BAD Front End Vibration

Bought a used '05 SW w/13k mi. Put 300mi on it with a bad vibration coming from front tire and through the bars. The front tire was shot to the point that could not only feel "lumps" in the tire but even see them! I figured the previous owner probably just didnt keep an eye on pressure and tire wore funky. Just put new tire on and rode 100mi. with the same (if not worse) vibration!! To be honest I dont know if it IS the tire or not because once I get up to about 80mph the bars are vibrating so badly it feels as if the whole front end is going to fall apart. I checked the fork clamps and the steering head bearings seem fine. I kinda wonder if maybe one of the previous owners might have raised or lowered the fork tubes in the clamps for either more stability or quicker steering but thats probably a long shot. Anyone know what the stock height is for the fork tubes? Im really baffled and bummed cuz I had an '03 SW that I bought new and put at least 35k mi. on in the 2yrs I owned it without a single problem.

Theres about 3/4 of an inch of shock above the clamp. The upper bolt fits across a groove in the upper stanchion
Look at your shock tubes from the side and make sure there parallel.
check your axle, bolt head on the left. There are keeper bolts under the offset on the lowers
Balance your wheel.
check your wheel bearings, find a breakdown and make sure all the parts are there.
Check your disc and caliper, a warped disc will cause this as well.
See if your wheel runs true.
Is your tire on the proper direction?
I ride sport bikes on the track and a head shake that bad gets fixed before i turn the key on it again.
Im guessing warped/bent wheel, disc.

Yeah Ive got about 3/4 to top of cap. Tubes look fine. I r/r'd wheel myself to get new tire and checked the bearings. I know I put spacers, axle bolt and pinch bolts all back correctly. Also removed caliper when removing wheel to check pads. Caliper and rotor seem fine. Tire rotation correct. I paid extra $10 to have balanced just hope they did it correctly! Its not so much a "headshake" but a STRONG vibration. Not a headshake like the bars swapping back and forth speed wobble. I dont know how much the motor could be contributing to the vibration because it doesnt tranmit through seat or floorboards.

Are you sure the vibration is coming from the front? Is the rear tire in good condition and well balanced? One other to do would be to take a good look at the belt. I've chased down vibes on another bike I owned by putting it on the center stand, using a ratchet strap to lock the center stand forward so the bike couldn't come off it and running the revs up spinning the rear wheel at highway speeds to see if the vibes were coming from the rear or the engine.

Best way to see if shake is really only front end----steep hill, slow to point where clutch dis-engage, think you can roll faster, if front doesn't shake---shake not in front, but probably eng/drive line related.


Hard to tell on used bikes where problem lies, until you go thru whole thing.

Bent Wheel/broken welds on frame?

John Grinsel

Could the front wheel and/or tire be out of round? You can balance an egg, but it still won't roll smoothly.

I bought some new tires for the F150 last summer and had a lot of problems with erratic shaking at speed. I jacked up the front wheels one at a time and spun them. One would almost touch the garage floor at one spot, then be 1/2 inch off the floor at the opposite side of the wheel. When the tire was replaced all the problems disappeared.

You should be able to do the same check on the Silverwing. Perhaps the previous owner hit a big pothole or curb and dented the rim.

Thanks for all of the tips. Had wheel re-balanced at different shop. Took 8 1/4gr weights, 4 on each side of rim in same spot! Did my 50mi. commute and BIG difference. Was running rear preload on #3 so for ride home put it back on #2 (no real noticeable difference), still vibration through bars but must be from engine because there is a cycling like rythym to it and I could let go of the bars at 80mph and track straight. Another 100mi. today and seems even better.

Glad it's sorted.
I get vibration through the bars but Grip Puppies cure the problem (or mask it, if you like).
Foam pipe-insulation seems to do the same job and is cheaper although Grip Puppies are not expensive.

I may eventually try heavier bar weights. The ones I had on my VStrom were pretty big/heavy so might order some but its not so much a hand numbing vibration as it is more of an annoying one. Also the mention that the rear could be contributing is very likely because while the previous owner put a "new" rear on the way that the front was worn so badly and who knows how long he was riding it like that, could have caused the rear to wear weird too. Bad news is that I put a matching Shinko on the front. Now I sorta wish Id just replaced both tires! After looking up all the tire choices I found that all but the Pirelli are bias ply. So when this Shinko rear wears out Ill try the radial even though the front will still have lots of life left. I read in a magazine that the testers stiffened the rear preload in an attempt to put more weight on the front because it felt so vague while cornering. Anyone else try/do this? For a big heavy front end vibrating feels unhinged in the middle scoot it sure corners waaaay better than it ought to!!!!!! Even w/Shinko tires!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My scoot came with Kuryaken grips. I feel vibration in the floorboard and a little through the seat, but not through the grips.

HyperPro springs in the front help the steering.