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Pilot Road 2 front tire

Roy

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Mississippi
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Roy
Anyone used one? Reason I ask is I just mounted a new set front and rear and I am getting the dreaded low speed wobble with no hands on bars or very light pressure on the bars at about 37~42 mph. It does it with the bags off or on makes no difference. A little more doticeable with the bags on and loades. For reference the steering bearing has been checked and the torque is good. Balance of the tire seems okay it was digitally balanced at the shop. It does have more weight on a front tire than I would like to see (5) 1/4 ounces. The tire does not appear to have any out of roundness I have spun it and it looks pefectly round. I experienced this on a V-Strom 1000 with a Metzler tourance front tire and never figured it out. One thing I think may have an effect is the Bandits in-accurate chain adjustment notches. If the chains not straight seems the bike would do this. funny how it did not do this with the old Pilot Power front or crappy Dunlop front. I have re-checked the axle aligment procedure and re-torqued the clamp bolts. I know this is not the problem. It is perfectly fine everywhere but that one zone, turns in great and sticks good. I am leaving for 4 days this afternoon so I do not have time to really mess with it today. It will have about 1500+ miles on it when I get back. Wonder if its just a bad front tire? or the Bandit just does not like the profile of the Road 2's.
 
If you can nominate the speed you have an out of balance harmonic,

try somewhere else balancing is an art form...
 
Years ago I came across the same problem on a little honda 650 Hawk GT. What fixed it was taking some spring preload out of the rear. :-?
That was the only adjustment available on that bike. Maybe it's worth looking at making a suspension adjustment?
:shrug: :confused:
 
I have been doing some reading on the subject and have all but concluded the chain alignment is the culprit in my case. I just got off the phone with the shop that mounted and balanced the tires and he told me they "zeroed" out but offered to re-check it. Nice offer but I just don't have the time today. I bet money its the chain alignment since I know the chain rides up against the rear sprocket on the inside with the adjustment marks equal on each side. Great build quality Suzuki:doh: It is more pronounced on the Bandit the way the axle rides way back on the adjustment range. El Bandito will be getting some of my money very soon, as soon as I can get back from this trip. I may adjust it by eye with the chain in the middle of the sprocket and see if that makes a difference. I checked the other day just fooling around and to get the chain in the middle the marks were off 1 full mark:eek2: from left to right side. Sadly I did not take it for a spin after I did the little experiment and just set it back by the equal marks.
 
Years ago I came across the same problem on a little honda 650 Hawk GT. What fixed it was taking some spring preload out of the rear. :-?
That was the only adjustment available on that bike. Maybe it's worth looking at making a suspension adjustment?
:shrug: :confused:

Rear preload is on 6 right now with the load. I ride normally on 3 with no load. Front has 3 lines showing all the time.
 
my experience, limited as it is, is that the common reason for oscillation, is an uncommon wear pattern on the tires. if both tires are new, i dont have any clues, other than the rear wheel being grossly out of line.

as suggested, tightening the steering head adj, making it act like a dampner can help, but does not cure the problem, it only masks the problem, and is not the cause.

if both tires are new, i have no clue other than to check everything and or go back to normal, no accessories. (but thats no help i know)

with new tires, mine is rock steady, hands off.

(day off work, just got thru vaccuming, with laundry in the wash, i'd rather be surfing twt!)
 
I have Pilot 2s front and rear and the bike handles extremely well. They've got good reviews in the UK. The only 'oddity' is that the correct fitment of the front tyre makes it look like it is back-to-front but it's not - see pic below (the front is on the left).
 

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I reckon the most important question is "what are you doing with your hands off the 'bars at 37-42mph?"
Most instances of this sort of thing happening are due worn rear and new front tyres. I also have the "tankslapper king"a Suzuki GSX1100ef (GS1150 to the 'muricans) and it has only ever wobbled or otherwise misbehaved on me twice, both times on the way to fit new tyres.

Dink
 
I have them front and rear but on a different bike. They are the best I've come across. What air pressure do you run? I've found 39 psi to 41 psi work best in my case.
 
I just fitted a pilot road 2 to the rear and a pilot power to the front ..... and it works great ... no wobbles just awesome grip and very quick turn in.;-)
 
I just got a Road 2 on the front, 1k on the P-Road rear, They feel good, no issues. If that wobble does not stop, take it back.
 
Try removing the weight. That seems an lot for a front tyre.The wheel balancer in the shop that was used could be out of calibration.A few bikes ago I had a front tyre renewal done by a local tyre shop and had the same symptons as you are getting.I removed the weight and removed the problem.Try the cheap and easy way first
 
Roy,

Now that you're back, did you find a cure for the wobble?

nope. It is definetly chain alignment related I did some experimenting while gone. Marks are way off on this bike. I am going to re-balance the wheel myself either today or tomorrow afternoon. Not too sure that will help.
 
Question here.... when you said the steering head bearing has been checked... was that by you, or by a dealer tech? I ask because my dealer greased some parts on my bike (at least the work order says they did) and on my next service interval I checked them and they were dry as a bone. Missed factory lube, not lubed by tech that signed off as having done.

It is worth checking for yourself. Dry head bearings get sloppy very fast, and the slightest play in there will make the bike very sensitive to wobble induced by other factors such as tire tread pattern, balance issues, or chain alignment. You may have uncovered a head bearing issue with the tire swap.
 
Question here.... when you said the steering head bearing has been checked... was that by you, or by a dealer tech? I ask because my dealer greased some parts on my bike (at least the work order says they did) and on my next service interval I checked them and they were dry as a bone. Missed factory lube, not lubed by tech that signed off as having done.

It is worth checking for yourself. Dry head bearings get sloppy very fast, and the slightest play in there will make the bike very sensitive to wobble induced by other factors such as tire tread pattern, balance issues, or chain alignment. You may have uncovered a head bearing issue with the tire swap.


It was done by me and well within spec. I've done this for years on many type bikes from dirt to street. No dealer touches my bike. They only mounted the tires because that was part of the deal buying them there. I took them the wheels only. 5 1/4 ounce weights on once side of the wheel does not look right too me and I have balanced tires for years. I have access to the Marc Parnes balancer where I mount my tires. No issues ever and I mount alot of track tires on my GSX-R1000. I discovered this past weekend on my trip that about 85 mph I feel a vibration coming from the front. I called that shop last week about the balance and they said no way it could be off, well it is and I won't be back. As for the chain alignment marks yes they are off but it did not really have this wobble until the new tire went on last week. Combination of both not sure different profile on the road 2 verses the Power front I had before. I'll get it sorted this week or ditch the Road 2 front in favor of the Power front and run the Road 2 rear for mileage.
 
Very well, and I hope I did not come across wrong, or critical of your work so far. Sounds like you have it well in hand.
 
It was done by me and well within spec. I've done this for years on many type bikes from dirt to street. No dealer touches my bike. They only mounted the tires because that was part of the deal buying them there. I took them the wheels only. 5 1/4 ounce weights on once side of the wheel does not look right too me and I have balanced tires for years. I have access to the Marc Parnes balancer where I mount my tires. No issues ever and I mount alot of track tires on my GSX-R1000. I discovered this past weekend on my trip that about 85 mph I feel a vibration coming from the front. I called that shop last week about the balance and they said no way it could be off, well it is and I won't be back. As for the chain alignment marks yes they are off but it did not really have this wobble until the new tire went on last week. Combination of both not sure different profile on the road 2 verses the Power front I had before. I'll get it sorted this week or ditch the Road 2 front in favor of the Power front and run the Road 2 rear for mileage.

Hey Roy, just want to make sure this isn't the problem. Front axle torqued to 72.5 ft. lbs.?? Before the axle holder bolts are tightened?? This front end oscillation was common of older BMW's and was related to the sequence of putting the axle in and torque...
 
Hey Roy, just want to make sure this isn't the problem. Front axle torqued to 72.5 ft. lbs.?? Before the axle holder bolts are tightened?? This front end oscillation was common of older BMW's and was related to the sequence of putting the axle in and torque...

Willie yes I am aware of the floating front axle I have had it on other Suzuki's before. You also must bounce it up and down without the brakes applied and pinch bolts loose before torquing them. Doing this makes certain the forks are not binded.
 
Willie yes I am aware of the floating front axle I have had it on other Suzuki's before. You also must bounce it up and down without the brakes applied and pinch bolts loose before torquing them. Doing this makes certain the forks are not binded.

Just wanted to bring this up, as it has caused problems with other models and brands..
 
Just wanted to bring this up, as it has caused problems with other models and brands..


And it is a good thing you did as I am sure most are unaware of the correct fitment of the front wheel on the Bandit.
 
The front end wobble you're experiencing can be caused by many things but I've found the two most likely reasons to be. Incorrect tire pressure and/or insufficent fork spring preload. If you're still using the stock fork springs try increasing preload to max. If your wheel isn't balanced properly I think you would be feeling more of an up and down vibration at a higher speed.
 
UPDATE: I re-balanced the front tire yesterday using a friends Marc Parnes static balancer. Findings were it was out of balance from the dealer. However it took 6 1/4 oz. weights verses the dealers 5 1/4 oz. weights to bring it in to spec:eek2: Bad tire maybe I dunno but if I had the time I'd re-break it down spin it on the rim and re-balance it, might make it better. But it is in balance now so I move on. I split the 6 weights 3 on each side. It is smooth and the wobble while still there is barely noticeable I can live with the results considering I ride with a loaded E460 Givi top case all the time which does not help matters.
 
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