Scary wobbling when riding over road imperfections

[HondaWalt]

Hi to All...A question to all who might have experienced this condition: I have a 1980 GL interstate I fully dismantled (engine from frame to bare frame) that has 27000 original miles on it. When fully re-assembled and test driven I do experience a scary wobble every time I run over any a road seam that's got imperfections or just irregular road surfaces. This does present a white knuckle moment every time this happens. During the re-assembly process all bearings were inspected for dimensions and condition...all is good. The proper torques were observed for all installations during re-assembly. The tires are at propper inflation with little wear, it does ride well on good surfaced roads at any speeds. Any ideas or cures are very welcome...........
HondaWalt

[newday777]

Happy New Year HondaWalt

Have you gone back and retorqued the steering nut? They need to be retorqued after 100 miles or so.
How old is the date codes of the tires?
What tire pressures are you running?
Are you keeping watch of the tire pressures weekly, each time you ride? I know it's winter there. I grew up riding in NH.

Did you inspect the underside of the frame around the swingarm? They have been know to rust out along with the removable frame member that holds the motor. If the bike was rode in the salt conditions that could be a possibility along if you are at the coast and have ambient salt air moisture. I know the ambient air has lots of moisture there anyhow so check those areas closely.

[tiretony]

If the tire was removed during restoration be sure it has reseated properly. There is a thin line molded into the tire very close to the bead. That is called the rim line and it has to be parallel to the rim all the way around on both sides of the tire. The tire will look OK to a casual observer but check that rim line. Definitely a possible cause of that wobble. If it is not seated the rim line will dive closer to the rim in that area, you then need to lubricate the beads and reinflate the tire.

[WingAdmin]

The causes are myriad, but a lot of them have to do with looseness. I had this problem develop in my GL1500 recently, and it turned out to be a failing front wheel bearing that was causing free play in my front wheel. It can also be loose steering head bearings, loose suspension bushings, worn/loose axle or fastener hardware, even a loose swingarm pivot/bearing or rear wheel bearing.

My GL1100 had a high-speed weave, it turned out whoever had installed the swingarm last, put the pivot pins in backward (right on left side, left on right side), causing too much lateral free play in the swingarm. Once I put the pins in correctly, greased and torqued them, the weave went away.

This topic gets a lot of talk here - have a look through some of the other threads for suggestions: Front-end wobble

[HondaWalt]

"Happy New Year" and Thanks to all here that responded to my question. I will be useing this information in hopes to cure my bike problems when the weather warms and I can work in my garage. Upon a successfull test drive I will post the cure here for all to know. That being said if someone else in the future has a similar problem the wisdom of this forum can agin be passed on.
This Site and Group of individuals are Great, especially since this is such a diverse bank of experience and knowlage.....Thanks Again!
HondaWalt

[littlebeaver]

Oh my gosh really WingAdmin. backwards? the allen set thingy was on the other side of the battery side...Wow...How in the World could anyone make a mistake like that, that's scary, how long before you found that problem, oh man..

[WingAdmin]

Oh my gosh really WingAdmin. backwards? the allen set thingy was on the other side of the battery side...Wow...How in the World could anyone make a mistake like that, that's scary, how long before you found that problem, oh man..

You don't even want to know. I was just floored when I discovered it.