medium speed wobble anyone ???

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  • tirebiter
    • Feb 2026
    #1

    medium speed wobble anyone ???

    Heading to work this morning. Was a little cooler than it has been. Was buttoning up my shirt on the "on" ramp. I know, stupid move

    Required two hands to button the shirt. Learned for the first time that "Little Suzy" (1980 GS850GS shaft drive) pulls to the right severely. Was able to balance and kept coasting in top gear. The steering started to wobble side-to-side. It got worse as I finished buttoning my shirt. Scary amount of back and forth. Seemed like it could have torn the bike apart if I didn't grab the handlebars to stop it.

    I'm thinking maybe my trailing arm is not aligned. Maybe the fork is not straight although the fork tubes appear to be parallel. Never experienced this horrible wobble in any motorcycle I have ever ridden "hands off" before this.

    Anybody ever had a GS shaft drive do this to them ? If so, what was the fix ?

    Anybody else have any suggestions as to what is the likely cause for the pulling to the right ?
    Tags: None
    • steve murdoch
      Forum Guru
      Past Site Supporter
      • May 2004
      • 8492
      • St. Catharines, On.
      #2
      A couple possible causes are worn tires, improper air pressure in tires, different air pressure in the fork leg if you are still using the air, different fork oil amounts, worn and/or improperly tightened steering head bearings.
      2@ \'78 GS1000

        Comment

        • Guest
          #3
          Buttoning up your shirt on the on ramp!!! Oooooooh. But I had that wobble happen to me once, years ago when shifting from 3rd into 4th. The gearshift jammed, I pulled the clutch and nothing happened. My arms were almost being pulled out of their sockets trying to steady the bike. I had to hit the Kill switch and lay the bike down on the Don Valley parkway in Toronto. It took an hour before I could move the shifter again. Never did find the cause but I suspect that it had something to do with an extremely heavy rainstorm the night before. Rode the bike back to Ottawa, rode it a few more times and then parked it for 20 years. That was scary! I will never forget it. When I dismantled the bike five years ago I discovered that water had gotten into the frame and froze causing the frame to crack. The only other damage from dropping it is a 3" road rash on the edge moulding on the fairing. I was lucky!

            Comment

            • 76_Mike_82
              #4
              I had something like that on my 850, went away as soon as I replaced my fork springs (complete rebuild springs seals and oil). Bike feels great now.

                Comment

                • limeex2
                  Forum Sage
                  Past Site Supporter
                  • Dec 2012
                  • 1498
                  • Stillwater, Mn.
                  #5
                  If its the steering head bearings, the steering head will shake slowly, then progress to violently if let to go on its own while decelerating, with no hands on the bars between the speeds of 30-40 mph. The races have a "dent" in them from being run in straight line. With no hands on the bars, the front end try's to move out of this indentation. If you have lots of weight on the rear end(rear racks w/lots of weight upon them. Higher up the weight is, the worse it will be) will do it also. As a service mgr I had seen it many times. It can be checked by putting the bike on its center stand, Lifting the front wheel off of the ground(it only needs to be 1/4" off the ground to check) and gently move the bars side to side checking/feeling for the indentation. Bad part of this check, is if it is only a small indentation, it will be hard to feel.
                  Last edited by limeex2; 08-23-2015, 11:02 PM.
                  Current Rides: 82 GS1100E, 00 Triumph 955 Speed Triple:twistedevil:, 03 Kawasaki ZRX1200, 01 Honda GL1800, '15 Kawasaki 1000 Versys
                  Past Rides: 72 Honda SL-125, Kawasaki KE-175, 77 GS750 with total yosh stage 1 kit, 79 GS1000s, 80 GS1000S, 82 GS750e,82 GS1000S, 84 VF500f, 86 FZR600, 95 Triumph Sprint 900,96 Triumph Sprint, 97 Triumph Sprint, 01 Kawasaki ZRX1200, 07 Triumph Tiger 1050, 01 Yam YFZ250F
                  Work in progress: 78 GS1000, unknown year GS1100ES

                    Comment

                    • tirebiter
                      #6
                      Didn't think about the air in the forks. I'm pretty sure they are not exactly the same.

                      About 44,000 original on her now, as far as I know. Definitely worth checking the steering head bearings, carefully. Last I checked they seemed soild but ...

                      New tires within the last few thou. Balanced and WHAT a difference.

                      Once I have a chance to do some work, I'll report back. For now, I'm buttoning up at stop lights.

                        Comment

                        • tkent02
                          Forum LongTimer
                          Past Site Supporter
                          • Jan 2006
                          • 35571
                          • Near South Park
                          #7
                          Originally posted by tirebiter
                          Definitely worth checking the steering head bearings, carefully. Last I checked they seemed soild but ...
                          Most every GS I've worked on has had bad steering head bearings, especially the older ones with loose ball bearings. I don't know which type you have but at 44,000 I bet they will be bad unless every PO along the way maintained them regularly. Maybe not completely wasted but at least starting to wear enough to mess up the steering.
                          http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...tatesMap-1.jpg

                          Life is too short to ride an L.

                            Comment

                            • posplayr
                              Forum LongTimer
                              GSResource Superstar
                              Past Site Supporter
                              • Dec 2007
                              • 23673
                              • Tucson Az
                              #8
                              Originally posted by tkent02
                              Most every GS I've worked on has had bad steering head bearings, especially the older ones with loose ball bearings. I don't know which type you have but at 44,000 I bet they will be bad unless every PO along the way maintained them regularly. Maybe not completely wasted but at least starting to wear enough to mess up the steering.
                              My 1100 did the low speed (30mph) wobble and it was new taper bearings; I needed to tighten the damn things to seat the races and it finally went away.

                                Comment

                                • limeex2
                                  Forum Sage
                                  Past Site Supporter
                                  • Dec 2012
                                  • 1498
                                  • Stillwater, Mn.
                                  #9
                                  Gently over tighten the bearings and it act's like a steering dampner. It takes a lot of hit and miss, but once you get it, it feels so sweet. I adjust mine every tire change as it is easier to get a feel for it with the tire off. If it is to tight it will wander back and forth, but they are very easy to loosen or tighten with everything on the bike
                                  Originally posted by posplayr
                                  My 1100 did the low speed (30mph) wobble and it was new taper bearings; I needed to tighten the damn things to seat the races and it finally went away.
                                  Current Rides: 82 GS1100E, 00 Triumph 955 Speed Triple:twistedevil:, 03 Kawasaki ZRX1200, 01 Honda GL1800, '15 Kawasaki 1000 Versys
                                  Past Rides: 72 Honda SL-125, Kawasaki KE-175, 77 GS750 with total yosh stage 1 kit, 79 GS1000s, 80 GS1000S, 82 GS750e,82 GS1000S, 84 VF500f, 86 FZR600, 95 Triumph Sprint 900,96 Triumph Sprint, 97 Triumph Sprint, 01 Kawasaki ZRX1200, 07 Triumph Tiger 1050, 01 Yam YFZ250F
                                  Work in progress: 78 GS1000, unknown year GS1100ES

                                    Comment

                                    • posplayr
                                      Forum LongTimer
                                      GSResource Superstar
                                      Past Site Supporter
                                      • Dec 2007
                                      • 23673
                                      • Tucson Az
                                      #10
                                      Originally posted by limeex2
                                      Gently over tighten the bearings and it act's like a steering dampner. It takes a lot of hit and miss, but once you get it, it feels so sweet. I adjust mine every tire change as it is easier to get a feel for it with the tire off. If it is to tight it will wander back and forth, but they are very easy to loosen or tighten with everything on the bike
                                      Yep, if you recall the early GSXR manual shows using a fish scale off the handlebar to measure the resistance to pull.

                                        Comment

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