Low speed front end wobble

[Glyn]

My Vision is performing great, now a daily ride. Hope you guys don't mind a Q on my other bike.

I've got a Honda CX500 with a bad low speed front end wobble. This gets better at speed but comes back under braking. The front wheel is one of those big 19 inch comstars. The wheel is straight, I had it balanced and the steering bearings see OK, with no looseness/notchiness etc. Maybe the wheel wasn't balanced correctly or the tyre has gone off with age? To my knowledge the bike has not been dropped - but I don't know for certain. Any ideas what else I could check?

[Lucky]

check the brake rotor run out, you could have a warped disk. if so, try loosening the mounting bolts for the rotor, then retorque them to specs, in a star pattern. (oppiset bolts)

--Lucky

[inanecathode]

Tighten your head bearings more. Do it until they start to bind a bit then back it off a tiny bit, that should get ya.

[Night Vision]

check your wheel bearings.....
check the tire for roundness / flat spots

[Glyn]

Thanks guys. I hadn't thought of any of those. I have put different discs on so that could well be the problem.

[motoracer8]

Make shure the swing arm bearings have no slop, and make shure all engine mounts are tite.

  Ken G.

[QBS]

Loose steering head bearings will not cause your low speed wobble.  Tight or poorly lubricated steering head bearings will absolutely cause a low speed, or much worse, high speed wobble.  What happens is that, because the bearings are sticking, the rider has to use greater effort than usual to continually input the tiny steering corrections necessary to maintain steering control.  The result is that when the bearing resistance is suddenly overcome, too much steering input is released, with overcorrection/oversteering/wobble being the result.

[supervision]

 It is fairly common, use to call it "road crazy", in the old days. I think it comes from a worn front tire.

[zore]

Worn front tire would do it for sure.  I'd also check the "air pressure". 

[YellowJacket!]

check your tire ressure too.  I have a slow leak and get lots of wobble when my pressure gets down below 30psi

David