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Dreaded front end wobble!

2.4K views 36 replies 16 participants last post by  DerickE  
#1 ·
My 2023/24 has recently developed the wobble discussed here many times. I’m leaning toward the tapered bearing solution as everything else checks out fine.
One problem I’m having in finding the tool to torque the nuts that sit on top of the bearing. Even my local dealer could fine where I could buy one. Any leads would be greatly appreciated!
 
#3 ·
Ya know, don't take your hands off the handlebars and there is no wobble. Jes saying.....

Or go through the time, expense, and pain in the ass factor of replacing the bearings and be done with it.....
 
#6 ·
That's the advice I got from my dealer on my new machine under warranty. He said it's a known issue with yammy, they won't warranty their work, and speed wobble was considered normal and acceptable...hold on tighter.

I said FU and replaced the SHB with tapered roller bearings on my nickel and the problem magically disappeared.

I guess that's why yammy only gives 1 year warranty...lack of confidence in their products.
 
#4 ·
My 2023/24 has recently developed the wobble discussed here many times. I’m leaning toward the tapered bearing solution as everything else checks out fine.
One problem I’m having in finding the tool to torque the nuts that sit on top of the bearing. Even my local dealer could fine where I could buy one. Any leads would be greatly appreciated!
What to check (reason for wobbling)
1. Tightening of steering column bearings
2. Are the wheel rims even or not?
3. Old or crooked tires, perhaps?
4. Lateral play of the swingarm.
These are the main reasons usually
 
#10 ·
I would also check for proper balancing on the front tire.
That was all I needed to do for my old Vstrom. Nearly 20k miles on the factory tire and first replacement from the dealer, all with a minor wobble. Third tire I mounted and balances myself, and the problem was completely gone.
Just saying.
 
#7 ·
I went thru the same with my '07. From day 1, zero miles, it had the wobble. Dealership and Yammy would do nothing. I checked everything mentioned in every thread and sometimes it went away for a little while but it always came back. I replaced the bearings and it was gone permanently. Just. Do. It.

My '13 bearings had been replaced by a previous owner for the same reason.
 
#9 ·
My gen 1 didn’t do it but my gen3 does, it doesn’t bother me that much so I have yet to change the bearings. Until then I’ll just keep my hands on the bars. I helped a friend change his so I’ve been through the process before and it wasn’t that bad. Except he forget the dust cap on the bottom so we had to do it again.

The Yamaha commit was out there in my opinion as well…
 
#12 ·
Yep, go with the tapered bearings. I've got the wrench/spanner type not the socket. You can borrow it if you like, just pay for return postage.
 
#13 ·
Screwdriver and a hammer works fine too. You're setting by feel not with a torque wrench
 
#16 ·
I want to ride! If I wanted a garage queen needing constant repairs I'd a bought a harley...
Yep, go with the tapered bearings. I've got the wrench/spanner type not the socket. You can borrow it if you like, just pay for return postage.
Awe! Wooshka, you’re a super cool dude. Thanks for the offer!
 
#18 ·
Have you recently changed the tyres ?
Your wobble has nothing to do with the head bearings. All the head bearings do is allow the bars to wobble. If you re-torque them make sure that you do them exactly as it says in the book. Your wobble is caused either by a tyre that does not suit the FJR or that they are not balanced properly.
Everything that spins needs balancing, otherwise it causes vibrations or wobbles.
The head bearings do not move, so how can they cause a wobble ?
 
#25 ·
No tire changes. I put Michelin Road 6GTs on last summer and they’re buttery smooth up to 145mph. It’s not a tire problem. They balanced out fine. I checked everything on the front and rear suspension that could cause this and nothing is wrong. It seems unlikely that a steering bearing could cause this, but with so many others having the same problem and inspecting and re-torqing the nuts I can see it may be the problem. I’m puzzled as to why Yamaha didn’t put tapered bearings in the first place.
Have you taken the steering head apart? After inspecting, I get it now.
 
#19 ·
It is better not to install conical bearings - wobbling most often occurs on them. Therefore, only native ball bearings (Koyo SAC3055-1 or NTN SF0649PX1)
Maybe the terms are different in different languages languages but the bearings quoted are the crap ones that caused my wobble. I replaced the with them with tapered roller bearings, no more wobble. Simple.


Have you recently changed the tyres ?
Your wobble has nothing to do with the head bearings. All the head bearings do is allow the bars to wobble. If you re-torque them make sure that you do them exactly as it says in the book. Your wobble is caused either by a tyre that does not suit the FJR or that they are not balanced properly.
Everything that spins needs balancing, otherwise it causes vibrations or wobbles.
The head bearings do not move, so how can they cause a wobble ?
This has always been Linton's position and I respect it. But in my case, and for many others, it's completely wrong. No tire, no special balancing of said tires, no suspension adjustments, nothing stopped the wobble permanently until I installed tapered roller bearings. Again, same for many others. It just works regardless of what others think it is. And 100K+ miles later the '07 still has zero wobble.
 
#20 ·
How many pages of tapered bearing debate will this turn into? :LOL:

When those who switched to tapered say 10-1 it cured their wobble there will always be the very few who say they had nothing to do with it. Boggles the mind.
 
#23 ·
How many pages of tapered bearing debate will this turn into? :LOL:

When those who switched to tapered say 10-1 it cured their wobble there will always be the very few who say they had nothing to do with it. Boggles the mind.
We did it with tires, oil, and oil filters......

What's everyone think about sticky-ing this thread and making the all-inclusive wobble thread? It's a good start and as past threads are found we can just merge them as we do with the above mentioned topics to collect all the info in one place. Thoughts? Any volunteers to do some searches for other threads?
 
#21 · (Edited)
Screwdriver and a hammer works fine too. You're setting by feel not with a torque wrench
Yup, this is the way I have done them all and it has worked great. Lube them up thoroughly with good grease, snug them up by hand, then give them a few light taps to tighten, move the bars through their sweep, tap more, rinse repeat until you start to feel a little resistance that stays consistent as you move the bars through their sweep and call it good.

This has always been Linton's position and I respect it. But in my case, and for many others, it's completely wrong. No tire, no special balancing of said tires, no suspension adjustments, nothing stopped the wobble permanently until I installed tapered roller bearings. Again, same for many others. It just works regardless of what others think it is. And 100K+ miles later the '07 still has zero wobble.
Yea I am with you on this, my experience makes it impossible to agree with Linton. My 2014 Valkyrie and both 2014 FJR1300s came with ball SHBs and all were in good condition to start with and did the hands free wobble, I experimented with progressively tightening, testing, then tightening again, and testing again, etc with the stock ball SHB on both my Valkyrie and the first FJR1300 until the bar movement was almost grinding, and neither stopped the hands free wobbling before the bars were so tight the bike was hunting because they couldn't self stabilize correctly. The 2014 Valkyrie and both my FJR1300s completely stopped the hands off the bars wobble as soon as I did the tapered roller bearing upgrade even without tire changes.

In fact the only ball steering head bearing bike that I have personally experienced that DIDN'T have hands free wobble was my wife's 2021 Rebel 1100, which I thought was particularly odd since it 100% did wobble when it was brand new and for years afterwards. Decided to do a tapered roller SHB upgrade on it anyway while I had it apart for a fork upgrade and found out her disagreement with a jersey barrier a while back had bent her steering stem without us realizing it. I guess whatever odd tension that put on the ball SHB did manage to stop the hands off wobble, but I certainly wouldn't want to try to duplicate it, towards the right in these pics is the front of the bike.

Image

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After replacing her steering stem and upgrading her Rebel 1100 to tapered roller bearings no further hint of a hands free wobble at any speed, again no tire changes and the exact same tires HAD been on the bike when it wobbled before the steering stem got bent.
 
#22 ·
I made my tool from an impact socket. The only time I have experienced the “wobble” is when the front tire is cupped and about wore out or if I have my 50l top case on. Like most people I’ve found if I run about 42 PSI in the front tire it keeps the cupping at a minimum until the tire is shot
Image

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#24 ·
About to head out for a while but I can give you a hand. (y)
 
#31 ·
For the most part I stay out of this debate, it's like an oil or tire thread..... however, there is no debate that tapered rollers are robust enough to hide/withstand/mask the causes for the decel wobble. Practically every bike you know (only a couple of exceptions come factory equipped with tapered rollers) use this exact same ball bearing setup. Practically every bike should have them checked and retorqued after a short break-in period (even tapered rollers), and Yamahas in particular (my opinion).

Most bikes if not all except Yamaha, have a torque spec for the ball bearings of 16 ft. lbs., and FYI, Kawasaki Versys 1000 says initial torque 48 ft. lbs., back off, final torque of 21. Yamaha says 13 ft. lbs., and IMHO, I've always maintained this should be higher, in line with other bikes using the same ball bearings.... and then there's the older method of tightening and measuring steering effort (~2 ft. lbs.). I've owned 2 FJR's and worked on many, and it seems every one is loose at that first service. So, those with wobble, try torquing up your steering head first, then see what you got. If you want to go a step further, regrease them as grease was used sparingly at the factory.

Given most say the wobble is on decel at lower speeds is only felt when taking the hands off the bars or a very light grip, I can't imagine this is causing or will cause any wear/harm to anything else (fork seals, wheel bearings, etc.). Obviously, the wobble bothers some and they want it gone, and tapered rollers will likely do that. But you didn't solve anything about the causes, whatever they may be. Which is OK, it's all harmonics.

I never have had any wobble on either of my FJR's, but I did service the ball bearings (grease, re-torque to~16). I will say I just noticed a vibration in my handlebars on decel on my Honda CBF..... 24k miles. I believe it is the front tire wearing down (6k miles), Avon Spirit ST, and as I rub my hand over the tire back and forth, I can feel it's not perfect and that tire is wearing very evenly... so that's my conclusion, to be fixed with a new tire once this one is worn out. It's minor, it's not a big concern.

If you don't want to change your bearings, couple things you can do..... loosen your lower pinch bolts and jounce the forks to correct any misalignment upper to lower triple clamp. Service the head bearings with grease and re-torque (16). Loosen the pinch bolts on the right hand axle and jounce your front end.... this should self-align the right fork (service manual is wrong, fork should be straight and in natural alignment). Check your tires for wear by rubbing your hand over them.

I'm done now, make your choices and be happy.
 
#34 ·
Yeah, it is not much effort or expense to swap them.
I'm going to disagree with you there! If it's so easy come over to my place and I'll have you do it to several of my FJRs. ;) :p
Meh. If you own tools it is a couple hour job and costs $40
It's not nothing but it isn't a hard job either, especially if you already have the front end apart for a fork service it is MAYBE an extra hour or so of work if you have a decent idea what you are doing. Looks like the upgraded Pivot Works SHB kit is ~$45 on Amazon right now, so it isn't exactly expensive either:

 
#35 ·
Moderator note:

I've stickied and moved the thread. Rather than merge old threads to here (they merge in order of post dates) I think it might be better to just link to old threads. That way if someone stumbles across one not listed, this post (at first) and other later subsequent posts can be quoted and another link just added. Make sense? I'm leaving some out, like Tire Help Please? and What Did You Do To Your FJR Today? discussions of wobble. Here's a good start. I included threads with tool & torque discussions.