Front end shake

[DaveM]

WEll you are doing exactly what I also would do mate

DaveM

[airrider03]

1050DA, you say you have 3500 miles on your tires, it's time to toss them.
I think the sprint is very sensitive to tires, my 020's were useless after 3500 miles, I hope the Avon Storms I just mounted provide a better ride after 3500 miles...I do know that they balanced better than the 020's, I'm talking perfect balance.

Conti road attacks look like they have "shimmy after 3500" written all over them, the way the patterns alternate right-left.




Avon Storms front seem a little more diluted...
So far after 1000 miles, they're smooth as silk, and feel more planted than the 020's right from the start...

[Sprint1050DA]

I stopped in to my "local" dealer today and talked to them about the problem. They said it is most likely being caused by loose/bad steering stem bearings. They are going to take a look at it next Friday. As far as the tires go, there is so much usable tread left that I hate the thought of throwing them out if they're not the problem. But there is a very good chance that this will be my last set of Road Attacks.

[womcat]

Sprint1050,
My dealer also thought loose steering stem bearings were what were causing my front end shimmy. They checked them and torqued them to spec but it made no difference at all. Let us know what you find out, I am leaning towards the tires causing it, as I am running the same as you.

[Sprint1050DA]

Originally Posted by womcat

Sprint1050,
My dealer also thought loose steering stem bearings were what were causing my front end shimmy. They checked them and torqued them to spec but it made no difference at all. Let us know what you find out, I am leaning towards the tires causing it, as I am running the same as you.

Does your front end only shake at certain speeds? Mine only seems to do it between 45mph-55mph. I'd be really disappointed if it does turn out to be tires. I would think that Continental would have done enough research to keep something like this from happening.

[womcat]

Mine does it when decelerating at about 60-50mph. I was hoping it wasn't the tires too, I really like them so far.

[Sprint1050DA]

Well, that's just no good. I don't want to have to replace a set of tires right now...really I would like to not have to do any work right now. Can anyone else using the Road Attacks comment on this? Is it a tire that simply isn't suited for the Sprint?

[SilverSprintST]

You can count me in this unfortunate club as well.

I purchased a new 06 Sprint last year and after about 4500 miles it developed a deceleration death wiggle from 55 to 45mph. That is the only speed that is affected and only if I take my hands of the bars. It is significantly worse with the Panniers attached. Oddly I didn’t notice the head shake until Triumph replaced the old leaking Panniers with the new ones. I think the new ones are quite a bit heavier. The stock front BT developed sever cupping around this time so I thought that was the problem. However, at 5900 miles I replace the BT’s with Avon Storms and the head shake is still there. It's not as bad as before but it’s still noticeable. I have not had any other problems with the bike and it has never been damaged. Again this only happens on decel (coasting) from about 55 mph to 45 mph. The Triumph dealer has checked the bike out and everything appears to be within specs. I weight 155 pounds plus gear, the sag has been set to the best of my ability. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[oldndumb]

The only suggestion I have is to consider all of the advice already in this thread and work through each one sequentially. Do not try to apply more than one fix at a time.

Have you let anyone else ride it to see if they notice the same 'wiggle'?

If the bike is still in warranty, make the dealer fix it. Don't let them off the hook when they say they checked every thing and it is ok. Keep the warranty claim open.

[Calliway]

Well most vibrations that happen at a certain speed, in my experience, are caused from an improper balance tire wise. When a tire isnt balanced it is also more likely to show up in the 100-125kph speed range and go away when you are on either side of those speeds. The tires might not be worn out but they may be unbalanced.

I got through this every winter when i get my snow tires on my car. I have to have them balanced usually three times before the 110kph shimmy goes away.