Is the "Furber" fix really worth it??

[my-86]

Greetings, all. Has anyone here done the "Furber" fix?? I am sooooo tired of my front end shaking and wobbling all over the place with every bump in the road... and cornering really sucks too.. Any help??

 

[maxcruiser]

Have you checked the condition of the bearings for notches, etc... Sounds like you may have bad bearings.

Furber Fix, I have done it on my last bike and did not did it on my current bike and never noticed a difference.

Mike

 

[SpecOps13]

Furber fix is not widely accepted as a fix all. Best to build the forks with springs, emulators and fluid. Lower 1 inch internally, replace any worn bearings or re lube and adjust good ones.

Dave

 

[sdt354]

Check bearing adjustment, good video on Sean's site. Only takes afew minutes. I would make sure the fork brace is tight or better yet ditch the stock brace for an after market. Also, other suggestions above are great.
Steve

 

[sdt354]

How are your tires?

 

[Heretic]

The Furber 'fix' does nothing. Tighten or replace head bearings to fix your problem. As yours is an 86 they are probably bad and need replaced.

 

[[email protected]]

The Furber 'fix' does nothing. Tighten or replace head bearings to fix your problem.

Agreed.

You just need to check the bike out closely and fix any issues. Tires, air pressure, wheel bearings, swingarm bearings, steering stem bearings, etc. Also condition of rear tire and/or rim. One member was having wobble issues, found his rear rim was slightly bent. He got the rim trued, a new tire, and the wobble disappeared. Could be any one or combo of things.

Most likely suspects are worn/mis-adjusted steering bearings or bad front tire.

Check out this video on how to set the steering bearings. http://www.youtube.com/user/one2dmax#p/u/10/OW-CmACI5xQ

 

[Diablotin]

yeah nothing much to add.
Last time I experienced it, it was fixed by new bearing and front tire.

 

[Miles Long]

Greetings, all. Has anyone here done the "Furber" fix?? I am sooooo tired of my front end shaking and wobbling all over the place with every bump in the road... and cornering really sucks too.. Any help??

My own two cents -
I have an '03. It had both high and low speed handling issues from the get -go. Early on, I put on a wrap-around fork brace and installed progressive springs, as well as reinforcing the frame, and the high-speed issues dissappeared. Still, I had a low-speed wobble from about 40-60 kph. This is after checking the headstock bearings and adjusting them, to several torque settings. Nothing worked, I still had the low-speed wobble.
A low-speed "tank-slapper", two years ago, convinced me that I had to try something different.
I did the "furber fix", which basically consisted of replacing the rubber washer with an aluminum(or stainless) one. I had matched-marked the positions of the torque and lock nuts beforehand, so was able to return to the same setting after installing the new washer.
After doing this procedure, the bike has absolutely no high or low speed
wobbling issues. Most importantly, it does not go through any shaking modes when accelerating or coasting down. I did the 'fix' at 45,000 k, the bike now is at 75,000k. I have checked the condition and torque settings of the headstock bearings twice in the interm, and all is O.K.
I would suggest you try the Furbur Fix. What have you got to lose? It is a "non-invasive" procedure - you can always go back to the stock arrangement- and costs little.I made my own washer from stainless steel, it doe not compress as much as aluminum will.
I think this procedure is more likely to cure a low-speed wobble issue, if you have one. The front suspension was upgraded since your bike's model year. Your handling issues may be related to the original suspension characteristics.
I know that the Furber fix is frowned upon by many on this forum, but the "ends justify the means" I have my own theory about just why the fix works, but that's another topic. The bottom line is that it's worth a try.
Cheers, Miles

 

[naughtyG]

I did it when I first got the bike because of bad high speed wobble issues. It seemed to help, but very little. Then I renewed my tires and the head bearings, and the high speed wobble went away. When renewing my head bearings, I did a little poll here and the results helped me decide to go back to the OEM rubber washer.

However, the front end always felt 'wrong', jumpy and sketchy over lane changes and other small road irregularities. I already had Progressive springs, heavier oil in the forks, a beefier fork brace and brand new tires, but still it felt weird and unlike any other bikes I'd ever owned.

Then I installed Ricor Intimators with 5W oil in my front forks, and I must say I noticed a great improvement - the bike feels almost normal now over most road bumps and much more solid and positive when banked over.

 

[dannymax]

My '06 had the bad low-speed and over the road wobble that you describe. I replaced s/abearings, front wheel bearings, steering head bearings and installed delrin solid motor mounts....made a slight difference but not much. I put a Metzler Lasertec front tire on and the wobble disappeared.

Now, after about 3K miles it is showing back up...occasionally...on de-cel. :confused2:

 

[bigrubbers4x4]

john did the fix on mine at the Thunder in the Valley bike rally one year and it did seem to make a difference. i had brand new tires on it also.

 

[oilrecycler]

My 07 had a bad low speed, decel wabble right from new. Was getting so bad it was starting to scare me and i put on a set of Shinko's and it was worse. Just watched Morley's youtube and went out and tightened the head bearings. Took it for a burn, no more wabble. Thanks Morely!

 

[SpecOps13]

dan-o, I'm gonna take your advise of a front tire for my 94... ME880, 170 for the rear....

Dave

 

[85vmax]

My own two cents -
I would suggest you try the Furbur Fix. What have you got to lose? It is a "non-invasive" procedure - you can always go back to the stock arrangement- and costs little.I made my own washer from stainless steel, it doe not compress as much as aluminum will.
I know that the Furber fix is frowned upon by many on this forum, but the "ends justify the means" I have my own theory about just why the fix works, but that's another topic. The bottom line is that it's worth a try.
Cheers, Miles

I agree....every bike is different...may or may not work. It made a difference for me also. I think it's $5 shipped from Furbur himself.

 

[Redbone]

dan-o, I'm gonna take your advise of a front tire for my 94... ME880, 170 for the rear....

Dave

Danny uses the Metzler Lazertec for the front and not the ME880.
I just wanted to be sure there was no confusion, especially on my behalf!:biglaugh:

 

[ninjaneer]

I agree....every bike is different...may or may not work. It made a difference for me also. I think it's $5 shipped from Furbur himself.

nope it's $10.

@my-86. i know, i said i wouldn't sell it, but if you really really want one, i'll sell mine to ya. i'll have to hunt for it. it's buried underneath some crap on my workbench i think. PM me.

 

[VMAX NV]

I got mine for $3 when I bought a slightly used SportsMax seat from him. Haven't used it.
No wobble yet, just tightened nuts per Sean's video.

 

[85vmax]

nope it's $10.

@my-86. i know, i said i wouldn't sell it, but if you really really want one, i'll sell mine to ya. i'll have to hunt for it. it's buried underneath some crap on my workbench i think. PM me.

Sorry Dude...it's $5 shipped stateside...all the other knockoffs sell them for $10 plus.

Go to his site.
And yes...if you pick up or buy anything else you get it for $3.

 

[[email protected]]

The yamaha washer is around $2.35. Works pretty good for me so far :confused2: