I bought a KFX 700 a few months back and noticed that when I took it out on hard surfaces the front end would shake and shimey almost uncontrollable at speeds over 40 mph. I found a front rim that had been bent on the inside (looks like the previous owner hit a flat rock). I finally got a new rim in and replaced the bent one this week. I went out to ride for the weekend and it did the same thing.

I have aligned the front end with a straight edge with 3/16 inch of toe in. Checked to make sure both have same amount of air at 5 psi. The tie rods have a slight amount of play, but not sloppy. The castor has the front tires tilted in at the top about 1 inch on both sides. A arms all look fine and no excessive play.

Could the hub be bent when the previous owner bent the rim? It isn't noticable to the eye.
Could the castor cause this problem and how do you adjust it?
I don't believe it is the tires so what do I need to do?
arrgh[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img]

 

Well, It is most likely the tires/rims are off balance. It is merely impossible to get a perfectly balanced/round tire and rim.

You can go them balanced, and it should fix the problem.

Z

 

I had the same problem with my Outlander,checked my front end and it had a 1/2'' toe in.I adjusted it to a 1/4" toe out and the shaking stopped.
I noticed you aligned the front end with a 3/16" toe in, try reversing that.

 

When I rode my '06 the first time (mountain road) it handled so badly I had to stop to see if my front wheels were loose. They were not. When I got home I jacked up the quad and spun them and saw that the tire centerlines were way off center.
I replaced them with RAZRs on Douglas .160s and the problem was solved. ITP sent a bunch of defective Holeshot tires to Kawsaki and a large number of KFX700s were affected. The back tires on my 700 are out of round also but rideable. I didn't go back to the dealer with the problem because the dealer will not deal, if you know what I mean. I used the stock front wheels to put sand tires on and they are OK. Hope this helps.

 

Your alignment is going to be off...check to see what your tow is set at. Remember when checking/setting it, you need to do it with someone sitting on the machine.

 

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I borrowed a friends front tires and wheels and hit the road to see if it made a difference. I got it up to top speed with out any problems, so that tells me it is my tires. I reinstalled my tires and tried to see where the problem was and they are out of round. The center line was fine, but it looked like there was a lump in both tires and it isn't from sitting on them.
So now I am looking for new front tires and was thinking about the ITP holeshot GNCC or the Razr 2 or the iRazr radial. Has anyone had any experience with the iRazr radial or the others? What would you recommend. I ride in the plains which has red rock and dirt trails and will ride on hard packed sand on the Canadian River as well.
Thanks,

 

i like the itp holeshots myself

 

I ordered the front irazr and hope it will cure the problem. When with them to get a better ride from the radials. I will let you know what kind of results I get.