[oharaLTD]

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I replaced the nearly warn out EII with a D404 on the front and now have a violent head shake with my hands off the handle bars and small cracks, bumps etc in road. The bike never did anything like this before. Was smooth as silk, even with no hands. The D404 meets the load ratings suggested by Honda and is correct size. I have done some research here and some suggestions are tire pressure, cupping, balance, etc. Some posts suggest that the wing is going to do this. This I do not buy. I dont think that Honda designed a machine that would give a head shake. A good friend that rides V-twins says it is simply that tire is not right for the wing. What do the experts here think?

 

[Kit Carson]

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It is not unusual to get a bad tire. They look okay but they may be out of round or have a defect in the way the internal belts have been laid. The answer is simply you have a bad tire.

Kit

 

[tire joe]

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Amen to what Kit said.

 

[Longboater]

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Jack the bike up and rotate the tire to check for running true (side to side)
My van had one new deffective tire that did not run true and at speed set up a bad vibration. Been lucky on the bikes so far.
Longboater,

 

[exavid]

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Yep, I'd suspect a bad or badly balanced front tire too. As already mentioned put the bike on the center stand, jack up under the front of the engine to get the front wheel off the ground.Use a stick or pencil or some indicator like that mounted on a wood block or some steady rest and slide it up to the side of the tire almost touching the tire. Spin the wheel and watch the gap between your indicator and the tire. It should stay the same or nearly all way around. At least within a 1/16". Then do the same thing with the indicator parallel to the tire facing the front center of the tread. The gap as the wheel turns should be very close to the same all around the tire. One other thing to look at is the line molded in the rubber right by the tire rim, it should be the same distance from the rim on both sides. If it's not the tire is probably poorly mounted and needs the bead broken loose and reset.

The last check I'd do would be to test the wheel balance if you haven't found anything wrong to this point. Easiest way to check that is to remove the two calipers from their brackets and hang them clear of the wheel with cord or wire to keep their weight off the brake hoses. With them off the wheel should turn freely. Spin the wheel and put a chalk mark or piece of tape at the bottom of the wheel when it stops. Repeat this process five or six times. If the marks tend to group the wheel needs it's balance improved. If the marks are spaced randomly around the wheel it's in balance. I use this method for balancing my tires using stick on 1/4oz. stick on wheel weights. This method is accurate enough that I've replaced tires on my 'Wing and run the bike over 100mph with no vibration at all.

 

[Mohawk]

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As usual Paul is right on.

And the tests he explained will put you in the right area to tell if anything is wrong with the tire.

This will help you to explain it to the dealer and with these tests behind you I know no dealer will be able to bull you.

One thing I would change is to mark the tire at the top after the spinning wheel stops.
That will be the lightest point in the tire. But it is hard to do with the fender mounted. But the front of the front fender is easy to remove.

Like Paul says if the marks are all over the place you are fine, But if they are gathered around one side. You can place a small weight in the center of all the marks and retest. The Stick on weights are fine. ( Till they disappear )

Like Paul says about speed. If you follow those steps you should be in good shape.

I have always mounted and balanced my own tires and I tend to run fast and most days I will hit over 100MPH on the way to work with no problems yet.

Good Luck

Mohawk