Death Wobble
 

I've been dealing with this since I purchased my 04 f4i about 6 months ago. When I reach about 105-109 mph I get a rather aggressive vibration in my handle bars and immediately back off. I don’t ride fast by any means but it's that’s obviously not right.. and that bothers me.

The bike had been laid down* The bike had new tires and there was a very small dent in the rim highlighted.. it was on the lip and didn’t seem to be very significant.. hell I cant even seem to locate it after the highlighter wore off.

The guy at the local shop (Ride Now Powersports) seemed to thing it was because I didn’t have a stabilizer but that’s a load. Maybe the tire isn’t balanced correctly? Maybe I DO need a new rim?

Any thoughts? Thanks guys

You have an off balanced front tire.

Slightly off balance bike tires don't become noticible until the 100mph range. A dented rim is a dead giveaway. You can try to have it re-balanced, or use dyna-beads, but if that doesnt work it's time for a new rim.

The first time i mounted my tires i had the michelin marking dot (light spot) on the opposite side of the air valve and couldnt go over 100mph without horrible vibes. took tire off, spun the rubber 180 degrees around the rim, and was perfectly smooth at any speed without any balancing.

Stabilizers are nice but are not necessary. The bike should be smooth as ice up to 6th gear redline without a stabilizer. :icon_goofygrin:

Ridenow sucks [I know I was a service writer there]. Either your forks are bent or the rim is bent or the tire is off balance.

Typical lazy answer.

I agree w/ the other answers given. Additionally, if a wheel/tire is simply balanced incorrectly, it can give indication at lower speeds as well.

I had that problem at 120 as well and my buddy said that the front tire was worn unevenly.

but it actually ended up being my rear tire, it was down to the threads in one spot and once i got it changed everything was fine

10-4. Will have the tire rebalaced to see.. I get the impression that RideNow is a joke lol. I couldnt get over the fact the service guy was so confident I couldnt got over 100 WITHOUT a stabilizer! Praying my forks arent bent since the bike was dropped by the previous owner.

Oh AND my buddies brother backed into the front of my bike today with his pickup and trashed my front fender..

What a day..

The marking dot is supposed to be lined up with the valve stem, that's why it was so bad before you turned it. Back to the main thing i'd try this stuff called "Ride On" it's a balancer/sealant, it's unlike slime it is some of the best stuff i've ever used, although i've never punctured the tire to test that part of the stuff. Tire Sealant | Puncture Repair | Flat Tire Repair | Tire Protection Systems for Motorcycle, Automotive, ATV and Heavy Equipment - Ride-On you can check it out I honestly think my f4i rides smoother now than it did when the tires were actually balanced with weights.