Front end vibration on my 2016 gl1800

[tonygxy3]

I just turned 1000 miles on my 2016 gl800 (non-abs) purchased as a new leftover from a dealership. It has the Bridgestone exedra on the front in which I am running 36 lbs of air. I've noticed when running on a less than perfect road, the jarring through the handlebars seems to be much more pronounced than I had experienced on my 2008 airbag model on which I ran a Dunlop elite 3 with 40 lbs of air. Any ideas as to what might be the culprit? Tire, air, or none of the above?

[raven41951]

Not sure I can be of help, but I bought a 2016 at year end. It came with E3s which I run at 45 rear and 40-42 front. Lower air pressures give a more comfortable ride but also mushy. I have not experienced the jarring you are getting at any pressure.

[tonygxy3]

Thanks for your input. Since posting, I raised the front pressure to 40 psi and the rear to 42 psi and it does seem to be better. I’m going to check with my local dealership tomorrow and see if they have any suggestions.

[GoldWingrGreg]

I just turned 1000 miles on my 2016 gl800 (non-abs) purchased as a new leftover from a dealership. It has the Bridgestone exedra on the front in which I am running 36 lbs of air. I've noticed when running on a less than perfect road, the jarring through the handlebars seems to be much more pronounced than I had experienced on my 2008 airbag model on which I ran a Dunlop elite 3 with 40 lbs of air. Any ideas as to what might be the culprit? Tire, air, or none of the above?

The air pressure sticker on the underside of your trunk lid states 36psi in the front, and 41 in the rear. Be sure to air your tires to that prior to riding. Anything higher will make for a harsher ride.

As for your issue, I'm confused by the complaint ... "front end vibration" but then "jarring in the front." Those are 2 completely different types of complaints. Do you have both ???

[tonygxy3]

No, just the jarring. It feels like any and all road imperfections are transmitted through the handlebars.

[Ghostman]

I would try disabling the anti dive valve to see if its sticking.

[GoldWingrGreg]

No, just the jarring. It feels like any and all road imperfections are transmitted through the handlebars.

OK ... then you probably have a loose/worn steering head bearings, or high tire pressure. Both will cause a jarring thru the handle bars when hitting man hole covers and bumps like that. It also means that your Wing has poor handling when doing parking lot maneuvers. Below is how to check for needed steering head bearings.

To test, on a smooth road and in 5th gear, take you hands off the handle bars allowing your Wing to decelerate. When you get down to about 42mph, do your handlebars begin to wobble back and forth ???

In a parking lot, poor handling is when pointing your Wing into a parking spot and having to do a "mid-turn" correction to complete the maneuver before stopping. In other words, the steering had to be corrected in order to make the maneuver.

Note: to stop the wobble, slowly re-grab the bars with open palms.

[tonygxy3]

Is that likely on a bike with only 1000 miles on it? I assume that would be a warranty issue>

[GoldWingrGreg]

Is that likely on a bike with only 1000 miles on it? I assume that would be a warranty issue>

Some riders had steering head bearing complaints when they left the show room. I believe 2010s were the worst. Most all had premature steering head shimmy. Unfortunately, Honda will probably not pay to have your bearing torque checked.

Did you do the test I suggested ???

[tonygxy3]

Not yet, but I'm really not experiencing a wobble, just a harshness of road imperfections being transmitted through the handlebars. It does not occur on a smooth roadway. I just returned from my local Honda dealership (not the dealership where I bought the bike) and had a conversation with the head mechanic. After explaining to him what I was experiencing on my new wing, he advised that what I am experiencing is more than likely attributable to the fact that the bike is new and everything is tight. He said that after 4000 - 5000 miles, it should no longer be noticeable after it breaks in a little. Could be, since my former 2000 Valkyrie and 2008 Goldwing both had over 10,000 - 20,000 miles when I bought them. I guess time will tell.

[raven41951]

I should have explained why I went to higher pressures. After about 1,000 miles I started to notice a hum while cornering. Inspection showed the beginning of cupping on the front tire so I went from the spec pressure to 42 psi which does give a harsher ride but the cupping has not worsened. I raised the rear tire to 45 to prevent cupping.

[GoldWingrGreg]

I should have explained why I went to higher pressures. After about 1,000 miles I started to notice a hum while cornering. Inspection showed the beginning of cupping on the front tire so I went from the spec pressure to 42 psi which does give a harsher ride but the cupping has not worsened. I raised the rear tire to 45 to prevent cupping.

Your high tire pressure will defiantly affect ride quality. If you read the "cold max pressure" warnings molded into your rear tire (near the bead area), I'm quite sure 45psi is beyond the air pressure limits of what the tire is engineered to carry.

As for new Wings, I find the opposite true of what the Honda tech said. Possibly he does not work on enough Wing to really now. Newer Wings from 2012-17 should ride extremely smooth with no jarring. There is no such thing as "break in period" for suspension. With suspension, what really happens is that ride quality degrades over time, and it begins to wear out on mile 1. Just like a door hinge on a car ... when the door is opened, the hinge has 1 less opening of life left. As for 2012s+, their suspension is far better than older 5th gens with low miles. For example, in my shop a few weeks ago was a 2009 with less then 945 miles on it. A year ago was a 2003 with only 600 miles on it. Those both road like "new" Wings, for their year, which is exactly what I would expect them to ride like ... new seat feel and all. However, 2012+ Wings ride even nicer than then older newer ones, certainly handle better, and because they ride smoother, ride much quieter (no trunk lid noise).

[WingAdmin]

I'd check the front forks for stiction as well. If you've got poorly-aligned fork ends, stiction can cause this kind of jarring.

[SlowTyper]

I am no expert on this -- I only rode an 1800 once and it was much smoother than my GL1200A. But my first thought was that you might have a bad tire. I don't think rubber likes sitting around for years not being used. Could 'dry rot' apply to this case? The cupping indicates a problem as well.

[newday777]

I'd check the front forks for stiction as well. If you've got poorly-aligned fork ends, stiction can cause this kind of jarring.

Good point Scott and that leads a point towards the antidive valves stick on these wings.
Test...
Sit on the bike upright, off the stands, hold front brake and push on the bars to collapse the front suspension. How much does it travel? Is it real stiff, not moving much?
A sticking antidive valve will give harsh jarring.

[peppilepew]

Being a virgin bike I would have to agree with Scott. I would loosen the left front axle cinching bolts and bounce the front end. I have taken mine riding with them loose in the process of eliminating stiction. I assume it's virgin. Mine has Traxxion cartridges which split smooth cushy ride with prolonged tire wear and what many used to stock suspension would call a rough ride or road vibrations transmittal.

[Johnny 3644]

Better check the steering bearing this is a know problem. Honda uses an inferior bicycle type bearing they wear down and you start to experience the wing wobble as some call it. I fixed it on my 2005 GL 1800 by replacing the steering bearing with a tapered roller bearing. My handle bars stared vibrating (wobbling) at 40,000 miles. My riding buddy has a 2015 F6B his started acting up withy only 10,000 miles so he had the steering bearing replaced also and that fixed his problem. Good luck trying to get Honda to own up to this problem they are still in denial and refuse to admit there is anything wrong but I can just about guarantee if you are having wing wobble the worn bearing is your problem.

[DerekTaylor]

I have a 2017 model. I bought it with 3000 miles on the clock in October 2018. After only a short time I noticed the vibration and jarring coming back through the handlebars. I now have over 10000 miles on it
Compared to my GL1500 I find the 1800 very uncomfortable because of the jarring. I did ask at the dealership where I bought it and after the 8000 mile service the report was that it was fine like all others of the same model. I have tried the fix of disabling the anti dive and this did not make any difference.
My thoughts so far are as the frame on this machine is aluminium it is stiffer than the steel frame on my 1500. I am interested to know of others with a similar problem and any solutions they have found.

[newday777]

Yes the 1500 frame has more flex to it than the 1800 to make it more ridged. I've riden the 2007-2010 and newer Triumph Tiger 1050 models that have a far smoother ride, over the same roads and bumps my 1800 wing gets jared on.
It has a lot to do with the one sided fork dampner, only one fork leg has a dampner while the other side is just a spring, bad engineering on Honda... You can see it has only one dampner in the picture, in the right fork only.
I have just gone last fall to the Traxxion 2 cartridges(AK-20) in my forks this past October, which are adjustable dampening. Well worth the money in my opinion.
You can cheap out with the Progressive cartridges but you get what you pay for, I've seen them fail.
Just remember, all forks need to be serviced every 20,000 miles (max) to replace the fork oil to get the best ride and extend the life of the fork parts. Fork oil breaks down and gets grungy full of wear particles that need to be flushed out. I do it yearly because of the miles I ride and conditions I ride in. These are not just ride it as it is for lifetime bikes. I had a good friend who is a 20 year goldwing tech at a Honda dealer tell me early on that Honda designed these bike suspensions for a 150 rider. They are lacking greatly in the suspension department.....

I have a 2017 model. I bought it with 3000 miles on the clock in October 2018. After only a short time I noticed the vibration and jarring coming back through the handlebars. I now have over 10000 miles on it
Compared to my GL1500 I find the 1800 very uncomfortable because of the jarring. I did ask at the dealership where I bought it and after the 8000 mile service the report was that it was fine like all others of the same model. I have tried the fix of disabling the anti dive and this did not make any difference.
My thoughts so far are as the frame on this machine is aluminium it is stiffer than the steel frame on my 1500. I am interested to know of others with a similar problem and any solutions they have found.

[namgniwdlog]

You are riding on tires that are nearing 4 years old (manufactured in 2016). Tires do get stiff with age. Check the tire date code on the side wall.

[Johnny 3644]

You can keep trying to figure this out Derrick but it is the steering bearing no question. Get a Balls tapered bearing from wingstuff.com have your bearing replaced and move on that's what I did.

[Goldwinger365]

I know this is an old post, but I need to share my experience. I've got a 2006 1800 that has got progressively worse over time with a low speed wobble. Felt just like a bad tire. I've also been chasing a harsh banging in front over bumps. I rebuilt front forks new bushings and progressive cartridge dampener inserts. Also installed a Blackwing fork brace. All this helped but was still getting a bit of clunk in front over bumps and a low speed wobble. I finally bit the bullet and replaced the steering head bearings with All Balls tapered bearings. The whole process took me about 6 hours. It helps that I've been an Auto tech for 20 years and a small engine tech for 15 years before that. When I took it out for a test ride I couldn't believe it. It rides and handles like a brand new bike. No clunk over bumps, no low speed wobble, and rides and handles better than it ever did. Thanks everyone and ride on!!

[farmer148]

On my 2016 hitting bumps would hurt my hands. It felt as if the anti dive valve was activated every time it hit a bump. I ended up reworking the anti-dive valve.

[Asphaltmaniac]

I know this is an old post, but I need to share my experience. I've got a 2006 1800 that has got progressively worse over time with a low speed wobble. Felt just like a bad tire. I've also been chasing a harsh banging in front over bumps. I rebuilt front forks new bushings and progressive cartridge dampener inserts. Also installed a Blackwing fork brace. All this helped but was still getting a bit of clunk in front over bumps and a low speed wobble. I finally bit the bullet and replaced the steering head bearings with All Balls tapered bearings. The whole process took me about 6 hours. It helps that I've been an Auto tech for 20 years and a small engine tech for 15 years before that. When I took it out for a test ride I couldn't believe it. It rides and handles like a brand new bike. No clunk over bumps, no low speed wobble, and rides and handles better than it ever did. Thanks everyone and ride on!!

I did the all balls some years back. You should also find as did I, the front tire will wear evenly.

[GoldWingrGreg]

I know this is an old post, but I need to share my experience. I've got a 2006 1800 that has got progressively worse over time with a low speed wobble. Felt just like a bad tire. I've also been chasing a harsh banging in front over bumps. I rebuilt front forks new bushings and progressive cartridge dampener inserts. Also installed a Blackwing fork brace. All this helped but was still getting a bit of clunk in front over bumps and a low speed wobble. I finally bit the bullet and replaced the steering head bearings with All Balls tapered bearings. The whole process took me about 6 hours. It helps that I've been an Auto tech for 20 years and a small engine tech for 15 years before that. When I took it out for a test ride I couldn't believe it. It rides and handles like a brand new bike. No clunk over bumps, no low speed wobble, and rides and handles better than it ever did. Thanks everyone and ride on!!

I'm glad you posted what you did and am happy to hear that your issue is fixed. Steering head bearings can tighten up the steering head, and any slop there will exaggerate the roughness/harshness over even small bump. You should also notice less "mid-turn correction" when traveling slow in a parking lot, spotting your parking spot, and turning in to claim it. When turning, and while in the middle of that turn is often when we correct our turn. Getting rid of a lot of that mid-turn correction also makes for more rider confindence:)

The other thing about loose steering head bearings is that they can be loose from the factory. The down side to replacing the steering head bearings with tappered one is expecting long life out of them. Unfortunanly, bearings and races made with chineese steel might only last 70k ish miles or less:(