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Old 05-20-2010, 04:53 PM   #1
markpenn1   markpenn1 is offline
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Wobble!!! newbie input

Folks; newbie to nomads; but not to scooters. The " death wobble" that some people have referred to has been an on going problem/fact for years and one could probably spend years reading about it. Don't believe me; go to the gold wing forums; sit back and start mouse'in! Both the 1500's and newer 1800's have had the wobble since birth. Some experience more than others and then some not at all and mostly on decel.. I imagine there's a million reasons why; but final conclusion with some of the so called experts; KEEP BOTH HANDS on the grips!; and especially on decel. Easy huh; well one forgets from time to time; twitching with this and that; then all of a sudden up pops the dreaded wobble with great surprise. First thought; " what the H---!! and you want to hit the brakes. They claim not to do that and try to throttle through it. Well I'm here to tell ya that's easier said than done! Your second thought, I'm going down if this doesn't stop real soon. SOooo my first and last time the wobble hit me I was on my Gold Wing 1500 just turning off main hwy. to Bryce Canyon. I excel-ed a little; but then decided to reach down grab for my water bottle in the cup holder with the left hand; lid got stuck, so I reached over with the right hand quickly to get unstuck. Of course this just took nano seconds; but time for the scooter to decel and go into the dreaded wobble. To this day I don't what I did to recover; but I'm still pulling vinyl out where it doesn't belong. I thought this might shed some light on the folks that think there is something wrong with there nomads. Note: a lot of $$ has been made from bearing changes/adjustments; tire replacements; frame inspections; rear wheel/swing arm alignments; etc;etc;etc.. looking for the dreaded "death wobble".



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Old 05-20-2010, 05:02 PM   #2
cactusjack   cactusjack is offline
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Wobble!!! newbie input

Keep both hands on the grips? On a Goldwing? Well then how do they expect you to make your espresso and spread the marmalade on your biscuits?

Seriously, I had the wobble since my bike was new. It would come and go every time I replaced the front tire. I finally adjusted the steering bearings and it hasn't reappeared in over 12,000 miles.
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Old 05-20-2010, 06:29 PM   #3
ringadingh   ringadingh is offline
 
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Wobble!!! newbie input

I had a GX1100 Suzuki years ago and it would go into a speed wobble at 120 up to 130 mph. You just had to hold on tight and accelerate hard as it would go for that few seconds. Coming back down was just the opposite, watch the speedo untill it touched 130 and hit the brakes hard until you were below 120. Later on we put a fork brace on the bike and it cured the speed wobble for good.
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Old 05-20-2010, 08:38 PM   #4
nightflight1   nightflight1 is offline
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Wobble!!! newbie input

My wobble disappeared when I replaced the cupped front Metz 880. Really did not believe the tire would cure the wobble like some folks said but they were right. Smooth sailing again. Now going to the DARKSIDE this week when UPS delivers my new Vanco 2 195/65R/16.
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Old 05-20-2010, 10:23 PM   #5
AlabamaNomadRider   AlabamaNomadRider is offline
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Wobble!!! newbie input

Fortunately I have not experienced any wobble with my Nomad. Just over 9,200 miles and the tires are getting worn but have worn very evenly.
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Old 05-20-2010, 10:26 PM   #6
hammer   hammer is offline
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Wobble!!! newbie input

I had steering wobble but since I started using Viagra my wobble went away.
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Old 05-21-2010, 10:23 AM   #7
qmaster234   qmaster234 is offline
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Wobble!!! newbie input

Had wobble, replaced tire and added Dyna-Beads 2oz in front. I can let go of the bars and ride down to nothing with out wobble. I have about 3K miles on the new tire.
 
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Old 05-21-2010, 11:15 AM   #8
cyclecat   cyclecat is offline
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Wobble!!! newbie input

You're right about the wobble occurring on any type of motorcycle. We followed a friend of ours on a Burgman 650 and watched as the Burgman started a wobble going into quite a steep curve. It was only the 4th time he had been on a motorcycle in his whole life so I think he is probably still removing pieces of vinyl out of places it shouldn't be also. Fortunately he had asked a lot of questions before deciding to ride and that subject had come up. I had told him not to panic, not to touch the brake, and try to slower, very slower, accelerate until the wobble quit. He did that and was fine. We thought he was hitting the pavement but he recovered very well for a very new rider.
 
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Old 05-21-2010, 01:42 PM   #9
bokobob   bokobob is offline
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Wobble!!! newbie input

No wobble here....when I test rode a few used bikes of various makes some wobbled..I checked the front tire pressure on each and it was too low..

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