Hard Wobble

My front end likes to wobble bad on engine braking. It goes away either with pulling in the clutch or giving it gas. The clutch works the majority of the time while giving it gas always works. What does this problem mean? Is it an unbalanced tire, bad suspension, or something else?

Head wobble can come from many things tire and suspension related.More than likely your head bearings are worn or need to be tightened. Good time to check the the front end. Might check swing arm bushings/bearings also.

arai59 wrote:

Head wobble can come from many things tire and suspension related.More than likely your head bearings are worn or need to be tightened. Good time to check the the front end. Might check swing arm bushings/bearings also.

In addition to the above advice, would also assure wheel alignment, correct air pressure in tires, tire condition and balance, condition of shocks and at same preload settings, effect of any accessory items such as windshield, saddle bags, etc.

Good Luck!

if it wobbles when you slow down then the answer is easy.....speed up ....

steering bearings need tightening...would not hurt to take your fork trees off and lube and instpect...its covered in the manual....do you run a set and checked often tire pressure?.....have you ever checked fork oil or changed it...probably just loose steering bearings though.....

All good posts, would also check front wheel bearings.G

Might be a good time to swap front ends from a newer sport bike. Nothing like a 35.00 problem to justify 500.00 worth of work.

Not sure what kind of wheels you have on your bike, but about 20 years ago when I bought my first '78 KZ650, (a model it had spoke wheels.
I didn't know Jack about motorcycles at the time, and when I took it for a ride, I noticed exactly what you are seeing right now. I figured I could accelerate through the instability, and all would be good.
Not so. The instability didn't go away by the time I was going ~60MPH, so I let off the throttle.
The handlebars got jerked out of my hands, and there I was - 60 MPH, no hands, the front end flapping back-and-forth slapping the stops on both sides.
I left bite-marks on my seat.
Rode it out, grabbed the handlebars once the oscillations slowed down enough, and took the bike straight to the shop where I was getting a lot of my work done. Told them to take off both wheels, make sure spokes trim / true / tight, and re-install.
Solid as a rock through 100 MPH after that.

Also, the '78 KZ650 D that I have right now exhibits a bit of a wobble - nowhere near as bad as that last one I had - and this bike has mag wheels, so the spokes are not an issue. New rubber front/rear, so I know that's not it. I decided to check out the swingarm bearings, and there I found an issue. I hope that solves it.

tl;dr :
1) make sure spokes are trim/true/tight
2) Swingarm bearing wear can cause wobble too
3) bad tires can cause it
4) front/rear wheel bearings MIGHT be the issue.

Good luck!
-Al

Hey KBF,

You said "My front end likes to wobble bad on engine braking. It goes away either with pulling in the clutch or giving it gas."

Your swing arm bushings are shot!!!

Let's have a bit of a pool on this. KBF, Let us know what fixed it.

KZCSI

Ordered tires and I will be putting those on. I will be checking all my bearings up front. I do have a screech coming from the front tire. I believe it is the wheel bearing but will know all when I get all the parts in to do the change.

Well I finally am done with the tires. The wobble is no more. It must have been from the tires being warn and being so old. Thanks for the help.