Low speed wobble blues...

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Coop

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No doubt someone here has been through this. Beginning at about 30 MPH the bars begin a slight wobble. If I take my hands off the bars the wobble becomes increasingly violent. As long as I keep a hand on the bar I can run at high speeds without difficulty. Just had the front wheel balanced...still have the wobble. A bent fork tube perhaps?
 
Most likely misaligned wheels, there are some threads on wheel alignment, check them out.

Jean
 
My front end head shake and "left lean" (another infamous Commando trait) diminished dramatically after aligning the rear wheel to the front. It's well worth the time spent.
 
Check your head steady if you are running the stock one also if all else is well. Bolts tight, rubbers not separated, if pre-73 check that the the steady itself has not cracked.

Another thing to look at is whether the bead is seated on your tires. There is a molded in rib near the beads that should be equidistant from the rim all the way around after mounting. Most of the time you need to overinflate the tire to get the bead to pop into place. (Then let the air out 'til you are at the correct pressure.) Sorry if you already know this but sometimes the obvious gets overlooked.

What year is your bike? Some years have a little wiggle tendency more than others but if yours is violent then there is something wrong.

Russ
 
I have a 75'. The head steady looks good but I had not considered the tire bead. :roll:
 
Coop said:
I have a 75'. The head steady looks good but I had not considered the tire bead. :roll:
Click to expand...

One good thing to do is to check the wheel for trueness. Put the bike on its centerstand and jack up the front so the wheel is just off the ground. Slowly spin the wheel, and you can see if:
1) the wheel is true - no wobbling side-to-side or up and down
2) the tire is set properly on the rim.

Just because the wheel is balanced doesn't mean its true.

A second thing to do is to check the headstock bearings. Worn bearings or mis-adjusted bearings will result in head shake.
 
A worn down rear tyre or worn out shocks have been known to cause or contribute to steering wobble, also check for excess play in the Isolastics, and for any play in the swingarm pivot or wheel bearings?

The head bearings of the '72-on models are non-adjustable sealed balls, but they rarely give any trouble, check if the steering turns smoothly.
 
What size front tyre do you have? If it is a 4.10, then wobbles are to be expected. Almost certainly cured by fitting a 3.60, assuming all the other points mentioned are OK of course.

Bob.
 
I have a 4.10 front tire with no wobbles but it will start to weave once the rear tire gets worn.
 
Hi, I had a similar problem but at slightly higher speeds. My bike had a little villiers/norton mudflap fitted to the front mudguard. I removed this and cured the problem.
 
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