Author Topic: My Weeble's Wobble (Read 12543 times)

Ice · **Reply #15 on:** August 22, 2011, 04:16:53 am

If I recall correctly ( and I'm not completely sure here), Br. gas house gorilla had instability in his C5.
IIRC (again, big if) the cause was some sort of unwanted pressure from something mounted not right in the rear half of the bike pulling things askew.

A thread search should shed some more light on things.

Br. bittercrick,
Our 35mm forks do have some flex to them,they've had for sixty years as have every all the other brands.
You're sure everything up front is tight ?

prof_stack · **Reply #16 on:** August 22, 2011, 04:22:25 am

Quote from: Ice on August 22, 2011, 04:16:53 am

If I recall correctly ( and I'm not completely sure here), Br. gas house gorilla had instability in his C5.
IIRC (again, big if) the cause was some sort of unwanted pressure from something mounted not right in the rear half of the bike pulling things askew.
...

GHG's C5 had an older style rear fender setup. The newer ones (like mine) have a better setup from the gitgo.

olhogrider · **Reply #17 on:** August 22, 2011, 05:02:52 am

Try this. Grab a fork slider and pull it away from the other slider. I was able to move the axle in and out of the slider in spite of the clamping nut being torqued to spec. A bit more torque was all it needed. Check the fork leg security while you are at it. I doubt the top of the tubes would be loose just because of how they are installed.

gashousegorilla · **Reply #18 on:** August 22, 2011, 05:33:11 am

bittercrick, before you dropped your tire pressure, did it feel like your stability would fall apart at around 55-60 mph? And now , after you dropped the pressure you can go a little faster before it happens?

bittercrick · **Reply #19 on:** August 22, 2011, 12:11:16 pm

Seems it's always started wagging at any thing over 60mph any faster and it increases till it gets plumb scary.I've aligned the rear wheel which was off square.checked the fender bolts and anything else I could think of .Hope I'm not boring you fellers with all this but I'm coming to wits end.Seems more like a design flaw than anything.Thanks for bearing with me on this. bittercrick

gashousegorilla · **Reply #20 on:** August 22, 2011, 02:20:46 pm

No, not boring at all. I been there, know what it is like.

Scary when it happens, frustrating till you find it. Mine was doing the same thing at around the same speed. I would get it back to the dealer NOW. Your bike should be stable..... If you want, you can PM me, I'll walk you through what I did.

lj3 · **Reply #21 on:** August 22, 2011, 03:02:31 pm

Quote from: bittercrick on August 22, 2011, 12:11:16 pm

Seems it's always started wagging at any thing over 60mph any faster and it increases till it gets plumb scary.I've aligned the rear wheel which was off square.checked the fender bolts and anything else I could think of .Hope I'm not boring you fellers with all this but I'm coming to wits end.Seems more like a design flaw than anything.Thanks for bearing with me on this. bittercrick

my C5 goes straight as an arrow all the way over 70mph, if there were some kind of "design flaw" wouldn't every C5 sway at speed?
I rode almost 300 miles yesterday and a few times I had my hands off the bars at 60+ with no sway/wobble at all. my guess is its all in the setup from the dealer.
I've got almost 2000 miles on it now and it just runs better and better, yesterday I did about 280 miles averaging over 60mph and got around 65mpg.

lj3 · **Reply #22 on:** August 22, 2011, 03:04:03 pm

I also adjusted my shocks as stiff as they would go, that made a huge difference in handling.

bittercrick · **Reply #23 on:** August 22, 2011, 05:48:08 pm

I have finally gained some headway on the wobble.I loosened the cinch bolt and the axle nut then bounced the front 3 times and tightened everything back up took it to town to coffee this morning at 65+mph and no wobble . I'm ecstatic less it was only a fluke I'll keep you posted on this. bittercrick

p.s.Yes if this was the cure I'll eat crow,can't taste that bad

Ducati Scotty · **Reply #24 on:** August 22, 2011, 07:40:55 pm

The factory manual for most bikes I've seen recommends this, or tight one side, bounce, then tighten the other. It lets everything settle nicely into place before you lock it down. If you still notice some wiggle, loosen the lower triple tree pinch bolts, bouncy-bouncy, and re-tighten. It's the same principal.

That aside, so glad you've got it sorted! And thanks for keeping at it. These machines need a little more TLC than some but they're great little bikes.

Scott

Ice · **Reply #25 on:** August 22, 2011, 08:10:04 pm

Quote from: bittercrick on August 22, 2011, 05:48:08 pm

I have finally gained some headway on the wobble.I loosened the cinch bolt and the axle nut then bounced the front 3 times and tightened everything back up took it to town to coffee this morning at 65+mph and no wobble . I'm ecstatic less it was only a fluke I'll keep you posted on this. bittercrick

p.s.Yes if this was the cure I'll eat crow,can't taste that bad

Crow seasoned with road bugs strained through the teeth of a big Enfield grin is delicious ! IMHE

Contributions like this are a priceless addition to the knowledge base and are an immense service to all the brother hood.

Beers to you Sir !

Kevin Mahoney · **Reply #26 on:** August 22, 2011, 08:41:49 pm

We use a similar trick with engine vibration. Sometimes it is worth it to loosen up the engine mounting bolts, run the engine a short bit and then re tighten. Things find their center that way.

singhg5 · **Reply #27 on:** August 22, 2011, 09:51:04 pm

Quote from: bittercrick on August 22, 2011, 05:48:08 pm

I have finally gained some headway on the wobble.I loosened the cinch bolt and the axle nut then bounced the front 3 times and tightened everything back up took it to town to coffee this morning at 65+mph and no wobble . I'm ecstatic less it was only a fluke I'll keep you posted on this. bittercrick

p.s.Yes if this was the cure I'll eat crow,can't taste that bad

This sounds pretty good. Give a report after you have tested it a few more times. Enjoy the ride !

bittercrick · **Reply #28 on:** August 22, 2011, 10:20:05 pm

Well did a highway run got to 68mph and it started again maybe not as strong as it had been took it to 70+ and it got stronger again so backed off to 65mph and it quit so better than what I had but not what I was shooting for. Back to the drawing board I guess.
I stoped a couple of times and tried different shock settings to no avail. Boy this thing is a head scratcher fer sure. And thanks for staying with me on this, what kinda beer do you prefer I'm buying

bittercrick

Ducati Scotty · **Reply #29 on:** August 22, 2011, 10:28:04 pm

Ok, let's review...

Check your tire pressure again, something like 18/26 should be a good start. Set you're rear shocks softer, not harder. One notch down from the middle would be a good spot to start. Loosen the front axle, axle pinch bolt, and lower triple pinch bolts, bouncy-bouncy-bouncy, tighten the triple, tighten the axle. Make sure your rear wheel is properly aligned. Make sure you don't have excessive play in the steering head bearnings (you probably don't or you'd notice it sooner).

It should only take you about 20 minutes to go through all of that. Take it for a spin and see how it does. If you want to make adjustments after that try one thing at a time.

Scott