Shimmy in front suspension question

Re: Shimmy in front suspension question

Project Magnet #1 <test_spamgourmet@cox,net > wrote:

> In good shape, the bikes handled great.

No, they didn't. "Adequately" might be fair.


--
BMW K1100LT 750SS CB400F CD250 CB125 SL125
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Re: Shimmy in front suspension question

"Albrecht via MotorcycleKB,com " <u33665@uwe> wrote:

> I was surprised to see a lot of LTD's in western Europe in the late '80's.
> Riders probably bought them because they were so cheap.

By and large, although Germany developed a taste for them.

In the UK, at that time, they had to discount a lot of them to shift
stocks.

The French never really got the cruiser thing at all.


--
BMW K1100LT 750SS CB400F CD250 CB125 SL125
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Re: Shimmy in front suspension question

Project Magnet #1 <test_spamgourmet@cox,net > wrote:

> The LTD's had a great, comfortable riding position, much better than the
> KZ series they replaced.

I wouldn't argue.

>Handling was better too,

I would argue. Different weight distribution, rearward weight bias,
bloody silly tyre choice.

>I had both at the same
> time. The LTD never gave any hint of shimmy or wobble, under any
> conditions, including hitting small animals at 70+ mph.

Hitting an animal at 70+ and not falling off is not a test of good
handling. *Avoiding* the animal might have been. Pitching the thing into
a bumpy bend at 70+ is a better test.
>
> The only thing my LTD didn't handle well was a '64 Ford Galaxy 500 at 30
> mph.
>
> I assume, since you talk bad about the LTD's, that you had a bad
> experience with one or more. I'd believe it was either from wear or
> other issues, not due to the design. I'd never heard anyone that had an
> LTD complain about the handling until now. Everyone I knew loved theirs.

You take a conventional roadster bike, bolt a fat 16" wheel on the back,
fit a stepped seat, change the weight distribution, and fit fucking
great cowhorn bars - you compromise the handling. Fact.

I like some cruisers, but there isn't a cruiser out there that I've
tried that handles remotely as well as a half-decent sports bike (the
benchmark for good handling), with the possible exception of a Moto
Guzzi California.

Try one of them and you'll understand the meaning of "good handling
cruiser".

Ditch the rose-tinted specs.


--
BMW K1100LT 750SS CB400F CD250 CB125 SL125
GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06 YTC#3
BOF#30 WUSS#5 The bells, the bells.....

Re: Shimmy in front suspension question


"george the jones" <dadgreg@gmail,com > wrote

> My 1981 Kawasaki LTD 550 has a shimmy that is most pronounced at 35
> MPH.

> Current mechanical status:
> New tires, brakes and wheel bearings

Most obvious guesses:
You got a bad tire.
Steering head bearings, loose or worn out.
If you've got spokes, one wheel is not "true".

Re: Shimmy in front suspension question

george the jones wrote:
>My 1981 Kawasaki LTD 550 has a shimmy that is most pronounced at 35
>MPH.

One of those damned LTD abortions, eh?

The severe mismatch between front and rear tire sizes ( 19 inch front and 16
inch rear ) causes the front tire to have to work harder to stabilize the
chassis is a vertical position. When the rear tire encounters an irregularity
that causes it to
move sideways, the bike will start to fall over to the left or right and the
rolling motion feeds through the chassis to the front tire which tries to
correct for the lean to the right or left, but that condition is past, and
the front tire keeps trying to correct for the strange things the rear tire
is doing.

--
Message posted via http :// www .motorcyclekb,com

Re: Shimmy in front suspension question

Albrecht via MotorcycleKB,com wrote:
> george the jones wrote:
>> My 1981 Kawasaki LTD 550 has a shimmy that is most pronounced at 35
>> MPH.
>
> One of those damned LTD abortions, eh?
>
> The severe mismatch between front and rear tire sizes ( 19 inch front and 16
> inch rear ) causes the front tire to have to work harder to stabilize the
> chassis is a vertical position. When the rear tire encounters an irregularity
> that causes it to
> move sideways, the bike will start to fall over to the left or right and the
> rolling motion feeds through the chassis to the front tire which tries to
> correct for the lean to the right or left, but that condition is past, and
> the front tire keeps trying to correct for the strange things the rear tire
> is doing.

More bullshit.

Les
Former owner of a great handling LTD

Re: Shimmy in front suspension question


"george the jones" <dadgreg@gmail,com > wrote in message
news:1193887712.406353.143760@22g2000hsm.googlegroups,com ...
> My 1981 Kawasaki LTD 550 has a shimmy that is most pronounced at 35
> MPH. I've removed the windshield and mirrors from the handlebars
> without making any difference. Just keeping my hands solidly on the
> grips keeps the shimmy under control but it doesn't seem safe or
> normal. Any suggestions would be helpful because it doesn't feel
> very
> solid like I would expect.
>
> Current mechanical status:
> New tires, brakes and wheel bearings
> New fork seals with oil specs and air pressure per service manual
> Real wheel appears square with the frame and in the right position
>
Did you loose a wheel balancing weight?

Re: Shimmy in front suspension question

Rider <sdfj@yahoo,com .hk> wrote:

> "george the jones" <dadgreg@gmail,com > wrote in message
> news:1193887712.406353.143760@22g2000hsm.googlegroups,com ...
> > My 1981 Kawasaki LTD 550 has a shimmy that is most pronounced at 35
> > MPH. I've removed the windshield and mirrors from the handlebars
> > without making any difference. Just keeping my hands solidly on the
> > grips keeps the shimmy under control but it doesn't seem safe or
> > normal. Any suggestions would be helpful because it doesn't feel
> > very
> > solid like I would expect.
> >
> > Current mechanical status:
> > New tires, brakes and wheel bearings
> > New fork seals with oil specs and air pressure per service manual
> > Real wheel appears square with the frame and in the right position
> >
> Did you loose a wheel balancing weight?

That won't cause a handlebar wobble.


--
K1100LT 750SS CB400F CD250 SL125
GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06 YTC#3
BOF#30 WUSS#5 The bells, the bells.....
chateau dot murray at idnet dot com

Re: Shimmy in front suspension question


"The Older Gentleman" <totallydeadmailbox@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1i9keh7.8lu20l46ngvjN%totallydeadmailbox@yahoo.co.uk...
> Rider <sdfj@yahoo,com .hk> wrote:
>
>> "george the jones" <dadgreg@gmail,com > wrote in message
>> news:1193887712.406353.143760@22g2000hsm.googlegroups,com ...
>> > My 1981 Kawasaki LTD 550 has a shimmy that is most pronounced at 35
>> > MPH. I've removed the windshield and mirrors from the handlebars
>> > without making any difference. Just keeping my hands solidly on the
>> > grips keeps the shimmy under control but it doesn't seem safe or
>> > normal. Any suggestions would be helpful because it doesn't feel
>> > very
>> > solid like I would expect.
>> >
>> > Current mechanical status:
>> > New tires, brakes and wheel bearings
>> > New fork seals with oil specs and air pressure per service manual
>> > Real wheel appears square with the frame and in the right position
>> >
>> Did you loose a wheel balancing weight?
>
> That won't cause a handlebar wobble.
>
Why not?
If a wheel starts a wobble it is directly connected up to the steering

Re: Shimmy in front suspension question

Rider <sdfj@yahoo,com .hk> wrote:

> >> Did you loose a wheel balancing weight?
> >
> > That won't cause a handlebar wobble.
> >
> Why not?
> If a wheel starts a wobble it is directly connected up to the steering

Oh, for fuck's sake. The handlebars are directly connected to the
steering too, but a loose grip won't cause a wobble either.

An out of balance wheel causes a hammering feeling, as if the wheel were
not perfectly circular. *Not* a wobble.


--
K1100LT 750SS CB400F CD250 SL125
GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06 YTC#3
BOF#30 WUSS#5 The bells, the bells.....
chateau dot murray at idnet dot com

Re: Shimmy in front suspension question

On Sun, 30 Dec 2007 08:54:18 +0000, totallydeadmailbox@yahoo.co.uk (The Older
Gentleman) wrote:

>An out of balance wheel causes a hammering feeling, as if the wheel were
>not perfectly circular. *Not* a wobble.

He's applying cage thinking to bikes.

I used to do front end alignment. I had a pickup truck come in once and the
owner complained of shimmy in the steering. I doubted if it was alignment
related and when I got the truck on the rack, I was right. Someone had hammered
a 16oz semi truck balancing weight on the inside of one front wheel as a joke.

I removed the weight and his alignment was already in spec. The customer was
happy, and I made the easiest commission I ever got.

While some bikes tires are dynamically balanced, it's rare. Losing a weight in
dynamic balance (spin balance) *could* cause a shimmy, but there's a greater
than 99% chance that the wheel isn't spin-balanced anyway, so it's a moot point.

There's a much better chance that it's related to swing arm bearings or load
distribution than balance.

--
Jack

Re: Shimmy in front suspension question

On Thu, 01 Nov 2007 03:28:32 -0000, george the jones
<dadgreg@gmail,com > wrote:

>My 1981 Kawasaki LTD 550 has a shimmy that is most pronounced at 35
>MPH. I've removed the windshield and mirrors from the handlebars
>without making any difference. Just keeping my hands solidly on the
>grips keeps the shimmy under control but it doesn't seem safe or
>normal. Any suggestions would be helpful because it doesn't feel
>very
>solid like I would expect.
>
>Current mechanical status:
>New tires, brakes and wheel bearings
>New fork seals with oil specs and air pressure per service manual
>Real wheel appears square with the frame and in the right position


I had that problem with my KZ900LTD for a long time. Tire,
wheel balance and bearings had no effect. As time went by,
I thought my age was keeping me from handling it the way I
could and should be able thru the turns. It began running
wide unless I really got down on it. Last spring, I pulled
the forks to replace the wipers and found the steering head
bearings bad as soon as I lifted the front and moved the
bars. They felt knotty and would stay in any position.
Replaced bearings with updated tapered bearings. Handling
is now better than I remember when new, no shimmy and bike
seems to know where it is supposed to be in a corner.

Lugnut

Re: Shimmy in front suspension question


> <dadgreg@gmail,com > wrote:
>
>> My 1981 Kawasaki LTD 550 has a shimmy that is most pronounced at 35
>> MPH.

I can't remember if it was a shimmy or a shake on my used V45 Magna but
turns out it had liquid tire sealer in the tire and it had dried to a
non liquid mass.

Ian Singer

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