wobble

[monkey]

i just installed phat II risers on my nomad and im noticing a wobble in the front that i dont remember before. if i let go of the handlebars it starts within a few seconds. it doesnt do it while im holding the bars. should i be worried or is this normal. i dont have any type of cruise contron so i dont know if it only does it as the bike is slowing or not.

This has been happening to several Nomads. Kawasaki dealers have had trouble discovering why. A friend of mine who lives 2 1/2 hours from me said his was doing the same thing as yours. He finally had enough, and disassembled the front end. He discovered the main bolt for the triple tree was only finger tight. He torqued it down and it has never had 'the shakes' again. He installed Phat II 5 & 2' risers AFTER he discovered this problem. Loves 'em, by the way. If your bike is in warranty, I'd ask your dealer about it, and tell him about this. If not, this is something you can do yourself. It just takes a little time.

I think that is basically it: the steering stem bearings are too loose. I tend to set mine on the tight side of what's acceptable, because under impact loads (speed bumps, potholes...) any looseness at all can cause bearing damage.

[Scoot]

Originally Posted by monkey

i just installed phat II risers on my nomad and im noticing a wobble in the front that i dont remember before. if i let go of the handlebars it starts within a few seconds. it doesnt do it while im holding the bars. should i be worried or is this normal. i dont have any type of cruise contron so i dont know if it only does it as the bike is slowing or not.

http://kawanow.proboards77.com/index...ay&thread=2771

Mike I think you need to change out your tires at least the front one. Remember when you got it it had really low air pressure, probably cupped it some. When I rode your bike I didn't notice anything wrong, just putting risers on shouldn't change the way the bike rides it would just make you more comfortable riding. I've noticed the same thing on mine a few times, it was just a early signal to me to start looking for a new tire. Went away after I got new one.

Brad

[ringadingh]

My bike has developed the same wobble last year, I have replaced the tires, balanced them, checked the pressures, bearings , and anything else I could think of to no avail. I'll keep looking but its getting frustrating when everything appears ok.

[cactusjack]

Mine did the same thing after I installed risers. I thought it was because the risers extended the bars away from the mass, making them more sensitive to harmonic vibration.

...well, it sounds good, anyway.

[terbear]

Mine has done it from day 1. Just touching the bars will stop it, its like it can sense your hands.????

Check the slop between the swingarm and frame. This is easiest to do on a lift, but can be done on the ground with the help of a friend. You need to pry the swingarm sideways (left) and measure with feeler gages between the right side of the swingarm to the left side of the frame. Vulcans will have some slop, and Nomads seem to have a lot. I've measured them having .090" to 0.135" and more after 10,000~20,000 miles. (I've never measured a new one, but I'm sure there's some slop from the factory.)

Anyhow, as the slop gets worse, it allows the front and rear tires to misalign, and the alignment to change as you ride. I think this is the cause of numerous wobbles and handling complaints I have heard.

I made hard neoprene shims for mine, which helped considerably, but didn't last long enough. I'm going to make and install some hard nylon shims soon, and I think they will work much better.

[rhunt4]

I don't know if this helps any but when I had my goldwing, wobbles was a big problem and also wearing out front tires, after a lot of checking we found that they where using neoprene bearings in the stem, I changed the stem bearing to all steel tappard bearing and the problem went away and got better tire milage on the front tire.

[phenrichs]

I had a vmax prior to the nomad and there were two main nuts below the top tree clamp. between these was a FAT rubber washer. The washer would allow the top nut to walk out and get loose. this caused a wobble in the front. Basically the head bearings would get loose. I have recently noticed the wobble in mine as well. I have noticed it at highway speed with hands on the bar. I know I am very close to new tires and will be scrapping the Bridges for Metz and checking the bearing at same time. I can tell by the wobble that it is at least partly bearing.

Cadd is right it is something that you can easily do yourself. I am the same way and prefer mine a little tighter than spec.

[towering]

I had the same problem with wobble but after i put a new front tire on it went away.

[tkd]

I guess I'm the reverse. New tires caused mine. 11K on the stock stones and no wobble. 50M on the new Metzler and the 25 mph wobble appeared.

[macmac]

All of the above should be checked and a bad rear OEM will do it too... I thoght I had a front end wobble when letting go of the bars. Well i did, but it went away with the change of rear tires.. I went to a car tire, but I thought the howel was from a worn ft tire too, and since that hasn't been changed the howel has also gone..

[1stgear]

Read the other thread "Front End Wobble?" for more possibilities for correcting the wobble... More than likely you'll need the bearings worked on.