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Front End Vibration

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Old Apr 9, 2008 | 11:39 AM
  #1  
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twilliams
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From: Franklin, TN
Default Front End Vibration

After not riding much all winter and a few upgrades I am noticing a vibration in the front end of the bike. Its hard to explain the vibration but overall the bike does not feel as smooth as it use to, last night I was on the freeway and at ~70 it felt quite squirrelly.

Upgrades that were done over the winter were, chrome lower and upper sliders, lyndal z pads r/f and polished rotors. I did the the slider swap myself but had to take it to the dealer becasue they leaked afterwards.

I have checked for loose bolts on the rotors, calipers, pads and front axle. I checked the bolts that hold the bar risers to the trees. I have checked the fairing brackets.

I feels like I can feel every bump in the road, I do have the stock d'lops and I know they are bad about this but prior to these changes I did not notice it this bad.

What else should I check?

Thanks
 
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Old Apr 9, 2008 | 11:53 AM
  #2  
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mrsr71
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From: Santa Clarita
Default RE: Front End Vibration

Could the rotor/s be out of balance (?)
 
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Old Apr 9, 2008 | 02:47 PM
  #3  
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Default RE: Front End Vibration

I guess they could but how to check that I have no idea. One thing I forgot to mention was I tightened a few spokes, I used a spoke torque wrench and there were only a few on both wheels that needed a little snugging up. I made a very crude measurment device and turned the front wheel to see if I noticed and variation and there may have been a spot that was 1mm off but I am not sure if that would cause my problem.
 
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Old Apr 9, 2008 | 06:55 PM
  #4  
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Default RE: Front End Vibration

If the dealer put your forks back together, they may have added too much oil which could be giving you a too firm ride.
 
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Old Apr 9, 2008 | 07:20 PM
  #5  
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Default RE: Front End Vibration

I guess there is no way too tell without following the procedure in the service manual.....remove the tubes from the trees and all that.
 
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Old Apr 13, 2008 | 06:53 PM
  #6  
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Default RE: Front End Vibration

Well I took it back to the dealer that is closest and also the one that did the fork rebuild after xmas...they "said" they test rode it and found nothing wrong. While on the phone with the service writer I sorta called B.S. and asked if it made sense to pull the front wheel too see if its balanced....he gave the run around and said that would "just be throwing stuff around"......WTF. Needless to say I was pissed and said fine I will just come get it...keep in mind this was the dealer I bought the bike from and this was my second from them. I took the bike yesterday to another dealer about 30 mins away and asked them to ride it. I spoke with the tech before he rode it and explained the situation to him. When he returned he told me that he did feel something but at 80mph he shut off the motor and it went away. He said I was just feeling the harmonics of the motor, he also said my tires were over inflated by around 4lbs each which means my gauge must not be right because I checked them a few days ago and there were 36/40. He also said that the front end may be a little stiff from the fork rebuild and that may be contributing to the whole thing. I trust this second dealer but I got to thinking after I left and this was not happening the first 5000 miles on the bike so I think I still have an issue that needs to be dealt with.
 
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Old Apr 13, 2008 | 09:53 PM
  #7  
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mrblister
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From: Emmett,Idaho
Default RE: Front End Vibration

Just for grins. I would loosen the clamps on the fork tubes and the axle nut. Make sure the tubes are in the clamps correctly seated and tightened to proper spec.Then do the same for the axle and make sure your not pulling the fork sliders together with the axle. My thinking is possible binding of the forks. Use a torque wrench because it does matter.
 
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