Head shake/front wheel wobble

[Nobbylad]

OK - another newbie style post...

I've had my lovely K8 now for nearly 2 weeks, it's had the 1st service (last weekend) and I'm up to around 700 miles.

Everything is fine (including nearly getting the Stebel horn wired up correctly - thanks to Baph for your patience!) and have some other mods on order from Sammy at Demon Bikes.

However...I've noticed (or at least I think I've noticed) a very slight front wobble when travelling around 80-85 on slight M-way bends. Most of my 90-mile round trip commute is fairly straight forward M-way, however on some bends there is a slight wobble, I'm sure of it.

Of course it could be that it's all in my head and I'm just nervous of the front end at that speed (had bad experience in the past losing the front end) or it could be down to the road surface in particular places (although I've felt it on different stretches of road and they don't appear to have ruts etc in them).

Am I paranoid or is this common?

I noticed the preload adjusters on the top yoke aren't lined up, should they be at exactly the same setting or should I just care about the lines visible when looking at them from a worms' eye view? (diagram below shows the difference as they stand). Or will it not make a blind bit of difference?

[jambo]

Hi,

The thread pitch is fine enough that as long as the preload adjusters have the same number of lines showing they are close enough. It's worth checking your tyre pressures, and that the preload is set about right for you though.

If you're unsure about how to measure and set preload there's an article here:
http://www.gostar-racing.com/informa...ion_set-up.htm


Jambo

[Nobbylad]

Fab!

V. useful, cheers.

Tyre pressures are OK btw

is your front wheel balanced properly?

i tend to line the preload adjusters using lines then make sure they are the same yous a micrometer to measure the height

or it could be the sv suspension it is soft how ever you set it up

[embee]

Tyre pressures are obvious, but also check the tyre is fitted evenly around the rim (since it's only a couple of weeks on the road).

The other thing which will lead to steering issues is if the head bearings are not adjusted correctly, too tight and you tend to feel a slow weaving tendency, too loose and you can get wobbles. Worth checking or getting the dealer to double check.

[Nobbylad]

cheers everyone for the advice...might be going to the dealer on Saturday anyway, so will check over the tyre/rim etc and get him to have a look

[DarrenSV650S]

The rear wheel might not be aligned correctly

I get quite a lot of headshake over bumps if I'm pinning the throttle, I find it quite exciting, makes me know there's some power there. My front is set up basically perfectly for me, fantastic!

Originally Posted by DarrenSV650S

The rear wheel might not be aligned correctly

That was my thought too. Especially if it's just had a service, the rear wheel may of been off.

Doesn't take much for a grease monkey to mis-align the rear wheel. Then when you're on the power, you'll get all sorts of weaving & bucking.