Low-speed shimmy

[HondaJon]

Just curious if anyone else has experienced any low speed shimmy on their CB? I only have about 100 miles in so far (damn rain) and noticed it today while riding. It's not too bad, but I don't get any on the XR 650L at all. I check the tire pressure (Dead on at 36 and 42 psi) and snugged all of the front end bolts. I didn't hit the steering head though.
I did noticed that the front tire does not have any wheel weights on it though. Just wondering if this is a characteristic of the bike before I take her back to the dealer for a check.
Thanks

[Randy B]

Take it in. I'm almost at 5000 miles and it's dead smooth.

[The ferret]

No shimmy I have noticed

[Deanohh]

Shouldn't do that.... Take it in soon.

[thumper]

None here. Have it checked out.

[vfrpaul98]

slowing down? constant slow speed? do you have both hands on the handlebar grips? it is not uncommon for some machines to shake their heads when slowing down with your hands not holding the handlebar grips. ask your dealer to check front fork spring preload. make sure your fork tubes are installed in the steering stems at the proper height.if the front ride height has been lowered by slideing the fork tubes up in the stems this might cause a problem if the rear is not lowered at the same time.
Paul.

[Guth]

New bike, under warranty, shouldn't be exhibiting such behavior. I'd take it back to the dealer and have them make it right.

[V452CB1100]

(07-06-2013 05:23 PM)Guth Wrote:  New bike, under warranty, shouldn't be exhibiting such behavior. I'd take it back to the dealer and have them make it right.

It is probably the stock front tire. They don't make 'em like that anymore, except they do, for this bike. It has the dreaded "center groove" which will catch any irregularities in the pavement and give you a wiggle. It is especially bad where there are rain grooves. I noticed this on mine and looked at the tire realizing what the problem was. However you should still take it in because it's a safety issue. The steering head bearings may not have been installed correctly.

---

One other thing that was common with bikes of this era is a bit of headshake if you take your hands off the bars, especially whilst decelerating through 45 mph. There were a few magazine articles about this trait back in day. I had a couple of bikes that did this.

[HondaJon]

Well it finally stopped raining here, so I took her out for a better test and this is what I found;

The shimmy is most pronounced while decelerating from 50-40 (Just like V452CB1100 noted) with my hands off of the bars.
Page 12-15 of the Honda service manual states "For optimum balance, the tire balance mark must be located next to the valve stem". Mine is not. (See pic)

I'm hoping it's just a simple tire balance issue, all of my other Honda bikes have been smooth as glass. Will be taking her in next week and will let you all know what the outcome was.

Thanks for the input.

[Deanohh]

But you have the dot on the rim where they have balanced the wheel. Indicates the optimal spot for the tire mark.