Mine was the oem tire. Idexpect it to be that or bearings not properly torqued

 

front end wobble during decel with hands off the bars is pretty normal behavior for ANY motorcycle. If the rider keeps hands on bars, there is no wobble. On previous bikes I've owned, I've spent considerable time trying to iron out the wobble, because I often like to sit up in the saddle during a decel to a stop, and do NOT appreciate having the bike go into a wobble. My "fix" always has been to put a hair more torque onto the steering stem bearings, than called for in the spec. On my 2007 Venture, the spec torque is so low that I seriously doubt it is a correct spec. To end the Venture wobble I had to increase torque around 100% (can't recall the exact torque numbers just now). My 2014 FJR doesn't seem to have much of this problem, yet, so I have gone through the new-bike re-torque and scrupulously used the spec torque.

I don't think there is any danger of damaging bearings by adding a bit more torque. Even with double the torque on my Venture, the bearings never had a problem in the years I owned the bike. If you go a bit too far with the torque, however, the steering will be too tight to permit the front end to follow the road, and the bike will be hard to control.

I remember my 1971 BMW R60/5 had a large hand-operated nut on the steering stem, so the rider could adjust the steering tightness on the fly. Once, I snugged it down a bit too far while doing 70 mph and almost crashed, the bike didn't want to respond to my steering inputs at all. After that, I treated that big nut with a lot of respect!

 

I've had plenty of bikes do that including my 2014. I figure it's the shoddy Bridgestone on the front that's cupping.

 

Just ordered a bearing set for my 2014A. It looks like a PITA to install, probably wait until the rainy season to tear it apart.

Dan

 

Just ordered a bearing set for my 2014A. It looks like a PITA to install, probably wait until the rainy season to tear it apart.

Dan

They can be a pain. But I went into the job thinking of taking my time and doing it right. No pounding races in, no pounding bearings on (leads to breaking them), no half-azzed installation. Everything was done by hand- sanding, polishing, measuring. Everything. Yes, it took longer than some who have done it but I know it's done right.
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My FJR is the only bike I've ever owned that had/s this front end wobble. That's at least a dozen bikes- Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki included- since 1976. As mentioned earlier, a new front tire would make it go away for a little while but it always came back.

Riddle me this Batman: what if "hands on bars" only stops the bars from shaking? What if the wheel/tire/fork assy still wants to shimmy-sham down the road? What's that do to the fork seals/internals? Maybe that's why Mammy Yammy rebuilt my forks TWICE on their dime to get the leaks to finally stop, eh? Yes, no, maybe; h3ll I dunno. But I do know this- a front end wobble is not any more normal on a bike than it is in a car or truck. I understand if you are willing to accept it as such. I am not. For $22 (bearing set) and a few hrs of my time (it's winter, I ain't riding anyway) my wobble and leaking forks are gone.

 

I had a wobble just like it on my '99 Concours. Tightening the steering head fixed it permanently.

I had a "clunk" but no wobble on my '10 Honda NT700V. Put the "All-Balls" bearings in at about 50,000 miles, no issues since.

 

I had a wobble just like it on my '99 Concours. Tightening the steering head fixed it permanently.

I had a "clunk" but no wobble on my '10 Honda NT700V. Put the "All-Balls" bearings in at about 50,000 miles, no issues since.

Phil, Surprised to see you over here. did you get a FJR?

 

I just need to find an equivalent supply in the UK

 

ebay.co.uk http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ALL-BALLS...HA-YZF-R1-1998-2006-/121422288960?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts_13&hash=item1c45551840

 

$30.95 http://www.bikebandit.com/aftermark...teering-stems-bearings/all-balls-motorcycle-steering-stem-bearing-kits?m=145141

$33.56 http://www.allballsracing.com/ymmsearch/index/searchfromhome/

$30.99 http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/21652/i/all-balls-steering-stem-bearing-kit?WT.ac=SLIsearchand https://www.jakewilson.com/p/1828/5...86/All-Balls-Steering-Stem-Bearing-Kit?term=all balls steering stem bearing kit

You get the idea. Well worth the cost. I was surprised by the "cheapness" of the OEM bearings when I loosened my steering stem and balls from the bearings hit the floor. Literally. Plink times six. Very disheartening.

 

The head bearings are "supposed" to be re-torqued at the first service.
Suggest try another dealer or better still do it yourself.

Yamaha just went cheap and stopped using tapered roller bearings a long time ago.
For $45.00, it's the best money you can spend on the bike.
Go online and look at some engineering sites, look at the various bearing applications.
What Yamaha installs is a joke, not fit for purpose.

 

So glad i logged on to see this post.

My 14 AE did it from new at 40mph. Still does it today after 3 services and 16,000 miles on the clock. I never thought to mention it to the Stealer.


Will give them a call.

 

Yep, what Ken said. My '07 always got the shakes as the front tire wore until last summer when it would not go away. New roller bearings did the trick.

Re-torquing the bearings is a simple job, give it a try. What you got to lose? The frustration that comes through your post is understandable but take comfort- you are certainly not alone. This problem has been addressed and solved many, many times over.

 

My 2014 had the shakes from new.
Rode the bike home from the dealers, 500kms and torqued up the head bearings.
Did improve for awhile, but gradually worsened as the front Angle GT tyre wore funny.

Watched the bike being assembled at the dealer and they do not check the head stock bearings.

Swapped out to tapered rollers and now not even a hint of a problem.
Can ride no hands not a prob, no deceleration wobbles.

 

30-40 mph and it's a potential tank slapper

Just bought a 2013 FJR and the bike has a set of the Bridgetone GT touring tires and they appear to be worn evenly and have about 3k miles on them. There is plenty of meat left and while I know they are not the best and will be replaced with something else I do not understand why this bike has an insane head shake when the hands are light at 30-40 mph. NOT on deceleration. I could be in neutral coasting and if I take my hands off for a second, the bars squirm and if I let it go it would be over. I do not think it's the steering bearing/torgue but I guess I will have to take it to the dealer to find out. Should not have to. Bought his bike so I did not have to have it in the shop but once every 26k miles. Not good. And if it's a tire issue then Yamaha should stop offering that brand . Really not happy with this..

 

Just bought a 2013 FJR and the bike has a set of the Bridgetone GT touring tires and they appear to be worn evenly and have about 3k miles on them. There is plenty of meat left and while I know they are not the best and will be replaced with something else I do not understand why this bike has an insane head shake when the hands are light at 30-40 mph. NOT on deceleration. I could be in neutral coasting and if I take my hands off for a second, the bars squirm and if I let it go it would be over. I do not think it's the steering bearing/torgue but I guess I will have to take it to the dealer to find out. Should not have to. Bought his bike so I did not have to have it in the shop but once every 26k miles. Not good. And if it's a tire issue then Yamaha should stop offering that brand . Really not happy with this..

I take it that you must do some maintenance yourself since it sounds like you plan to take to a dealer only for the valves. If I'm correct in my inference and you plan to do things like oil, final drive, plugs and TB synch, then torquing the steering head bearing is a simple job. You will need a 36mm socket, torque wrench and a Yamaha specific claw wrench. You can get the wrench on eBay or since I'm right down the road you can borrow mine (assuming you're still up here in MT). PM me if you want to use it and we'll figure something out.

 

Never had any of it. Gone long distances free hand here too.... solid as a rock.

 

On my VMax I couldn't take my hands off when decelerating without getting a wobble, used this guys method and problem solved. Just wouldn't want to damage the bearings by over-tightening. Hope this helps....

 

Have the steering head bearings retourqued. Mine had the same problem. Dealer fixed it.

 

My case

Suspension is at factory settings front and back, checked every week along with tire pressure. Pressure 38 front/42 rear. Using OEM tires (Metzeler Z8).

And yes, it also leans left a bit. At 65 Mph, it doesn't shake at all

 

Low tire pressure --mostly on the on the front end-- is notorious for giving some bikes the tank slappies. Or with some bikes, too great of a pressure difference between front and back will at times do it.

In other words, sometimes a bike likes a difference of 4 pound pressure between front and rear and if you increase that difference by two pound more to 6 pounds, the front end starts slapping.

In the 80's, the original FZ750 was notorious for this situation. Dial the tire pressure in at exactly 32 front and 36 rear after getting your suspension dialed in properly and the handling of the bike was stellar. But if the front tire pressure went off just two pounds, the handlebars would violently shake right out of your hands on quick acceleration and deceleration, on irregular road surfaces.

Also, if the spring rate is adjusted improperly versus the dampening, the same result had been known to happen on some bikes.

Just a dumb blond guy worthless thought...

But it might pay to have different people that have the problem, and others that don't, post both the tire pressures they are running, as well as their adjustment settings on the front end's suspension.

While it is true that there is a good chance that doing so may end up being absolutely no help at all... There is a small chance that we may see a pattern develop that shows certain tire pressure and/or front end adjustments, where the front end shake is more likely to occur...

Oh look... FRENCH FRIES... Woooo whooooo!

 

I read somewhere that it is typical for the FJR to lean a bit left (maybe that is where the shaft torque went?).

When I got mine, I tried a couple miles no handed on the freeway in cruise (65 MPH). Sure enough, the bike nodded a bit left as I let go, but I was able to correct and lean it any direction around sweeping curves. It still had a tendency to lean a bit left though.

No wobble at all.

One of my older bikes had a terrible head shake and the cause was the front tire.

Now I'm curious to see what happens in the 40+ MPH speed range.

 

I just wanted to chime in and say that mine did the same from 40-50mph. I didn't see it as an issue considering that riding no-hands is usually frowned upon. It never exhibited headshake if there was as much as one finger on the bars.

 

My gen 1 did it at low speeds when decelerating, new set of tyre cured it

 

I ride no at and many different speeds so this is not normal. I get bored out in the desert. The bike does have a lot of head shake when your are on the power hard and slap off a fast power shift. A lot more than my FZ8. I just figured its the combination of the weight and power.

 

It's only on deceleration. If throttle is locked it's stable all day long.(or until I hit something) Still,it shouldn't do it.

 

I have to disagree...In my case, deceleration or acceleration, when I hit the speed range between 45 to 60 mph, even at a constant speed within this range, and I take my hands out of the handlebar...shanking goes from slow to extreme in just a couple of seconds...

Out of this range, everything is smooth...

 

Yeah, not normal. I've gone several miles without touching the bars on a straight section just to see if I could (it wasn't that hard). The FJR should be very stable.

 

Guys on the Kawasaki bagger forums have cured the steering wobble using the AllBalls bearings.

 

I have them on my ebay watch list to be purchased

http://www.ebay.com/itm/351013788836?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT