Front tire vibration
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Cruiser
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 184
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From: Oklahoma
Front tire vibration
Just put a new front tire on, balanced with dyna beads. At 75 mph I noticed a little vibration. I'm not sure if it is just the feel of the new tread or what. The only thing that looked odd was the wheel spacer. There's a tiny gap on the right side (left if looking at bike from front) between the fork and the spacer. The drawing in my manual also showed a space, but I thought it was odd. Any thoughts?
Tourer
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 336
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From: Elk Grove, California
I was going to say maybe the wheel is out of balance but with the dyna beads, I don't know. Could be just the new tread and the tire just needs to get a few miles to break in. Maybe the axle isn't torqued down to spec? Wheel bearings? Steering head bearings are a little loose?
Last edited by jcanrun; Mar 6, 2010 at 09:10 PM.
Road Captain
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You don't mean that the spacer has slop, right? The spacers are clamped tightly against the inner races of the wheel bearings (along with the internal spacer in the hub) when you torque the axle nut. So I assume that you mean that you can see the outside edge of the right-hand spacer, along with a bit of the axle shoulder, from the front. And of course there's the whole service manual procedure of inserting a certain size rod through the hole in the end of the axle to set the correct position of the right-hand fork leg when you tighten the fork clamp bolts.
So I'd say that maybe the Dyna Beads aren't doing the job of balancing . . . Not knowing anything about Dyna Beads but bits I've read here (I do it the old-fashioned way with wheel weights), I'm guessing that the beads are always loose in the tire, so you can't remove the wheel and check its balance, because that would be meaningless, right? Is the tire mounted evenly (if you look at the bead area, is it even all the way around the rim)?
So I'd say that maybe the Dyna Beads aren't doing the job of balancing . . . Not knowing anything about Dyna Beads but bits I've read here (I do it the old-fashioned way with wheel weights), I'm guessing that the beads are always loose in the tire, so you can't remove the wheel and check its balance, because that would be meaningless, right? Is the tire mounted evenly (if you look at the bead area, is it even all the way around the rim)?
Tourer
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 313
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From: Ontario,Canada
I installed a set of metzler tires on my roadglide last year ,I had been using dyna beads prior to the install and they seemed to be doing the job so I figured I may as well use them with the new tires as well,so after the install and the dynabeads I took it for a ride and at speeds of 70 mph and up the front wheel would hop real bad,so I took it home and took the front wheel off and rotated the tire 180 degrees to see if this would help, this didn't get rid of the hop ,so I ended up removing the dynabeads from both wheels and took them in for a spin balance ,the front tire took 4-1/2 ounces too balance and the rear only took 1/2 ounce ,the ride is nice and smooth now,so if you get a tire that needs a lot of weight to balance due to poor manufacturing of the tire I don't think the beads are able to correct this just take it in and have it balanced.
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Cruiser
Joined: Jan 2009
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From: Oklahoma
You don't mean that the spacer has slop, right? The spacers are clamped tightly against the inner races of the wheel bearings (along with the internal spacer in the hub) when you torque the axle nut. So I assume that you mean that you can see the outside edge of the right-hand spacer, along with a bit of the axle shoulder, from the front. And of course there's the whole service manual procedure of inserting a certain size rod through the hole in the end of the axle to set the correct position of the right-hand fork leg when you tighten the fork clamp bolts.
So I'd say that maybe the Dyna Beads aren't doing the job of balancing . . . Not knowing anything about Dyna Beads but bits I've read here (I do it the old-fashioned way with wheel weights), I'm guessing that the beads are always loose in the tire, so you can't remove the wheel and check its balance, because that would be meaningless, right? Is the tire mounted evenly (if you look at the bead area, is it even all the way around the rim)?
So I'd say that maybe the Dyna Beads aren't doing the job of balancing . . . Not knowing anything about Dyna Beads but bits I've read here (I do it the old-fashioned way with wheel weights), I'm guessing that the beads are always loose in the tire, so you can't remove the wheel and check its balance, because that would be meaningless, right? Is the tire mounted evenly (if you look at the bead area, is it even all the way around the rim)?
Tourer
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 491
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From: Michigan
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Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2007
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Once the axle nut is torqued to spec, all of the spacers and bearing inner races should automatically be in the right places. The axle won't move around since it's tightened to the left-hand fork leg.
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Joined: Jun 2006
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From: Vermont
No, I believe that the manual states that the purpose of the (specific size) drill bit is so that after you torque the axle nut, you are supposed to spread (or squeeze, if necessary) the right-hand fork tube laterally to exactly the right position before tightening the axle clamp nuts. You want the fork tubes as parallel as possible, and supposedly this will get it right.
Once the axle nut is torqued to spec, all of the spacers and bearing inner races should automatically be in the right places. The axle won't move around since it's tightened to the left-hand fork leg.
Once the axle nut is torqued to spec, all of the spacers and bearing inner races should automatically be in the right places. The axle won't move around since it's tightened to the left-hand fork leg.
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Cruiser
Joined: Jan 2009
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From: Oklahoma
The dyna bead folks tell me it's "harmonic vibrations". Apparently a loose spoke or poorly adjusted belt leads to vibration at the point of least resistance, the front wheel. Guess I'll check out the belt I tried to adjust myself. I thought I followed my manual but I'll have to look again. Any tips?