FZ6N: Highspeed = wobbling?

[Raffe]

Hi!

New on this forum and this is my first post.
I bought a brand new FZ6-N S2 ABS last weekend (2009 model) and when riding the bike home I discovered that the bike starts to wobble at about 150 km/h or more.

Does this happen to you all guys or is it possible that the bike has been assembled bad?

 

[Wolfman]

Hi!

New on this forum and this is my first post.
I bought a brand new FZ6-N S2 ABS last weekend (2009 model) and when riding the bike home I discovered that the bike starts to wobble at about 150 km/h or more.

Does this happen to you all guys or is it possible that the bike has been assembled bad?

One word...when at high speed, and the wind, etc, is just right, the front end get's real light....steering damper will fix it, but really is only an issue when you hit 200km/h + in most cases...

 

[g8anos]

No, it's not normal. I have a 2005 fz6 naked and flat-out the bike doesn't wobble...

Only while accelerating hard, does the bike wobble sometimes due to light front end.

Check your suspension settings, your tires (condition, pressure etc) and if something is loose?!

You say that the bike is 2009 and you bought it now? It could it be that the tires are 3 years old and need to be replaced.

 

[Kazza]

No, it's not normal. I have a 2005 fz6 naked and flat-out the bike doesn't wobble...

Only while accelerating hard, does the bike wobble sometimes due to light front end.

Check your suspension settings, your tires (condition, pressure etc) and if something is loose?!

You say that the bike is 2009 and you bought it now? It could it be that the tires are 3 years old and need to be replaced.

2 year old tyres :BLAA:

If you bought it from a dealer, contact them.

Like Wolfman said though, there could be other factors - wind etc.

But it is NOT normal for your bike to wobble at ANY speed.

 

[agf]

+1 on the tyres, when I bought my'09 in Marrch this year the tyres were still covered in wax so they were/are still in good nick. There is still a second chicken strip high on the tyre shoulder. I could get some sand paper and lightly sand it off but it doesnt worry me much. The worst thing about picking up the bike from a dealer was believing that a full delivery would have been done, it took me only a couple of k's to realise the tyre pressure was way down, especially noticeable when cornering
BTW I love that colour bike

 

[greg]

check tyre wear and pressures, and also check for any loose bolts on the main frame (one of the ones on my subframe was loose and this seemed to affect the bike a little bit)

also worth checking wheel allignment

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Someone just posted about worn out steering head bearings doing this.

I know the bike is new so the steering head bearings may not be adjusted correctly....

A trip to the deal is in order...

 

[Raffe]

One word...when at high speed, and the wind, etc, is just right, the front end get's real light....

I have to add that it was really windy that day.

Only while accelerating hard, does the bike wobble sometimes due to light front end.
Check your suspension settings, your tires (condition, pressure etc) and if something is loose?!

I did start to wobble while accelarating hard...
And I will check the pressure, although I did ask the dealer about it when I bought the bike. Preasure should have been right.

2 year old tyres :BLAA:

:thumbup:

It took me only a couple of k's to realise the tyre pressure was way down, especially noticeable when cornering
BTW I love that colour bike

Will check pressure and love your bike colour as well! :thumbup:

check tyre wear and pressures, and also check for any loose bolts on the main frame (one of the ones on my subframe was loose and this seemed to affect the bike a little bit)

also worth checking wheel allignment

Going to check this as well, specially wheel aligment.
The bike wants to wobble when I ride with no hands at 100 km/h as well. :mikebike:

Someone just posted about worn out steering head bearings doing this.

I know the bike is new so the steering head bearings may not be adjusted correctly....

A trip to the deal is in order...

It's a 400 km trip to the dealer, so I really hope this will not be necessary... :jawdrop:

 

[FIZZER6]

I have never seen an FZ6 that had wheel weights on the factory tires which tells me that they don't actually balance the wheels when they mount the tires...they just get it "close enough". When I changed the tires for the first time and static balanced them with my ball bearing balancer the bike was much smoother at high speeds.

 

[iSteve]

Got to agree with FIZZER6 everyone seems to think steering head bearing and overlooks the the most likely and cheapest fix, tire balance.

 

[oregonative56]

My '09 came with wheel weights. Maybe it's a dealer thing, rather than factory. If so that's one more plus for my selling dealer, Pro-Caliber, in the Couv.

 

[REO Scorpio]

My '09 came with wheel weights. Maybe it's a dealer thing, rather than factory. If so that's one more plus for my selling dealer, Pro-Caliber, in the Couv.

I believe mine came with them as well, if I correctly assume the little squarish things attached to the inside middle of my rims are said weights.

Scorp


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[McLovin]

Even when everythings right on your bike, it can wobble on hard acceleration. Dont be alarmed, do all the checks mentioned, if all is OK, you are good to go.

 

[Wolfman]

Even when everythings right on your bike, it can wobble on hard acceleration. Dont be alarmed, do all the checks mentioned, if all is OK, you are good to go.

Yeah, check your steeering head bearing's, but i still reckon it's more likely, you were doing a few Kilometre's per hour more than you thought, and the bike was working outside it's design parameters.....there is a reason YAMAHA Australia decided to sell an Ohlins steering damper as part of the FZ6 Cup race bike package.....on 46 FZ6 cup bikes.....

but hey, it could also be crap tyres, or bearings that are either torqued to tight, or too loose....in this case, i would assume, if bearing's were mis-torqued, it would be that they are loose, cause i know that when they are too stiff, the bike steers like a truck, and a wobbly front end would be the last of your issues..as too tightly tightened steering head bearing's will act like a steering damper wound up too tight...stiff!

:thumbup:

 

[fazil]

It looks like, S2 version front fender is shaped to push the front tire more to the ground with it's aerodynamic design. Do you think it is a concern?

 

[Wolfman]

It looks like, S2 version front fender is shaped to push the front tire more to the ground with it's aerodynamic design. Do you think it is a concern?

I have ridden an FZ6 hard with an 04-06 front fender, and i have ridden an FZ6 with an 07+ front fender hard, both shook their heads hard going hard through a fast sweeper, or cresting a small hill at full noise!And suspension, tyres, steering, etc, was all good in both cases...

Your theory re more downforce with the more aerodynamic front fender of the 07+ plus front fender is good in theory, but i dont think it makes that much difference in reality.

just my 2 cents!

:thumbup:

 

[fazil]

What about the bellypan?
Is it functional?

 

[Wolfman]

What about the bellypan?
Is it functional?

I have one FZ6 with a bellypan, and one without...the only difference i have noticed, other than appearance, is that the FZ6 with the bellypan is easier to keep the exhaust headers clean, as it stops a lot of road grime rom hitting the lower parts of your headers, making keeping the headers clean, easier!

As for improving performance... i dont think a bellypan does a thing!

Just my HONEST opinion....i may be wrong, but my "seat of the pants" monitor" registers no discernable difference in handlng, top speed, or stability.

:thumbup:

 

[Raffe]

Even when everythings right on your bike, it can wobble on hard acceleration. Dont be alarmed, do all the checks mentioned, if all is OK, you are good to go.

I think it's a scandal if a manufacture produces a bike that wobbles and get you killed. So much worse than Mc Donalds producing hot coffee. :spank:
And as I said it even wobbles when I drive with "no hands" (not sure if you understand what I mean) in low speed (about 100 km/h (62 m/h)).
It should be tire balancing causing this.
I will check more this weekend if the weather is fine.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I think it's a scandal if a manufacture produces a bike that wobbles and get you killed. So much worse than Mc Donalds producing hot coffee. :spank:
And as I said it even wobbles when I drive with "no hands" (not sure if you understand what I mean) in low speed (about 100 km/h (62 m/h)).
It should be tire balancing causing this.
I will check more this weekend if the weather is fine.

+1 on checking the basics, tire balance, steering head bearings, ALL nuts and bolts...

With that said, my old full dress Harley police bike (late 80's), no fairing, just the large windshield, wobbled badly once over approx 105 MPH. There was nothing wrong with the bike. Started a death wobble but I was lucky enough to slow down enough to keep it upright... It wasn't designed to run that fast (which really isn't very fast) as it wasn't very aero dynamic..

With that said, ALL Honda Goldwings have standard roller steering head bearings which eventually cause the wobble, even at low speeds 30-40 MPH. Tapperd bearings fixed the problem. It was NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. As the service manager said (whom I trust) stated if Honda replaced the BRAND NEW MODELS with tappered bearings, they'd be admitting a problem which would cost them a fortune to retro fit every Goldwing out there...