I have a 09 classic LT and mine did the same thing! I would let go of the handle bars and it would start to shake. You can try having them rebalance the front or you can do what i did and get rid of the crappy dunlops and put a set of mt66 perelli tires on and had them balanced and my bike rides and handles great and no more shakes. by the way..find a new dealership, sound like they dont have a clue!

 

That's what I thought..... That bites.... I liked these guys, and they're only 2 miles from my house, but if they're going to do me that way, I'll have to find another dealer.

I've got a set of Pirelli Night Dragons on the way. They'll be on the bike next week.

Thanks for the feedback, it's really appreciated.

 

I'm very new to riding. (I've had my first bike, 900 custom, since August). I haven't noticed any wobble. Believe me, I would notice. I am very cautious and would probably get very nervous if I experienced something like that. Sounds like it'd be worth looking for a new dealer, if only to see if you get the same response.

 

You are most definetly going to need to find a new dealer, they are full of $h!t. No bike should have a wobble, and it is stupid and unsafe for them to even say that. If you still have the wobble after the new tires are put on, there are a couple other things that could cause it. The steering head could be getting loose, check that the rear tire is not out of alignment {belt tracking will tell you that}
I had a real bad wobble a couple tires ago, tried a few remedies, reballance, dynabeads, steering head, alignments {front and back} nothing worked. Then with about 3000 miles on that tire, one day about 50 miles from home I noticed a small blister on the front tire, by the time I got home it had turned into this.

When they took the tire off it had delaminated nearly all the way around on the inside. New tire on, no more wobble, can coast to a stop with no hands {not that I do that}, smooth and straight.

 

You are most definetly going to need to find a new dealer, they are full of $h!t. No bike should have a wobble, and it is stupid and unsafe for them to even say that. If you still have the wobble after the new tires are put on, there are a couple other things that could cause it. The steering head could be getting loose, check that the rear tire is not out of alignment {belt tracking will tell you that}
I had a real bad wobble a couple tires ago, tried a few remedies, reballance, dynabeads, steering head, alignments {front and back} nothing worked. Then with about 3000 miles on that tire, one day about 50 miles from home I noticed a small blister on the front tire, by the time I got home it had turned into this.
When they took the tire off it had delaminated nearly all the way around on the inside. New tire on, no more wobble, can coast to a stop with no hands {not that I do that}, smooth and straight.

What brand and model tire was that?

 

HEY, that looks like my old Pirelli. HMMMMMM Maybe the nail didn't cause the problem in the first place.

 

Bikes do NOT wobble like that. When everything is right with your bike you can ride non stop without touching the handlebars at any speed. Sometimes you can have problems when the front tire is too low on inflation, it will wobble then. But something has to be wrong. And if ALL bikes do that then those guys that stand on the friggin tanks of their sportbikes are defying nature. (they actually are but I'm trying to make a point here) Our bikes are more unstable than that. I've yet to see a guy stand up, turn around and ride a cruiser backwards at 60 mph. I've seen the video of that douchey Ghost Rider do that and flip off the cops that we're following him. I so hope he goes right into a retaining wall and kills himself before he causes harm to one more person. But thats beside the point too. Bikes are inherently stable at speed, otherwise we wouldn't be able to ride them at all. Proof? Balance on your bike while its holding still. Now, get moving at just a couple miles an hour. NOW do that at 10, easy huh?

I hate it when shops talk out there butt like that.

 

perelli dragons (NICE)...i think you will enjoy them alot better than dunlop, especially in the curves! I hope that solves your wobble.

 

check your air too. When my air is getting low, I get a wobble when I am not holding the bars.

 

If you're unable to see any imperfections on your tire then its gotta be a balance issue. I had the same problem when I got the new Mets 880 90-90-21 and at speeds of 40-45 the bike would wbble and only at this speed. Took it back and rebalanced and problem was fixed.

 

Wow, what a crock. I'm surprised that the guy didn't say if you didn't like the wobble at 35mph don't ride at 35mph. Regardless of whether you find another dealer or not I would be in there tomorrow talking to that guy's boss or the owner of the dealership and let him know what was going on.

 

Actually he did. He first said well don't let go the handle bars! I replied " the bike is nearly new and never had this issue so can I speak with the manager please"???? that took care of that. Now they kept the bike all freaking saturday though.

 

I'm not sure what is/was going on, but I took the bike in for service on this and other issues yesterday morning. I now have a new drive belt, the front end wobble is significantly diminished and the other warranty work was supposedly completed. 2 hours in the shop, no charge. I didn't get a chance to talk to the mechanic again about the wobble issue, but he definitely took care of me on other stuff, like the belt.
I know that he took it out for 3 test rides before I got it back. The guy seems to know his stuff, so this wobble statement thing has me quite confused. Why/how can he fix something that thought was normal? I think we had a misunderstanding somewhere along the line. Anyway, the tire is still the same tire, AFAICT, so he must have tightened up the steering stem nut. The steering stem nut is also a possibility in wobble issues, according to my service manual and it requires a special tool or I'd have tried to tighten it myself.

So, what little wobble that is left, is spread out over a larger speed segment, so I'm still thinking that the tire is wonky. Hope the new Night Dragons get here soon....

 

Just an update to the saga. The new tires arrived this week and were installed today. I didn't get a chance to put many miles on them, but I can say that there was no more front end wobble during the ride I took on them. I specifically recreated the wobble conditions several times and the Pirelli front tire won't cooperate and wobble like the Dunlop did.

Hopefully, that's a thing of the past now. The new 200 really looks sweet on the rear too.

 

From what I can tell, the front wheel wobble is normal for this bike, until you replace those Dunlops. Mine had flat spots right of center after about 6K miles. At first I thought it had to do with the new pavement in the area (they just dumped and rolled blacktop over the old pavement EVERYWHERE here). When it got to the point where I could feel it with both hands on the bars I started looking at the tire more closely. The ME 880s took care of it though.

 

I only had wobble on the original Dunflops when the pressure was too low. My front tire went 12,500 before I replaced it. When I did I put a Metzler on and was impressed at how much more solid it fealt, but neither had wobble.

 

MrClean, What Metzler did you put on the front? The ME 880 comes in 80/90 (the correct size) tube or 90/90 tubless. I went with the 90/90 to stay tubeless and I really like the look better than the original, but I only have a bout 3mm clearance to the fender so I any time I pick up a piece of gravel it zips loudly thru the fender.

 

Metz has a MH90-21 as well as the 90/90-21 in tubeless. The MH90 is about 7mm-8mm wider than the 80/90 whereas the 90/90 is about 12mm wider than the 80/90. Either MH90 or 90/90 fit without modifications on the 900 Custom. I put the 90/90 on and afterwards loosened all the screws holding the front fender, wiggled things a bit, evened out the gap front to back and have a little more than 1/4" of clearance between the tire and fender. Most pebbles swing through without issue but occasionally there will be a little clunker, but no cosmetic damage to the outside of the fender so far. Metz recommends 3/8-1/2 inch clearance and some guys have opened up the screw clearance holes on the brackets to get more clearance.

 

I've got a Classic. I've got a buddy with a Custom he's never said anything about it not being solid enough in the corners or wobbly at any speed. Don't know if he upgraded to the bigger metz I DO know the last time I saw the bike he had a new Dunflop on the back. Sometimes the money is just right.

 

My bike has a definite front wheel wobble at 30-40, especially 35mph, if I'm not holding onto the bars with my standard grip. I can certainly feel it when I have strong control of the bars.

It's really pronounced if I run with only one hand and a very light touch on the grip. If I let it continue, eventually it would worsen to the point of causing a crash.

So, I'm in the dealership today, setting an appt to have that looked at, along with some other issues and the mechanic told me that ALL bikes do that. He said that the wheels are unstable at such low speeds and that all bikes have that wobble at ~35 mph. Why don't they wobble at even lower speeds?

Well, color me stupid, but I've had a number of bikes, back in the 60's and 70's, the last being a Honda 750. I don't recall having a single one of them do that, ever, if there wasn't something broken.

Now, that's over 30 years ago, so I've missed a lot of biking in the years hence. So what's the deal? Do you guys have this front wheel wobble too or is this guy trying to give me a snow job?

thanks

It’s true that every front has a wobble speed. My 2005 vn2000 wobbles like mad at 40-50 mph. Tire pressure fine and so is everything else. I’m glad it does not happen at higher speeds. It has mostly to do with the mass and steering geometry. There is no damper on it so it’s free to resonate.

 

I have never had a wobble with my 900. that being said the stock Dunlop's were dead dry rotten when i got them and were replaced immediately.
I ride from one end of town to the other 5 miles at 35-40 with my hands in my lap (rural area very little traffic) No wobble
State roads 55 to 65 will rest my hands from time to time No wobble
Interstate In AZ 75 mph No wobble but the wind will move the bike
The point is these bikes are NOT prone to a wobble at pretty much any speed (I have had mine over 100 a few times on open road with no traffic)
If you have a wobble there is SOMETHING WRONG
Whether its a low or bad tire or steering stem there is something wrong these bike do not wobble

 

Found this in an article:
It’s important to realize that slow-speed steering wobbles aren’t out of the ordinary. At some point between walking pace and 30-mph, most motorcycles will develop a gentle weave should the rider take their hands off the bars.

The cause for this weaving is down to the bike’s geometry. As cornering ability and high-speed stability are a priority, the trade-off is a trail angle. It is this that allows the front end to weave gently at slow speeds.

 

Found this in an article:
It’s important to realize that slow-speed steering wobbles aren’t out of the ordinary. At some point between walking pace and 30-mph, most motorcycles will develop a gentle weave should the rider take their hands off the bars.

The cause for this weaving is down to the bike’s geometry. As cornering ability and high-speed stability are a priority, the trade-off is a trail angle. It is this that allows the front end to weave gently at slow speeds.

A low speed wobble usually means the steering stem bearings need to be tightened or replaced and/or there is a problem with tire balance or imperfections. It is not normal for a bike to have a wobble at slow speeds, as far as I know. A search of the internet just now, most links associate wobble with higher speeds, and yes, geometry can affect how severe it is. Now, the bike's geometry may require more WEAVING to keep the bike balanced at slow speeds, just like a bicycle does. The geometry will also make weaving easier or harder. Wobbles are front end oscillations that are often in sync with the rotation of the front wheel. That's why tire balance or imperfections make wobbles worse.

I have used weaving to keep a motorcycle upright at speeds down to almost a standstill. In fact, on my Honda Sabre, I could literally keep it upright for second or so at a complete stop without putting my feet down. I did that a lot in stop and creep traffic when I commuted home on Atlanta highways. Just turning the handlebars to keep from falling over.

I had a slight wobble in my Voyager front end until I changed out the crappy OEM steering bearings for All Balls bearings. No wobble at all after that.

 

Just a FYI i had a wobble if I let go the the bars at around 30 - 40mph and I ended up repacking the triple tree with new grease and tightening back to FSM spec completely cured my issues. This started at only 15k on a vn900. At around 15k you are almost due to repack the triple tree anyways so its worth the try for future viewers.

 

Mine does that a bit rarely, only with one hand on the bars which are custom with a ton of pullback. My tires are fine. First suspect after checking tires is the steering neck/head bearings. Some front tire scalloping is normal and usually of no concern.

 

One thing often overlooked is rear wheel alignment. If the rear wheel is cocked to one side, the front wheel struggles to stay in plane with the rear and the result is a wobble.