be wrong" that if the wheel was that far out of balance
that the front end would shake some while riding. But it doesn't. So i am just
getting home and while i ponder the cause i am hoping someone here might
know the answer. Any idea's?

csmith12 · December 11th, 2013, 04:17 PM

Hey Mike, your not alone. Click here.

CC Cowboy · December 11th, 2013, 04:28 PM

Engineers have been building roads that cause oscillation so drivers (and riders) don't try to drive (or ride) with no hands. The AMA has lobbied Congress about this and Joe Biden's answer is, "what do Doctors know about riding on roads with hands when they should should be golfing on Wednesdays".

alex.s · December 11th, 2013, 04:31 PM

better get tapered bearings, new tires, balance your rims, add a steering damper, cruise control, a stereo, maybe some cool saddle bags...

Overkill · December 11th, 2013, 04:41 PM

LOL Yeah that's what i was just doing. Goggling.

Seems to be fairly common on these bikes. But this was bad in a bad
way if you know what i mean. If i wouldn't have grabbed the bars when
i did it would have went into a full blown death wobble. I will tear it down
tomorrow and investigate more.

alex.s · December 11th, 2013, 04:48 PM

if your tire isn't brand new, it is probably a large contributor to the wobble. they dont wear evenly and once they wear enough the wheel is unbalanced. you could throw it on front stands and spin the front wheel both directions and see where it settles. if its out of balance it will always settle in the same spot

csmith12 · December 11th, 2013, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alex.s

you could throw it on front stands and spin the front wheel both directions

Rotor/brakes should be checked too. Hope it's simple for you.

GeorgeRYoung · December 11th, 2013, 08:16 PM

http://web.ncf.ca/ag136/frontWheelWobble.htm

Alex · December 11th, 2013, 09:00 PM

http://www.ninjette.org/wiki/Front_End_Wobbles

agentbad · December 12th, 2013, 04:57 PM

I switched out the crappy oem tires for some kenda's and that pretty much fixed it for me.

Overkill · December 12th, 2013, 05:01 PM

Thanks for all of the good advice and idea's givin everybody. I looked it
up and down today and found that for one the brake rotor is warped pretty
bad. Also the front wheel has some irregular cupping going on. I knew when
i bought it that it needed new tires but didn't really look them over to well.
Every thing else looks good. Once again thanks guy's.

December 11th, 2013, 04:13 PM	#1
Overkill ninjette.org member Name: Mike Location: Columbia sc Join Date: Dec 2013 Motorcycle(s): 2001 ex250 Posts: 10	front end shakes Ok i finally got to spend sometime driving my new to me 2001 250 and after about 30 miles of trouble free riding i thought i would take my hands off the bars and see how straight she track's. Well doing about 50 mph i did and after about 3 seconds the front wheel forks and bars start to slowly wable back and forth. I immediately grab hold of the bars and all is well. So try it again with the same results. While holding the bars even loosely there's not any vibration or shake at all. This leaves me scratching my head. The forks look straight as well as i can tell. The rim seems straight "had it up so i could turn it looking". I would think "i could be wrong" that if the wheel was that far out of balance that the front end would shake some while riding. But it doesn't. So i am just getting home and while i ponder the cause i am hoping someone here might know the answer. Any idea's?

December 11th, 2013, 04:17 PM	#2
csmith12 The Corner Whisperer Name: Chris (aka Reactor) Location: Northern KY Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2010 250 (track), 1992 250, 2006 R6 (street/track), 2008 R6 (track) Posts: Too much. MOTY 2015, MOTM - Nov '12, Nov '13	Hey Mike, your not alone. Click here. __________________________________________________ Goal: Shake A Million Hands \| Look through the corners \| Track Day Prep \| Closest track? \| The Mid-Ohio School

December 11th, 2013, 04:28 PM	#3
CC Cowboy ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Whodat Location: Ware Is.,MA Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): I pass the wind! Posts: A lot. MOTM - Mar '13, Jun '14	Engineers have been building roads that cause oscillation so drivers (and riders) don't try to drive (or ride) with no hands. The AMA has lobbied Congress about this and Joe Biden's answer is, "what do Doctors know about riding on roads with hands when they should should be golfing on Wednesdays". __________________________________________________ If everything seems under control; you're just not going fast enough!

December 11th, 2013, 04:31 PM	#4
alex.s wat Name: wat Location: tustin/long beach Join Date: Sep 2009 Motorcycle(s): wat Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 5 MOTM - Oct '12, Feb '14	better get tapered bearings, new tires, balance your rims, add a steering damper, cruise control, a stereo, maybe some cool saddle bags... __________________________________________________

December 11th, 2013, 04:48 PM	#6
alex.s wat Name: wat Location: tustin/long beach Join Date: Sep 2009 Motorcycle(s): wat Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 5 MOTM - Oct '12, Feb '14	if your tire isn't brand new, it is probably a large contributor to the wobble. they dont wear evenly and once they wear enough the wheel is unbalanced. you could throw it on front stands and spin the front wheel both directions and see where it settles. if its out of balance it will always settle in the same spot __________________________________________________
	1 out of 1 members found this post helpful.

December 11th, 2013, 04:41 PM	#5
Overkill ninjette.org member Name: Mike Location: Columbia sc Join Date: Dec 2013 Motorcycle(s): 2001 ex250 Posts: 10	LOL Yeah that's what i was just doing. Goggling. Seems to be fairly common on these bikes. But this was bad in a bad way if you know what i mean. If i wouldn't have grabbed the bars when i did it would have went into a full blown death wobble. I will tear it down tomorrow and investigate more.

December 11th, 2013, 08:16 PM	#8
GeorgeRYoung ninjette.org member Name: George Location: Ottawa, Canada Join Date: Jun 2011 Motorcycle(s): EX250, C10 Concours Posts: 109	45 mph wobble http://web.ncf.ca/ag136/frontWheelWobble.htm

December 11th, 2013, 09:00 PM	#9
Alex ninjette.org dude Name: 1 guess :-) Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 7	http://www.ninjette.org/wiki/Front_End_Wobbles __________________________________________________ Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered)

December 12th, 2013, 04:57 PM	#10
agentbad ninjette.org sage Name: bob Location: Earf Join Date: Apr 2013 Motorcycle(s): 2005 Ninja 250, 2006 SV650N Posts: 642	I switched out the crappy oem tires for some kenda's and that pretty much fixed it for me.

December 12th, 2013, 05:01 PM	#11
Overkill ninjette.org member Name: Mike Location: Columbia sc Join Date: Dec 2013 Motorcycle(s): 2001 ex250 Posts: 10	Thanks for all of the good advice and idea's givin everybody. I looked it up and down today and found that for one the brake rotor is warped pretty bad. Also the front wheel has some irregular cupping going on. I knew when i bought it that it needed new tires but didn't really look them over to well. Every thing else looks good. Once again thanks guy's.

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