Front end vibration...

[runeight]

Well, if one thing I have learned in my old age is that the Dealer is always right.

Yeah..OK.

r8

[MPH 200]

I would have them remove & re-index the tire on the wheel - move it 180 degrees. Remove the stupid beads & do a roadforce check on the tire & balance w/ normal weights. Stinkos are not great tires to begin w/, but neither are dealers that don't know what they are doing.

I have an aftermarket Scott's steering damper on all my bikes. It is one of the best safety mods IMO.

[Tufbusa]

First thing is to get rid of those dyanbeeds. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if that cures the problem. If you have never torqued the head bearings, that would be my next stop. I Re-Torque mine annually and every time they have needed additional torque. A six year old bike may need new head stock bearings? I'd probably replace the bearings and seals in your wheel as well. If you ever pull those dinky little bearings out of your wheel, you'll go "Damn, I've been riding triple digits on that"!

Tire (Dynabeeds)wheel bearings or head bearings. One of the three is your problem and it may be a combination of all three?

[runeight]

He swapped to a Dunlop tire.

r8

[roadthing]

No shortage of good info here!

+1 on getting the front wheel off the ground to check runout, etc.

Bearings, rotors, improperly mounted tire, axle, axle clamping bolts, sticking caliper piston, and last but not least, get rid of the Dyna Beads. They are not a good idea. Having been in the cycle industry for many years, I've encountered a LOT of improperly mounted tires, and just as many defective tires.

Get on the horn with the shop that did the rubber swap and let them know what's going on, if you have not done so already.

[MPH 200]

OOPS - Better than Stinko.

[The Big Red One]

Particulars...
2002 BUSA, 10,500 miles.

Problems...
So, i've got this noticeable side-to-side vibration at different speeds, very noticeable if i speed up to about 60mph, let go of the bars and let it deccelerate and just watch it.  It gets bad.  Also, any speeds above 110 on my speedo i can feel the vibration.

I DID swap out that crappy oil from the steering damper and replace it with a 90W gear oil.  It wasn't til bout 3 week AFTER i replaced the steering damper oil that I had the front tire pulled by the shop and swapped out.  Rode on that new tire (Shinko) for about 65 miles, didnt like it, brought it back, swapped out to a new DUNLOP Q and as soon as I pulled out of the shop, i noticed the vibration.  

At first I thought the front wheel might be out of balance (since i didnt see any balancing weights on the wheel anywhere,) but he said thats impossible since they use DYNABEEDS and it should balance fine.  After the trip up there today, he doesnt even pull it in the back, makes me stand it up, walk it backwards 5 ft, and forwards 5 ft, and said the wheel and tire look fine.
HIS diagnosis is that either my steering damper has gone bad, or my triple clamp needs to be tightened (i've never even touched the triple clamp).

Anyone have any really good educated guesses or thoughts as to what my problem is here??  I want to get an idea of what you all think before I go to takin stuff apart on the front end.   UNfortunately I dont have access to a front wheel tool to remove it, will be investing in one very soon though.

HELP!!!  Thanks!

If it started immediately after the dealership replaced your tire its something to do with the tire install. Either the dynabeads (my bet) bad tire, or install prob. Don't overthink this and make a mountain out of a molehill by chasing tons of unrelated probs. Take it back to the dealer and get it fixed. And next time as SOON as you pull away from the dealership and feel a prob go RIGHT back and get it corrected. Once you take the bike home for the day, alot of shops won't honor a next day prob.....they'll blame it on something YOU did

[TXBusa05LE]

Mmmmm...my Stinko's don't wobble...

[J.Busa]

Rolled it back n forth 5ft and said its fine? WTF! I want to see it on a spin Balancer showing 0 before I believe its fine. If it was fine before the tire, then it must be the tire or the installation.

[BUSA_CHeMiST]

i agree I should have taken it straight back to the shop, but i was in a bit of a time crunch that day and had to get home quickly, didnt have the time to pull it off again.

They are pretty cool, wont charge me to pull it off if I tell em to and rebalance and break the tire off and check. I'll be in Dallas end of next week and I am gonna let my friend Matt up there do it since he does BUSA's as compared to the shop im at that strictly works on Harleys.

Thanks guys, i'll get it all figured out b4 the WACO ride next saturday

[GIXERHP]

First thing is to get rid of those dyanbeeds. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if that cures the problem. If you have never torqued the head bearings, that would be my next stop. I Re-Torque mine annually and every time they have needed additional torque. A six year old bike may need new head stock bearings? I'd probably replace the bearings and seals in your wheel as well. If you ever pull those dinky little bearings out of your wheel, you'll go "Damn, I've been riding triple digits on that"!

Tire (Dynabeeds)wheel bearings or head bearings. One of the three is your problem and it may be a combination of all three?

+1 minus the tire!

[Charlesbusa]

Get rid of the dynabeeds and have the tire reseated and balanced, that's what I think you're problem is.


As for the damper possiblity. Just remove it and see if the problem is still there.

[Malibusa]

Wait....you took it to a Harley shop?  Uh Oh!  You're much better waiting to take to your friend Matt who works on Busas!  My money is on the tire or tire installation.  Please let us know what happens....

[TruWrecks]

Harley Shops don't deal with sportbike tires very often. The narrow car tires they sell are much less sensative on balancing. Sportbike tires seem to require better attention. My guess if that the tire was not mounted correctly, and they used dyna beads as a lazy way to make it work. Junk the beads and get the tire balance correctly. Leaving it like that too long and you will be replacing everything else that was mentioned because it will get worn out faster.