Help!!! TE 510 wobbles like duck!!

[ks9mm]

Without kouba link, wobble was much worse and having forks at third line is per kouba recomendations. Sag is also per kouba specificatios. If anything, bike feels soft for me..will add weight to wheels today as per recomendations and try it. Will also try dropping tire pressure to 12- 13. But I gotta think that this is wheels related more than anything else. Or bent frame..

 

[BikePilot]

Check wheel alignment. Sometimes the marks on the rear swingarm are off, measure either directly to the front wheel or at least check that the axle is parallel to the swingarm pivot.

Knobbies will always be a little squirly on the road. Without being there its hard for me to guess whether what you are experiencing is abnormal, but it does sound a bit excessive.

You might try putting the forks one more line down in the claps and/or running a bit more sag in the rear. You also likely should run a bit more compression and rebound in the rear if the kouba link increases the leverage ratio over the rear shock (which they usually do).

good luck!

 

[ks9mm]

Update....

so after everything else checked out, I took the wheels to get ballanced.

Front took 90gramms of weight and rear took 100grams of weight. Now I can comforably hit 60mph...

dealer told me that i have to be nuts to try to go faster than that on those tires on pavement...and that what I have is perfectly normal.

Thanks everyone for your help!!!

 

[MOTORHEAD]

Update....

dealer told me that i have to be nuts to try to go faster than that on those tires on pavement...and that what I have is perfectly normal.

Ahh, your dealer's nuts and that ain't normal.

 

[petem]

dealer told me that i have to be nuts to try to go faster than that on those tires on pavement...

Before I ever rode on knobblies some people told me they'd be lethal, they wouldn't go in a straight line, I'd crash at the first corner, etc, etc. In fact I just ride sensibly and I've never had a problem on the road. I don't hesitate to go over 60mph on my TE450 for brief spells if I need to, I just don't like to work the engine too hard on the road - the tires aren't a problem (the wheels have been balanced).

The tires I use are speed rated for 106mph, but I'm not sure how well they'd handle at that sort of speed! And if you rush about on pavement at high speed on knobblies you should be prepared for a short life on your rear tire...

 

[ks9mm]

well... in any case, I have set of Continental TKC 80 ordered for fulling around and I also have found set of supermoto wheels that I will use for supermoto track days. Once I have those installed, i will trully know if my problem is related to knobbies or something else.

 

[JasonfromMN]

I still think you should push down the forks in the clamps at least to the second line. Thats where you want to be anyway if your doing a lot of street riding. That and tighten the head bearings. They are factory too loose on every bike I've ever owned and I've never had to replace a set from over tightening them. I also think you should use a little more sag in the rear for your prob and better for street use.

 

[petem]

well... in any case, I have set of Continental TKC 80 ordered for fulling around

The TKCs should certainly be ok at high speed - they're actually quite good on the road for a semi-knobblie, stable and a fair amount of grip, and less of that rumble you get with full knobblies (though I hardly notice that anyway). When I had them on an F800GS the bike was stable and I had no problem keeping up with people on road tires, so you're right that if you have a problem with them fitted it will be well worth looking at other things like JasonfromMN suggested (BTW, the TKCs weren't stable at all on the F800GS at first - it wobbled like a duck until the head bearings were tightened!).

 

[ks9mm]

I still think you should push down the forks in the clamps at least to the second line. Thats where you want to be anyway if your doing a lot of street riding. That and tighten the head bearings. They are factory too loose on every bike I've ever owned and I've never had to replace a set from over tightening them. I also think you should use a little more sag in the rear for your prob and better for street use.

Jason,

I have Kouba lowering link installed...Third line is what's recomended by Kouba. second line is stock setting, right? as for head bearings..there is no freeplay what so ever, but i guess i can tighten it up a bit.

 

[Dirtdame]

Jason,

I have Kouba lowering link installed...Third line is what's recomended by Kouba. second line is stock setting, right? as for head bearings..there is no freeplay what so ever, but i guess i can tighten it up a bit.

Whatever you do, don't overtighten your steeringhead bearings! The bike will drift and pull from side to side, especially on pavement. My bike came from the dealer with the steering bearings adjusted too tight and it handled awful. I put it up on a stand and checked the steering and found that the front end wouldn't glide to the lock quickly and smoothly when given a slight push off of center; in fact it only moved about an inch. A quick session of loosening fixed it right up.

 

[petem]

Whatever you do, don't overtighten your steeringhead bearings!

Absolutely! The only reason they needed tightening on my F800GS was that they were too loose in the first place, which was something of a known issue on the bike as it affected quite a few of them even from new (not sure why but it does perhaps bring into question what the dealers do on the PDI).

Having them too tight's certainly not a good thing as it will prevent the steering from self-centering properly like it's meant to, which is probably why yours would drift about. Paraphrasing from Goldilocks and the three bears, they need to be "not too slack", and "not too tight", but "just right".

 

[kingsqueak]

I noticed my 610 is very sensitive to sag. When it was set for a much lighter rider, the bike handled very squirrely...not enough weight on the front. Set to spec for me, sitting up/forward on the seat, it's balanced well. If I slide back just a few inches at highway speed, the nose gets very light again....and not so stable.

The lowering link may have the geometry fouled up as mentioned.

Compared to my KLR (which was a lead sled), this bike responds a lot more to small adjustments in geometry.

 

[hotducati]

i have a similar thread elsewhere. i ride a 08 TE450. I run supermoto setup. Still havent figured out my wobble over 60 mph. my triples are at the first notch from the top. still pretty violent to me at 60. i even have steering stabilizer with no effect. i weigh 155lbs.

chris

 

[jlk_250]

I've been reading these two threads with interest but haven't posted up until now because I don't have a solution. My '08 SMR510 has a high speed wobble that has always been there to some extent but has gotten a lot worse with a change in tires. Maybe it's completely unrelated to your problems or maybe it's the same thing.

In my case I'd say "duck walk" or "wiggle" is a more accurate description than "shudder" or "shake". I used to be able to ride at 80 mph + without having it kick in but if I twitched the bars I could get it to start. Now I have Continental Contiforce SM tires and it starts wiggling by itself at 70 mph or so and I can make it do it as low as 35 mph or so. If I take one hand off the handlebar it goes away, so clearly the weight of my arms is part of the dynamic. My tires aren't balanced so maybe that is a factor but I'd guess not. Also, I have heavy Acerbis Supermoto handguards. Since I seldom ride at 70 mph and it's not all that scary I haven't spent much time trying to get rid of it.

Like I said, maybe completely unrelated to your issues, maybe not. I'll certainly share if I can make it go away for good.

 

[hotducati]

my buddy i ride with has the same set up as you above. 510smr. does not flinch a bit at any speed. thats whats bothering me.... there def not suppose to. If i pass a car doing 65 or 70, people see my handlebars swinging left and right !! No way do i wanna get on a straight at a track and turn with that setup.

 

[ks9mm]

it's nice to know I am not the only one with this issue...class action anyone???

I do wonder if hand guards play a role... meanwhile, i stopped experimenting until my new tires come in...
I also found cheap (comparatively) supermoto rims and will be building supermoto setup.

I will check head bearings over next few days, but they do not seem lose to me.

thoughts of steering damper begin to nag me more and more...

all my racebikes (roadracing) had one, and I would not ride street bike aggressively without one..

 

[JasonfromMN]

I get your point on the lowering link. As far as head bearings go, with the bike on a stand, if you tap the bars and they fall to one side on their own they are too loose. If you do end up adjusting them, little bits at a time make a large difference in road behavior. Also check into how to properly set the front forks and set the front axle. Most people do it wrong.

 

[JasonfromMN]

Post #5 explains that. I knew it was here somewhere.

 

[seredyns]

You might want to try increasing the rebound damping on your rear shock. If the rebound is too soft it can cause the back end to move around at high speeds on roads although it may work well everywhere else. Try just a couple clicks and see if things improve at all.

 

[Coffee]

it's nice to know I am not the only one with this issue...class action anyone???

These are not good words to type, even if meant in a light hearted manner. The first initial reaction when I see them is to stop trying to help, because what I type could be taken the wrong way. Other people, bike shops, and corporations may have the same reaction.

Keep in mind that people tend to type on forums when they have problems more than if they do not. Yes my bike took some adjustments to get it operating correctly, that is why adjustments are provided.