Slight shimmy in front wheel

[Philwhi54]

I have a 1980 1100 GL, sometimes while driving on a smooth pavement, and let take my hands off the handlebars for a moment my front wheel will shimmy. My tire and wheel are both in good condition, wondering if the tire may need balanced? Be Safe out there, and enjoy your ride.

[virgilmobile]

Shimmy may be the predecessor to the "death wobble"..
Might want to read about it......
viewtopic.php?t=16232
and also....
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4548
and here too....
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=16570

[dnehasert]

Pretty common at low speeds, 25-35 mph, even with steering head bearings torqued properly. If it does it at high speed then it is something else. Doug

[tfdeputydawg]

The rack & trail design of the Wings is the base cause of this, given everything else is OK!
For that reason, do not ever take your hands off the bars
This condition can worsen over time due to wear items. Another reason to check "things" regularly!
Some 1800's are notorious for developing a wobble on decel at around 40mph or so.
My 1975 Wing had a low speed wobble, my 2000 1500SE, nor my 2006 1800 had this.
Some do, some don't.

[Dogsled]

The rack & trail design of the Wings is the base cause of this, given everything else is OK!
For that reason, do not ever take your hands off the bars
This condition can worsen over time due to wear items. Another reason to check "things" regularly!
Some 1800's are notorious for developing a wobble on decel at around 40mph or so.
My 1975 Wing had a low speed wobble, my 2000 1500SE, nor my 2006 1800 had this.
Some do, some don't.

I agree 100% with everything DDawg said. and 200% about taking your hand off the bars. But the truest thing is regular check of everything and make sure everything you do is done right, fromt the start. Every now and thenI let go of the bars at different speeds but cover the grips close with my hands. If I get any indidications of wobble I start looking as soon as I get it home. My worse case was the steering head bearing. I put new ones in, torrqued them and 2 weeks later I got a wild wobble. Tore it down and was loose a full turn on the bearings. I got no idea what happened, but had I not done the loose grip test I would never had known there was a problem. Keep a close check on your entire bike on a regular basis

[WingAdmin]

I agree 100% with everything DDawg said. and 200% about taking your hand off the bars. But the truest thing is regular check of everything and make sure everything you do is done right, fromt the start. Every now and thenI let go of the bars at different speeds but cover the grips close with my hands. If I get any indidications of wobble I start looking as soon as I get it home. My worse case was the steering head bearing. I put new ones in, torrqued them and 2 weeks later I got a wild wobble. Tore it down and was loose a full turn on the bearings. I got no idea what happened, but had I not done the loose grip test I would never had known there was a problem. Keep a close check on your entire bike on a regular basis

That's actually quite common when replacing steering bearings. Either the races aren't seated fully, or the bearings haven't seated in. It's always a good idea to re-torque your steering head bearings a few hundred miles after they are changed.

[golden highway]

I am wondering if you added handle weights if it would keep it smooth even when you take your hands off. I have noticed just the slightest weight from my hand keeps it smooth.

[Dogsled]

I never gave the races a thought. I just couldn't figure why I was off a full turn of the nut....I had to be the race.

Another thing I can't figure because to me it makes no sense is i've done two sets of bearings and races. Both times the bearings seemed ok but there was one detent in the race, in the rear of the upper closest to me. Now I can't figure how a tapered roller bearing can have so much pressure applied to 'one' bearing to cause a detent OR groove. Being torqued a tapered roller bearing should apply even pressure all the way around. Theoretically, for the size of those bearings and even pressure on them, hardened races, they should last a lifetime. Even with the minimum movement the bearings should always be moving around inside the race so the same bearing is never in the same spot.
PS; it wasn't 2 sets of bearings on the same bike I installed.

[WA9FWT]

I am wondering if you added handle weights if it would keep it smooth even when you take your hands off. I have noticed just the slightest weight from my hand keeps it smooth.

I doubt that !
But give it a try.....Let us know the results.

WA9FWT Phil

[Dogsled]

You know what steering dampers are ? They offer no 'down weight' but side to side stability, two totally different animals. To prove it, figure how much 'slightest weight' you think your applying and put the weight on the bars and let go.....see what happens. Handlebar weights are mean't to stop vibration that transfers to the end the pipes (handlebars)