Ran it up to 115mph, and ...

[Shuriken]

Of course it starts that gentle weave/wobble. This time, I got brave and latched onto the bars real good and exerted quite a bit of forward pressure (instead of pulling equally backwards with both hands or just trying to grip the bars tighter, I pushed forwards equally with both hands). This did something because the wobble immediately stopped. I was out of safe pavement at that point or I would have pushed the bike faster....

My question is, what does this mean? I'd say this definitely points to steering head bearings/adjustment on my ride.

 

[lankeeyankee]

Of course it starts that gentle weave/wobble. This time, I got brave and latched onto the bars real good and exerted quite a bit of forward pressure (instead of pulling equally backwards with both hands or just trying to grip the bars tighter, I pushed forwards equally with both hands). This did something because the wobble immediately stopped. I was out of safe pavement at that point or I would have pushed the bike faster....

My question is, what does this mean? I'd say this definitely points to steering head bearings/adjustment on my ride.

What riding postion were you in? Were you wearing a loose causal style jacket or coat?
Have you checked the resistance of your steering swing with the front wheel off the ground?

 

[m-cman]

Sometimes putting more weight on the front end helps. (By leaning forward and/or shifting weight forward). That is the first thing I try on any bike if I get a weave. Worked on most bikes I have owned that had a high speed weave. Didn't work on my 95 Max very well though.

 

[lankeeyankee]

Sometimes putting more weight on the front end helps. (By leaning forward and/or shifting weight forward). That is the first thing I try on any bike if I get a weave. Worked on most bikes I have owned that had a high speed weave. Didn't work on my 95 Max very well though.

When you come into a high speed wobble you want to get the weight off the front, Its disaster if you hit the brakes during a high speed wobble. You want to whack the gas and get the weight off.

 

[jfeagins]

I'd say that when you pushed forward, your whole body acted as a frame stiffener from the footpegs up to the handlebars?????, thereby minimizing the wobble???

The wobble still could be caused by anything, or a combo of things. My whole wobble experience ALWAYS leads back to the rear tire/wheel combo of my Vmax.

Go back out, hang on tight, and crank it up even quicker, see what it will do at around 135 mph.

Good luck.

 

[hubeerjw]

Sometimes putting more weight on the front end helps. (By leaning forward and/or shifting weight forward). .

I agree, I have noticed that when my legs are on the rear pegs, it tends to wobble a little more than if in the normal position. Riding position does make a difference.

 

[Jayhawk]

Sometimes putting more weight on the front end helps. (By leaning forward and/or shifting weight forward). That is the first thing I try on any bike if I get a weave.

Might I suggest changing beverages and/or having a cup of coffee? :biglaugh:

 

[naughtyG]

My experience is slightly different. Whenever I went into the death wobble (above 110mph), leaning back and relaxing my grip on the bars was what saved me, each time. The harder I tried to fight it (death grip) the worse it got - always.

I kinda agree with Lankee here - hit the brakes and you're dead. Having said that, it's bloody hard to open the the throttle when you feel like you're about to lose it and go into a tank slapper at 100+mph..

In the end, it all means one thing: your head bearings are fubar!!

So do yourself a favor - get a new set from Gary @ Mondak Motorsports ($50 for both) and follow the directions posted here to replace them. The only bitch thing is the lower bearing race - if you can do a ring of MIG welding on it it's easy to get out, otherwise it's a Dremel job and be careful as it's easy to damage the frame this way.

Just remember - with new head bearings, tightened only to the Service Manual's torque setting (yes my bars still bounce off the stops when I test with my front wheel raised off the ground) I got to 135mph without the slightest hint of a wobble. I also tried braking really hard from high speed, and there is no trace of a breaking weave anymore either.

So I say - the head bearings get worn (quickly) by the weight of the bike, and they most definitely are the culprits for the high speed straight line death wobble. My bike has 40k miles now, rubber motor mounts, no frame strengthening, stock swingarm, swingarm bearings are the originals AFAIK and the only real stiffening upgrade is a beefier fork brace.

 

[COP RUNNER]

SHIT IF MY MAX EVER GET'S THE DEATH WOBBLE , I'M GOING TO SELL MY FRONT WHEEL ON EBAY ! THIS WAY I'LL KILL TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE ! I'LL HAVE THE WORLDS FASTEST UNI-CYCLE & ELIMINATED MY WOBBLE !:rofl_200::biglaugh::rofl_200:

 

[Shuriken]

Thanks for the replies.

I normally tuck right up against the tank, lighten up on the bars, pull in the elbows, knees, and use the front pegs for foot rests. This gets me up to 115 with no probs but the bike always begins a weave at that speed. Not a death wobble... I *can* brake without it getting out of control. Neither the weave nor braking is any fun!

I have a well-fitting leather jacket and regular pants.

When I push foward on the bars, my arse plants in the seat a lot more, but I wasn't pushing on the pegs with my feet. Arms only. So my guess is worn/misadjusted front end bearings.

I do have the OEM flyscreen and brand new ME880s as well. No air in forks.

 

[Storloc]

Put about 10psi in those forks and see what happens. My bike doesn't wobble at all as long as I keep the tires inflated properly and 10-15 psi in the forks. When I neglect those two items I tend to get the tank slapper syndrome on occasion. :confused2:

 

[Shuriken]

Put about 10psi in those forks and see what happens. My bike doesn't wobble at all as long as I keep the tires inflated properly and 10-15 psi in the forks. When I neglect those two items I tend to get the tank slapper syndrome on occasion. :confused2:

Thanks for the reply. I actually started out with 10-15psi and had the wobble as well.

 

[lankeeyankee]

Thanks for the reply. I actually started out with 10-15psi and had the wobble as well.

Let go of the handlebars (no hands) between 35, 40, 45, 50 MPH and tell me if you get a wobble.
If yes, your head bearings are to tight. Head bearings to tight will also cause high speed lane drifts, weaves...

Have you jacked the front wheel off the ground felt the resistance in the steering swing?

Only time I get a wobble is when my front end is strapped down and I come into turns to hard and fast, but my front tire side treads are plum wore out.
I am smooth and stable on high speed runs 150+ no problems. Same headset bearings / collar 30K miles.
I just get into frame flexxing and wobbles when I think I am on a new sport bike riding to hard into turns. Good gauge is usually can do double the speed limit. Caution Curve in Road Speed Limit 35MPH 70 is the max you will be able to take it on a VMAX, pretty accurate.

 

[maxout1200]

Best way to come out of a high speed wobble is to pull in the clutch and let it free wheel then ride it out. No brakes until things settle down.

There seems to be a difference of opinion on what causes the high speed wobble. For me the cure was solid motor mounts.

The new steering head bearings cleared up my low speed wobble but didn't seem to help that 110-115 mph bad spot.

I think maybe it's a combination of several things. Best bet is to do all the fixes you can and even then always be prepared for an unexpected wobble whether it be at 110mph or getting into a corner a little to fast.

 

[Samax]

About how many hours would it take for a local shop to replace your head bearings? Also could a fork brace make for a cheap fix?

 

[maxcruiser]

About how many hours would it take for a local shop to replace your head bearings? Also could a fork brace make for a cheap fix?

There's no cheap fix for bad head bearings other adjusting or changing them. Would take about 2-3 hours to do.

It's not a really difficult job to do diy with some basic tools and this forum.

Mike

 

[RaWarrior]

I get the wobble pretty randomly. Sometimes I can bring it up to 135 and not get any hint of a wobble at all, and other times I'm barely at 110 and already having to back off. Below that, it's perfectly fine all the time.

I kinda want to blame the pos Avon tire on the back. It has no traction(I can keep it lit up to top of 3rd gear or like 80mph....a long burnout even by Max standards), and in the rain it is downright scary. It absolutely refuses to hold a line cornering in the rain, no matter how gentle I take the turn. The front wheel plants, the ass keeps "walking" out on me. Since somebody else said the rear tire seemed to cure their wobble, I'll try that first.

 

[HDKILA]

Of course it starts that gentle weave/wobble. This time, I got brave and latched onto the bars real good and exerted quite a bit of forward pressure (instead of pulling equally backwards with both hands or just trying to grip the bars tighter, I pushed forwards equally with both hands). This did something because the wobble immediately stopped. I was out of safe pavement at that point or I would have pushed the bike faster....

My question is, what does this mean? I'd say this definitely points to steering head bearings/adjustment on my ride.

This means time to trade in on a Kawasaki ZX14. The only thing your thinking about when you run a zx14 up to 115 is "maybe I will shift to second gear now" LOL!

Mine old 85 was the same way and I tried EVERYTHING. I just stopped going that fast cause it was too dangerous.

 

[Redbone]

There's no cheap fix for bad head bearings other adjusting or changing them. Would take about 2-3 hours to do.

It's not a really difficult job to do diy with some basic tools and this forum.

Mike

+1, need to do the maintenance tightening but if that's not working need to check the bearings and replace if needed. No magic fixes needed.

 

[1967vmax]

On my 02 the tire was cupped,metzler me880 .