Death wobble. Help

[CNN SUCKS DONKEY]

1997 Vmax 25k ; Lately Ive noticed when on a less than level and smooth road or go over a small bump at 40mph and with one hand on the handlebars The handlebars shake left and right extra violently till i grab them with both hands. Any thoughts on what can be the worn out part or trouble shooting process to find the culprit.

 

[Traumahawk]

Here is the first place to look. When I bought my 07, I had the same issue, and tightening up the steering head bearings fixed it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW-CmACI5xQ

 

[sdt354]

+1. it's a common ailment on a vmax with about the mileage you have. I'd take it apart and inspect the races for notching, repack or replace then adjust. It's all in the video. Make sure the tires are decent too. The death wobble can scare the crap out of ya. Been there. You should be able to let go of the bars and go fairly straight down the road. Run that by a dealer for a good laugh.

 

[SpecOps13]

I just adjusted the bearing for exactly the same problem. Just tweaked it about 132 of a turn tighter and test rode till the wobble was gone. It stays adjusted for quite some time. It's been years since I did it last.

Go too far and the bike will wander all over your lane by it self.

 

[SpecOps13]

1/32 turn.

 

[Bill Seward]

My 85 was a wobbler too. I finally got scared enough by the wobbling to change out the steering head bearings. Adjusted as per the video, and the wobbling stopped. My friend has a 94. He also recently had his bearings changed at a dealer, still wobbled. He brought it over, we adjusted them properly, wobble gone.

 

[caseyjones955]

It's amazing how little you can trust a dealer to lovingly perform the fine adjustments.

I did the head bearings/races on my Venture, now doing the Vmax should be a snap after that knuckle buster.

Also pop it up on the center stand and make sure theres no play in the swing arm.

 

[Fire-medic]

Anyone doing the change-out, I recommend grinding-away part of the inside circumference of the outer race steel seat in the steering head neck (an 'eyebrow' shape), so if you have to change it in the future, you can easily use a drift pin punch to dislodge the outer race from the inside of the steeering head.

There are many threads about this removal, some people say to use a bit of a weld bead on the inside of the outer race, something that you can then use a chisel on to dislodge the outer race. Placing the bead at 180 degrees apart should allow you to alternate blows to get it out, probably easier than trying to use a small cut-off blade in a rotary tool to cut the outer race in-place in the steering head.

Sean's video probably has helped more VMax riders on here fix their dodgy handling due to out-of adjustment steering head bearings, or worn components, than any single repair.

 

[Gulrok]

I've seen the death wobble from a few places..

One is the steering head bearing - and it looks like people already suggested the fix.
- Most likely your problem.

Two is a wheel bearing, but it would be causing a lot of chatter before the death wobble comes around.
- Less likely your problem.

Three is uneven forks. Suspension problems can cause wobbling on your tire. If you had one fork that was clamped in different spot then the other, then you have one fork that is compressed more than another. Springs aren't always uniform throughout and can cause issues.
- Most likely NOT your problem.

Four is an unbalanced wheel just caused over time, damage to the wheel, improper balance to begin with.
- Could be a factor.

Just putting it out there for education. It sounds like the steering head bearing which others have mentioned.

 

[CNN SUCKS DONKEY]

You guys are awsome thanks. God bless

 

[Hamkaas]

And five is the rear swingarm.

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[CNN SUCKS DONKEY]

Was that a home made tool he used for tightening up in the video if it was do i need to get a specialized tool ordered or can it be done with common tools ? I could only hear 60% of what he said clearly.

 

[[email protected]]

Was that a home made tool he used for tightening up in the video if it was do i need to get a specialized tool ordered or can it be done with common tools ? I could only hear 60% of what he said clearly.

It can be done with a large screwdriver or blunt chisel if that's all you have. I'd recommend buying a spanner but it's not really necessary.

Forum member dingy used to sell some nice ones for around $20

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Traumahawk]

This is the one that Dingy sells. Very good stuff. I have 1.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-Stee...m2a7a3e76e5:m:ml_0VfrvJG8p1PV55UC0gRg&vxp=mtr

 

[CNN SUCKS DONKEY]

Well i found out two things.....1 the washer or nut wichever was loose enough to let me beat on it and turn it. And 2 my handlebars were so tight when off the ground they just stay in place. No let go And bounce action....what to do...sheeeez

 

[Traumahawk]

I would loosen everything up, and check the bearings to see if they need to be greased, and then tighten everything up properly. If the bearings are too tight, the bike will actually want to weave back and forth from side to side.

 

[CNN SUCKS DONKEY]

I would loosen everything up, and check the bearings to see if they need to be greased, and then tighten everything up properly. If the bearings are too tight, the bike will actually want to weave back and forth from side to side.

Can the bearings be eyeballed by just loosening the top nut and washers or must it all be taken apart ?

 

[sdt354]

Can the bearings be eyeballed by just loosening the top nut and washers or must it all be taken apart ?

If you mean the spanner wrench? You can get one anywhere. The adjusting nut isn't hard to move. A screw driver and hammer has worked for many. Before tightening the head bearings its important to loosen the tree pinch bolts. Then torque (17ft lbs idf I recall)

 

[sdt354]

Can the bearings be eyeballed by just loosening the top nut and washers or must it all be taken apart ?

It has to be disassembled to view the lowers. Not difficult. And well worth it.

 

[Fire-medic]

Look at the description in the factory service manual about accessing the steering head bearings. It may be easier to manage everything if you remove the front wheel (axle nut & pinch bolt), the calipers (2 bolts each), and each fork tube/slider combo (top & bottom triple tree pinch bolts).

At that point, you only have the top and bottom triple trees to mess-with, much easier to remove and to replace without the bulk and the weight of the fork downtubes/sliders, calipers, and wheel assembly to contend with. It will be easy to remove the top triple tree and then the bottom triple tree. You can run your finger around the outer races top & bottom to check for pitting or an uneven surface. It should be perfectly-smooth. You can use your fingernail and fingertip to check for unevenness. Since it's now apart, consider washing out the old grease from the bearings, and re-pack them thoroughly, until the grease oozes out around all the bearing rollers. Be sure to coat the steering head outer races with a coat of grease before re-assembling the bearings into them.

A careful tightening according to Sean Morley's video, and that should have it. Just make sure that you torque the fasteners in-sequence and to their proper torque values while re-assembling the downtubes, triple tree pinch bolts, and caliper mount screws. All that info is in the factory manual.
http://www.vmaxoutlaw.com/tech/VMX12-Service-Manual.pdf