Hi all,

Any ideas on what would cause the front tire to sort of "bounce" along as I am riding on a nice flat straight away like a lakebed or a smooth dirt road? Only my left front wheel does this. The right one is smooth and steady. I was thinking it has to be the shock that is worn out but I am not sure. When I put the bike up on the back wheels and push on the front wheel it does seem to be much easier to compress the shock than the right one.

Thanks.

 

Could also be a bent wheel, out of round, or out of balance wheel/tire.

Jack the front end up, and spin the wheel. Does it wobble? Does the wheel stop turning with the valve stem in the same position all the time?

Just a couple other things to check out.

Farmr

 

i the bead might not be popped on all the way. It happened to my rear right tire when the bead wasnt all the way popped on.

 

When I have it up on it's back wheels the front wheel spins free and easy. When it slows to a stop, it just stops. It does not stop and then roll back. Also as far as I can tell it looks perfectly round. No dents in wheel and it is the stock Honda rim with the rolled lip. Mabey I will put it on the other side and see if it still does it.

 

good idea!

 

my 300ex did te same thing with the left side high speed wobble and it was loose ball joints on the tie rods. Lift your front-end up and slide somthing under it like a jackstand to keep it up and have sombody hold onto one wheel while you try to move the other one back and forth if it has play in it that will cause wobble

 

your right about the ball joint. I guess i wan't thinking. It also happended to me. Easy to fix though, just tighten it up and your off.

 

This is one of the few threads that I have seen that has some realy good advice for the guy with the question. I also have a few words of wisdom to share-- have you ever used slime in your tires? If this is not done properly it can cause extreme headshake. If you do not ride the machine for an extensive ride after the slime has been put in the tires (I'm talking like at least an hour) it is likely that the slime will slide down to the bottom of the tire when it is parked. This will cause an extreme out-of-balance situation and cause the tire to wobble excessively.
Hope this helps,
JP

 

I have used slime, but I don't remember if I used it in this tire. I think I am going to start with swapping the tire to the other side to eliminate if it is the tire and wheel or a shock / ball joint prob. I will also just take out the valve (well the little thing inside the valve that you unscrew) and see if I have slimed this tire. I do ride for a good while after putting slime in a tire though but you never know. Thanks for all the ideas. They all sound like good possable soultions.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

If the wheel is bouncing up and down as you ride it is most likely a blown shock. Especially if you say that there is less resistence than the right side. I would check the shock. It would be my guess that after you switch wheels it will do the same thing because no matter how bent a rim is or how out of balance it may be it won't bounce along the ground it will just give a nasty vibration known as headshake. I wouldn't overlook anything, definitely check everything for wear and tear. I remember changing my axle bearings and not checking anything else. Within a week my swingarm bearings needed replaced and I had to tear the bike back down. If I had checked everything while I was working on it I would have noticed the swingarm bearings and saved some down time by fixing both problems.