1. 2 Stroke Husqvarna Motorcycles Made In Italy - About 1989 to 2014
    WR = 2st Enduro & CR = 2st Cross

125-200cc Head shake and speed wobbles

Discussion in '2 Stroke' started by Parh 474, Jan 6, 2015.

  1. Parh 474 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Newbury Park, CA
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    '73 Cr125, '06 Cr125/144
    Other Motorcycles:
    Ossa, Bultaco, Puch, Maico, AJS, Yam
    I took my '06 Cr125 to the MX track Saturday and almost got spit off from a violent speed wobble. Also got head shake on the fast straight. Now, I'm old (according to my kids) and know next to nothing about modern-ish suspension. Where do I start looking to fix this?
    This bike has 45mm Marzocchi dual-chamber forks with some valves from a Canadian guy and .38 springs, and an Ohlins shock with the stock soft spring.

    Thanks
  2. robertaccio Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    San Diego, Ca
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2021 Husqvarna TE300i
    Other Motorcycles:
    99 HusqvarnaTE610, 94 Husaberg FC501
    need to do all the steps or at least some. tire pressure, well balanced tires/wheels, steering bearings, suspension settings=sag and clickers, chain
  3. dirt addict Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Southern Kalifornia
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2014 cr125
    Is the bike sprung correctly for your weight? If the forks are too soft, they will ride lower in their travel and you will get the death wobbles....
    If sprung correctly, try going in on the compression. 2-3 clicks at a time. Going out on the fork rebound may also help...
    Parh 474 likes this.
  4. justintendo klotz super techniplate junkie

    Location:
    mercer, pa/northwest pa
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    84 250,86 400,87 430,88 250,95 360
    Other Motorcycles:
    99 kawasaki zrx 1100
    ditto on the head bearings and tire pressure. check and retorque axle, pinch bolts too.
  5. MotoMarc36 Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    wisconsin
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2012 CR144, 04 TC450, 04 TC250, CR50
    Other Motorcycles:
    Many. Too many.
    Good god I shudder at the thought of .38 springs for ANYTHING, let alone for moto. I would have to guess that the front end is riding low in the travel, especially if you are heavier. This will aggravate headshake.

    Anyway, What RT said, with special attention to the head bearings. The top nut on my triple clamp will slowly back off on my bike, did on my older-framed Huskies also. I run a sharpie mark on the nut and tripleclamp so I can tell at a glance now. Before the mark, I used to always know because I'd get a scary warning and my normally rock-steady front end would give me a tankslapper and sure enough, the nut had loosened. Run the bearing nut (under the top clamp) on the tight side, you'll have to experiment to find the right tension as locking down the top nut increases bearing pressure. You want the front end to still self-center while riding with no input, but it should feel sluggish with the front end in the air on a stand. Also don't overlook tire pressure.
    R-J van Hulst and motorpsycho like this.
  6. Chef Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    08 Cr165, 09 Wr165
    Other Motorcycles:
    01 Husaberg FE650, 07 BMW 650 Dakar
    You might also check how far your forks are up through the triples...I pushed mine up through to much and got a scary high speed tank slapper.
    Parh 474 likes this.
  7. JSK73 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Mississippi
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    WB144
    Yeah definitely check out the steering stem area for potential loosening. If the nut on top of the steering stem that's right under the top clamp gets loose, at all, you will have some issues. Especially under heavy front breakage... I use a dab of fingernail polish to spot bolt creep in that area especially.
    Parh 474 likes this.
  8. Bloodline Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    WR125

    1mm will make a HUGE difference.
    Parh 474 likes this.
  9. Motosportz CH Sponsor

    Location:
    Vancouver WA
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2021 TE250i, 570 Berg, 500 KTM, 790R
    Other Motorcycles:
    many
    Right springs, forks low in triple clamps, sag set on the long side.
    Parh 474 likes this.