Some motorcycle wobble is normal. If you’ve ever had a front-end wander or feel like it was on ice, that’s normal too.
But excessive, uncontrollable vibration and general unsteadiness can be very dangerous. Your hands and feet could both lose control of the bike at highway speeds; no rider wants that to happen!
Below are some reasons why your motorcycle is wobbling:
1. Loose bolts.
Fix this with an inspection before hitting the road again after a ride. It’s a good idea to check all your bolts regularly anyway – but even more so if you notice any shakiness going on when riding your bike – because shaking starts from loose fasteners!
2. Damaged components.
If your steering head, front wheel spindle, or swingarm is damaged, it can affect the way your forks and/or rear shocks absorb bumps in the road. When these vital parts are compromised, the result may be a wobbling bike. Have your suspension checked out by a mechanic if you have any doubts about its integrity.
3. Worn tires or warped wheels.
It’s easy for most riders to tell when their tire tread is worn down too low, but sometimes even newish motorcycles will develop tire wear problems that cause that tread to become “out of round.” This will affect your bike’s stability. Getting your wheel rotation competed in the appropriate time would be beneficial to stop excessive wear on your tires.
4. Tires that are overinflated or underinflated.
Tire pressure affects motorcycle ride too obviously tire wear is interconnected with this, but it also makes a difference in the way the tires flex when taking corners or riding up hills. And since motorcycles handle differently on different tires, make sure you know what kind of rubber you have mounted before you take your bike out for its first spin after an offseason storage period – because one type may make your bike wobble more than another! If you’re not sure which brand and model tire came on your bike originally, check with your dealer or owner’s manual for details.
5. Worn swingarm bearings.
This problem is less common than the rest, but it’s also more serious – because a worn-out swingarm bearing can harm your rear tire or even damage other components if it gets bad enough!
It may be hard to track this kind of wear on your own: the shaking will only happen when you hit bumps and curbs at high speeds, not when you ride normal roads. If you suspect your bike may have an issue with its bearings, take it in for a service as soon as possible or risk putting yourself and others in danger.
And now that we’ve covered why motorcycles shake… here are some tips on what you can do about them!
6. Check Steering Head Bearings
Motorcycle steering is a complex matter. There are many angles and adjustments that must be made to make steering as light as possible for the rider. And it’s not just about aesthetics, either. The lighter steering makes riding easier on your wrists, elbows and shoulders.
The steering head bearings (SHB) provide support for the spindle, steering axle shaft, and handlebars of the motorcycle so they can turn without binding or shaking too much due to vibration from bumps in the road or engine vibrations coming up through the frame of the bike. These SHB are what keep everything aligned so you can comfortably ride your motorcycle with ease!
If something goes wrong with these SHB then you will most likely experience wobbles while trying to steer your bike around. These malfunctions could be due to SHB either being too loose or too tight. Due to the complexity of motorcycle steering, sometimes it is hard for riders to diagnose what could be causing the wobble so they should take their bike into a shop to have an expert diagnose and fix the steering issue properly.
What are Speed Wobbles?
A motorcycle speed wobble is an instability in steering that causes the bike to stop steering straight and causes the bike to wobble. A speed wobble is caused by a structural imbalance or by steering too quickly. A speed wobble usually occur when the bike is at speed and cornering but can happen at low speeds as well.
Often, speed wobbles are fixed by steering into the wobbly direction to remove some steering input until the motorcycle feels steady. Sometimes, it may be necessary to lean the bike more than usual for an upcoming turn, which can eliminate pressure on some contact patches.
What are high speed wobble?
People talk about high speed wobble as a motorcycle suddenly steering itself to the left or right, with a strong wobble that’s difficult to control. steering head bearings or steering stem bearings are usually the cause of this problem. High speed wobbles are no different from normal wobbling, however with the extra pressure of going faster, your bike will give into wobbling earlier.
This is very common for people on the highway when their front tire starts to wobble. Try applying a slight about of front braking pressure and see if the wobbles go away by reducing your speed a little.
Do all motorcycles wobble or is it just mine?
All motorcycles have the potential to wobble if the components aren’t calibrated correctly but most motorcycles will never get a case of the wobbles. If you can’t work out the true source of the wobble, bring it to a qualified mechanic for inspection. It’s possible that you have an issue with another component that’s affecting how your motorcycle handles turns or bumps – which means that it will continue to cause complications until you do something about it!
What can I do if my motorcycle is wobbling?
If this problem only happens on occasion, say every now and then when riding over big bumps or hitting corners really hard, don’t worry about it too much. Just remember to ease up on the throttle as you lean into sharp turns, give yourself plenty of space behind other vehicles before coming out of those turns yourself, and avoid hitting big bumps at high speeds. You can even use a little less tire pressure to give yourself a smoother ride if the wobbles only happen under specific circumstances.
But if you find that your motorcycle starts to wobble after going through a few turns or whenever you hit a bump, it’s never a good idea to ignore the issue – because sooner or later, all those little rides where your wheel shimmies could add up until they cause an accident! If you suspect something might be wrong with the way your motorcycle handles from one tight turn to another, don’t hesitate to bring it in for service and see what needs adjusting on your bike.
Hopefully, with the above information, you can diagnose the issue yourself. Identifying whether it’s a front tire wobbles or if its a rear wobble lose bots, damaged components or a warped wheel will really help!
