front wheel wobble

Technical Help Forum

front wheel wobble

CX Rick 07-20-2008, 6:07 PM
I have a 1978 CX 500 and I finally did it I got my fork seals last season and put them in this week end, almost a year later. They were almost completely out of oil.I simply did not want to give up any riding time. I was hoping replacing the seals and putting the 4.5 oz. of oil as the manual says would stop the front from wobbling, but it did not. The ride is much better and does fine with both hands on the bars even at 65 miles an hour which tells me the wheel is balanced. At lower speeds with one hand on the bars it will shimmy as a car would when it's out of alignment. I am hoping someone has had this problem and found the fix........

Re: front wheel wobble

larryb22 07-20-2008, 7:33 PM

I had the same problem with my GL500 Interstate.

Take both hands off the bars and it would start wagging the front wheel. I didn't let it go for only a second or two for fear of a tank slapper.

I had brand new Dunlop tires on.

I asked about it here and got little feedback. Other people have experienced the same thing. I asked about the wobble going away after putting in up graded tapered head bearings. The answer was no.

My solution, don't take both your hands off the bars.

Larry

1971 Moto Guzzi Ambassador. SW Michigan.

Re: front wheel wobble

nippongreen 07-20-2008, 8:19 PM
Mmmm,
I have a 1979 Honda CX 500 Deluxe. Which when i 1st bought it several years ago, had a tendancy to wow/wobble/wag sightly at low speeds !!!!
Being "air assisted" front forks i thought maybe i was slowly losing air pressure, so i installed a T fitting with a pressure gauge so i could monitor the P.S.I.
Alas the air pressure was holding fine !!!!!
After that i switched out the head stock roller bearings for tappered bearings and installed "progressive" fork springs at the same time.
Wow what a better ride !!!
I've now come to the conclusion that it depends a lot on how tight/loose you have your head bearings will make a noticable difference in the handling.
( i over tightened the head stock one time and it was the most scariest 5min test ride i ever had !!!!)
Also when i'm running low on fuel makes a big difference to its handling qualities !!!
My next quest now is to install Hagon rear shocks $$$$ and a front fork brace.
As for my 1982 GL 500i i find it rides nice.
Larry, it may be worth playing with different rear shock pressures and installing tappered bearings on the head stock ?
Just my 2cents worth ;)
Al The Best......keith + Gang.....

79 CX 500D / 82 GL 500i / 79 CX 500D parts bike
(ride safe).......SKYPE....(nippongreen)..

Re: front wheel wobble

I'm going to GL 07-20-2008, 11:09 PM
Just curious,

Does anyone here use a fork dampener on these bikes?

Is front end shake/wobble common on these bikes?

Thanks

1982 GL500 "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro" - Hunter S. Thompson

Re: front wheel wobble

Travis from PA 07-22-2008, 3:55 AM
i have the same, a slight wiggle in the front, did not notice it till recently, was thinking it was due to me adjusting the rear shocks, will try to add more tention to them and see if that changes it any.

Re: front wheel wobble

dbarale 07-22-2008, 7:08 AM
Do you have any fairing, hard bags, case?
What is the preload setting on the rear shocks?
Are the rear shocks tight and are the rubber bushings still in good shape?
Did you check the front wheel bearings?
Is the front caliper releasing, are the front brake pads dragging onto the rotor?
What tire pressure are you running?
Did you check your Comstar wheels? Are all the bolts tights per specs?
I know these are a lot of questions but it should give you some an idea on where to look...

Re: front wheel wobble

CX Rick 07-25-2008, 4:42 AM
Thanks. this weekend will be a busy one. I plan on attacking this issue.

I'v had no fairing, hard bags, shocks are at the strongest setting, I am 290lbs. I'll check the rest.

Re: front wheel wobble

Anonymous 07-25-2008, 5:13 AM
Might be worth sitting a little further back on the seat - I've heard this can reduce a front end shimmy.

Re: front wheel wobble

richie171 07-25-2008, 5:14 AM
The above is me, sorry.

1982 CX500B

Re: front wheel wobble

CX Rick 08-01-2008, 7:22 PM
I can't sit back further in the seat because of how the foam is formed in the seat. I did take the tree apart and greased the bearings but did not cure the wobbble. FYI for those who want to grease the tree bearings. There are 37 #8 bearings that are not cased, that means the ball bearings are in there loose and the race holds them in place.

Re: front wheel wobble

I'm going to GL 08-04-2008, 4:35 AM
For what it's worth, the wobble I experience gets WORSE with increased fork air pressure (given the same payload). Perhaps adjusting fork air psi (slightly) will help.

1982 GL500 "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro" - Hunter S. Thompson

Re: front wheel wobble

CX Rick 08-04-2008, 7:06 AM
thanks but my 1978 CX500 standard is not equipped with air forks although I did replace leaking fork seals that did improve the ride but did not solve the problem.

Re: front wheel wobble

I'm going to GL 08-04-2008, 7:11 AM
Sorry, Rick, I didn't mean to confues/derail the subject, I posted for others veiwing that may have similar issues.

Mike

1982 GL500 "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro" - Hunter S. Thompson

Re: front wheel wobble

CX Rick 08-04-2008, 8:37 AM
I understand. not a problem. And I did consider taking about 1/2 oz of oil out of the forks just to see if it would help.

Re: front wheel wobble

Harold 08-04-2008, 12:11 PM
It could also be a broken belt or some other problem with the front tire.

"People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to harass rich women than biker gangs."

1978 CX500
1980 CX500 Custom
1981 CX500 Custom
1982 GL500 Silverwing
1975 XL-100
http://www.myspace.com/downwiththebutterfly

Re: front wheel wobble

CX Rick 08-04-2008, 6:55 PM
If that was the case I think I would feel it at 65 or 70mph and I don't. The bike feels very stable at those speeds. Thanks for the input.

Re: front wheel wobble

Harold 08-05-2008, 8:11 AM
"If that was the case I think I would feel it at 65 or 70mph and I don't."

I have seen lots of cars that would shake from tire problems that would smooth out as you went faster. Sometimes if tires are out of balance or have a broken belt it shows up the most at a certain speed, if you drive through that speed they will smooth out.

I am not saying this is your problem, it may not be, but just because it gets better at higher speed, I would not rule out the tire, especially if it is an older tire.

Re: front wheel wobble

Broncoman2000 08-05-2008, 10:27 AM
Yeah, tire problems can show up at odd speeds. My wife's car runs smooth and quiet from 0-60 and 70 +, but when you are betweeen 60-70 the tire bounces fiercely. Makes the cd player skip it bounces so bad. At 70 and up though, it smooths back out.

1979 Honda CX500 Custom 42,000 miles and rising, thanks to Dick in Raleigh

Re: front wheel wobble

I'm going to GL 08-05-2008, 11:19 AM
+1 on both prior posts - been there, had that!

1982 GL500 "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro" - Hunter S. Thompson

Re: front wheel wobble

Anonymous 08-07-2008, 8:26 PM
I fixed the low speed wobble in mine by replacing the bushings in the forks when I replace the seals. If you can see any copper on the wear surfaces they need replaced.