[Donovan]

Hi all,

When I got my bike it had frames and bags on the rear. I removed them last weekend. Today was my first ride without the bags and now the front end shakes at 40+ mph. Not a side to side shake, but a pretty sizable vibration in the handle bars. Below that and it is fine. Gets worse the faster I go.

Checked the oil in the forks and it was low so I changed and used 200ml of ATF type F in each one.

Tire pressure normal and no other changes.

I don't know why the bags made a difference (they were full or parts and probably added 20 pounds or so).

Any ideas on the cause and fix for this?

Cheers,
Donovan

[REpozer]

Put the bike on center stand , raise front wheel, place something close to the wheel as a reference, spin the tyre/wheel .
Do you see any run out? Try it side to side and at the front. Possibly a worn tyre or a rim that needs truing .
Also look at the tyre bead to make sure it is evenly seated also.

Should be able to find a smoking gun.

[UncleErnie]

If it's shaking up and down, my guesses;
The tire bed is not completely seated.  On the centerstand, slowly rotate the front wheel and make sure the seam along the tire edge is the same distance from the rim.  Do that on both sides.

Old tire that either has a flat spot from sitting in one place too long, or you just got an out-of-round tire.  Put a ruler or other straight edge on a stoll, set the ruler about 1/4 inch away from the tire and rotate.  If the tire ever touches the ruler, then redo this check only compare it to the rim itself (could be you bent the rim).
Steering bearing way too loose.

That's about all I got for now...

[1Blackwolf1]

  Add to the list loose spokes, grabbing/dragging brakes.  Low air pressure in your tire.  Drive chain out of alignment/loose, worn shocks. 

[single]

All of the above.Please do not try to "ride thru it".My front tire was very out of balance,took 6 stick on weights to cure it.There must be a clue in that it was steady with the added weight on it.I had,in another bike,a slight vibration that turned really viscious when I tried to ride past it. Just sayin'. Good hunting.

[Donovan]

Thanks for the tips fellas.
Donovan

[Ice]

Here's a link to inexpensive and accurate D.I.Y. wheel alignment tool.
I made mine for a total cost of eighteen dollars.
http://www.realclassic.co.uk/techfiles/wheelalignment.html