Just had new dunlops put on my 08 wing by the dealer.
Between 40 and 50 km/hr I am getting a front end wobble.
At higher speeds it goes away. I am taking it in to the dealer next week but is there anything I should be aware of so the dealer does not try to blow me off?

... Howdy ... Be sure to have them dismount the tire fully ... Happy trails ...

hi ya bearandladybear.....I am experiencing the exact same thing you are..I have an 08' 1800GL with about 38,000 miles on it, just yesterday I put on a brand new set of DUnlop 3's front/rear, previously I had very little front end wooble, but I pulled out of the dealers (who put them on) and the first time I 40 mph heres comes a real eye opener!...front end wooble...I thought wow!..what the heck is this!...so I jumped on google and wow was that ever an eye opener!...there were more threads about that exact same problem than I could ever imagine....I read and tried every thing they suggested..from adjusting the tire pressure, to adjust the passenger settings, to trying it riding two up....I ran it by the dealer and of course I got the ole "nature of the beast" response, but it iscarey thinking about the wooble and how bad it could get...please let me know what your dealer has to say......I read everything about fork braces, to changing the sterring head bearings to "ALLBALLS"..but some riders say that some of works and some say, it is a waste of money....I think that the one thing they all agree on is that Honda knows about the problem and they are unwilling to do anything about it, to fix it, sad when we spend $20,000 on a motorcycle and it woobles down the road. Here is my email, please let me know....greg.warren@cox.net......good luck...and Gods Speed....motorgreg

... HOWDY ... DID I MENTION THAT I SWITCHED FROM DUNLOP E-3's TO METZLER 880's AND AM REALLY ENJOYING THEM ... VERY QUITE AND EXCELLENT HANDLING ... BOUGHT THEM ONLINE FROM MOTORCYCLE SUPER STORE GREAT PRICES AND "FREE" SHIPPING ... HAPPY TRAILS ...

'08 here with 12,000 + miles on original tires. At or around 40 mph, take both hands off the bar and wobble,wobble, wobble. I assume it is still there with both hands on the bar, just not overtly noticeable. 50 mph +, set cruise control, take both hands off the bar, very smooth. What the heck is this 40 mph sore spot all about ? It seems it's just a " rhetorical " question so far since it is not being answered.

When Honda came out with the 1800 they put roller bearings in the neck, the 1500 had tapered bearing and had no wobble. You can buy tapered bearings for the 1800 and that will take care of the wobble. New tires will usually cure it for a short time. But putting tapered head bearings will cure it for good.

welp, I did it I jumped off and had a set of those ALL-BALLS steering head bearings put into my steering head. To bring everyone up to date, I had just put a brand new pair of Dunlop Elite 3's on my 08 Wing and when I would hit 40 MPH the front end wooble would start and finish about 50 mph, what a pain......so I put a set of the ALL-BALLS into my steering and wow! what a difference....I would safely say that approx. 90 percent of my wooble is gone!..I am very pleased, so far so good...the bearings ran me about $40 from my dealer, a little high, but ok, since they cut my cost down from $320 to $188, and that included out the door cost....so I was very pleased.......those ALL-BALLS did the trick for my wing....no more wooble.....good luck bikers, I hope that you have the same luck I did.......ride to live and live to ride....motorgreg

Had a new tire put on the rear yesterday ( screw imbeded in it ). I brought up the topic of the infamous wobble. The mech said that the torque specs on the steering column were set low by Honda Factory . He said if he tightened the steering column the wobble would go away. I'll live with it for the rest of this year as it is really now just a psychological issue with me because it hasn't caused any adverse control problems. Next year when I replace the front tire I will probably have the All Balls installed as I was looking to put a shim kit in to get the handlebars up 1 in. I would imagine the All Balls and " their " torque specs on it will give me the same results as " motorgreg ", I hope. And that's all I know.

I've put about 200 miles on my '08 GL (had about 2400 miles on it)

I noticed today that when I go downhill and take my hands off the

handlebars, it has a shimmy...wow, I thought the Goldwings were bulletproof

by now, guess not...anyway,

interesting to see you guys discussing it...

My '02 GL did not have any wobble and was smooth as butter...

I'll take it back to the dealer. It's still in warrenty, but from the sound
of it, that won't matter much...


w

Scooter. There is no comfort in numbers in this wobble club. Our only hope here is to see our membership dwindle one rider at a time. When we were kids we always rode hands free, why do we get scolded for it now ?

I guess it's good to hear that I am not in this club alone!! But at the same time it's a bad feeling to know that Honda knows there is a problem but reluctant to fix it. Shame, shame, shame. I love my '08 but dissappointed when I put new tires on and have issues. I guess I'll have to try the "All Balls" in hopes I get the same resolution as Motorgreg.

Take the road less ridden.

Seems like most of the complaints I hear about the "Wing wobble" come from riders that have the E3s on their bikes. I haven't heard about the Metzlers, Bridgestone, Avon riders with wobble complaints. I'm happy with the OEM D250 tires (happy enough that I'm doing the whole wheel replacement and a D250 rear) my '09 came with, but I'm putting a 'stone on the front this time. Don't know if my bike has the wobble since I ride with my hands on the bars. I've let go at 70 mph in cruise, but more to see how the bike tracked than seeing if it wobbled (it didn't, but I was over 40mph). I did talk with one of the techs at Honda Canada and he did say that there was some (his words were 'very minor') inherant wobble due to the size, weight and steering geometry of the Wing. That may sound a bit trite, but I've heard riders of other full dress tourers say that they had a front ned/head shake with hands off at low speeds too. If the wobble can be felt through the bars at significant levels at any speed I'd have to say there was a balance, bearing or tire issue of some description.

When Honda came out with the 1800 they put roller bearings in the neck, the 1500 had tapered bearing and had no wobble. You can buy tapered bearings for the 1800 and that will take care of the wobble. New tires will usually cure it for a short time. But putting tapered head bearings will cure it for good.


I HAVE A 94 GL1500 AND IT WOBBLES AROUND 30-40 IF I LET GO OF THE BARS,TO WHERE IT WOULD WRECK IF I DONT GRAB IT BACK. I RUN THE DUNLOP E 3s ON THE FRONT,I HEAR LOTS OF REMEDIES BUT MOST ARE SHORT LIVED. I WILL ADD A FORK BRACE AND REMOUNT THE TIRE {BEFORE CHANGING IT). AND REPORT BACK, -Gary English-

I have a 98 wing with a sidecar that wears tires. It too has a very severe wobble at about 30+km. If you let go of the handlebars it gets uncontrolable. It smooths out with speed.
Garth A

Garth I'd check hte adjustments on your sidecar mounts. Sounds like something isn't quite right if there's a wobble there. Tire wear with a s/c will definitely have an adverse affect due to the side loading forces imposed by the hack.

My '09 GL1800 had the "wobble" from day-one, with the factory Dunlops. I had E-3s installed at about 12,000 miles, and the wobble continued. At 26,000 miles, the noise from the rear tire was just awful, and the cupping was incredible. Had it with the Dunlops. Went to Bridgestones, and honestly, I cannot MAKE the front end wobble. These are the best tires I've ever run (on my 4th Goldwing). If they get decent mileage, I'll continue to run Bridgestones.:)

Scooter. There is no comfort in numbers in this wobble club. Our only hope here is to see our membership dwindle one rider at a time. When we were kids we always rode hands free, why do we get scolded for it now ?


How is the wobble now that you put the Darkside Kuhmo 195/55/R16 Run Flat on your bike?

How is the wobble now that you put the Darkside Kuhmo 195/55/R16 Run Flat on your bike?

No wobble yet. I am bound and determined to discover whether this wobble was/ is caused by tires. It will take time discover as the new tires wear.

Well looks like I have join the wobble club as I have a 95 GL1500 with 238000+ kms on it and it has now developed this bad wobble around the 40 to 50 kmh. I have just spent $600.00Au in getting new streering head bearings replaced as well as have two new front brake disc replaced as well as they had well an truely past there used by date.. I run Metzlers ME880's front and rear but have had the rear tyre replaced a month or so ago as I had a blow out coming home from a bike rally back in May 2011 which caused me to crash the bike.. Now I am wondering if it is the front tyre being half stuffed that is causing the problem as I normally replace both tyres at the same time and not when one tyre is stuffed like this time around???? Also I have replaced the rear shocks with Proven Products twin air shocks and I am wondering if they might need to be retightened to the torque setting or maybe I need the rear wheel bearings replaced as I changed the front ones about 4 years ago and have been told they were still good by the mechanic who did the steering head bearings... Also I was wondering maybe I need to have the swingarm bushes/bearings replaced as well as I said the bike is now over 16 years old with 238,000 plus kilometres on it.... Or maybe I should just get the front tyre replaced with a new Metzeler ME880 to fix this problem????

Any help in this matter would be greatfully appreciated....

Well after doing a quick ring around the local Honda Goldwing dealers here in Sydney Australia as there is only two stores here one in Lane Cove & the other in Campbelltown they both told me the same thing, yes they all do have a wobble in the front end area even on the lastest 09-10 model 1800 Goldwings. They said I should change the front tyre as this can be part of the problem and if I am using aftermarket steering head bearings which is what they sold me they can be tightern a bit more than the stock steering head bearings. They also told me I should check & tightern or even replace the swingarm bearings as they may be getting past there used by date seeing how old my GL1500 is now as they will sell me a set for $110.00Au plus fitting. They also said that I should also check the tyre pressure on the front and rear tyres as this maybe causing the front end to wobble as well...

HI all, bought my first Goldwing 2012 level 3 and traded in CVO Roadking. I am retired and live in So CA near San Diego and always wanted a coastal road trip, Big Sur, Napa valley, Monterey, Solvang , Santa Barbra, Santa Yanez you get the picture, finally found my way back home after 3000 miles and many smiles. I started to notice a slight low speed wobble on decel, so took it back to dealer. Was told nothing they could do? So on my dime had front forks rebuilt with Raceteck 1.1kg springs, the whole gold valve kit, all balls bearings; Dyna beads both tires, Kerkayan Gen II fork brace and K&N air filter. The results are a sharper smother ride, tighter stearing, but still have a hint of the wobble. Now with all this done I strongly suspect it’s in the way I wore the Bridgestone tires. I pushed it pretty hard fully loaded in the curves with heavy braking and with the stock light spring set up on the front suspension it slightly cupped the tires both front and rear. I am sure that it won't happen again because of the changes made but I think I will just ride it and wear out the tires that I abused. (HA HA) If these are the only kind of problems that The Wing has I can live with it. Great Touring Bike, SC-Wing

Hello and welcome to the forum.

I feel UR pain Tiny. I still have the wobble at 35-45 MPH. Doesn't want to go away. I have read and been told to change to aftermarket steering head bearings as well. I hate to spend the money but on the other hand I would hate to not be able to ride should the unspeakable happen. I can't quite understand if this is a problem that Honda knows about and yet they don't/won't take care of it. Just doesn't make sense to a person that spends this much on their product.

Take the road less ridden.

My talks with Honda has resulted in the same thing, it's there. Doesn't explain why some are more noticeable (some badly) than others, my '09 doesn't feel like it's there, but I admittedly haven't gone looking for it. Many other bikes have a head shake too (mostly large touring bikes or large displacement cruisers), but others don't appear to have much if any at all. None of my sport bikes ever have/had it, nor did my ST1300. Vulcan Classic was very prone with throttle released, but not with the t/lock on, and worse with the w/s attached.

I have to ask again because my Wing has the wobble and I don't think of it as a problem more than a design trade off to achieve light steering response and good feel, much like a sportbike, the majority of which come with hydraulic steering dampners. The wobble will never get out of control unless you let go of the bars at a fairly slow speed when decelerating. As mentioned by several previous threads, owners are spending up to thousands of dollars to chase this issue. The only real way to address this issue is not tires, bearings, etc. It would entail a changing the suspension/frame relationship of fork rake and possibly lead (the offset distance of the front axle line to the centerline of the fork). The trade off will be slightly more sluggish steering response. There are plenty out there who would help you lighten your wallet but they aren't really fixing the core of the issue.

I am new to wings, but noticed the GW has no steering damper . Would this help this problem ?

I am new to wings, but noticed the GW has no steering damper . Would this help this problem ?

As of this date, I saw two company's which offer steering dampners for the Wing. I recall they were expensive and a Google search should get you the company names. I'm positive a dampner would help but if you are into quick steering, such as u-turns and figure 8's, dampners could make things a chore unless they have built in bypass valves like the Scotts dampners I use on my off road bikes.

I found a damper from Seeley that looks good and probably easy to install. What is the cost of replacing the steering bearings ? And it dosent sound like it (bearings) solves the problem entirely . I've had a damper on all of my last bikes ... BMW, Ducati etc. and never had a problem with low speed maneuvers. Seems like a no brainer :confused:

I found a damper from Seeley that looks good and probably easy to install. What is the cost of replacing the steering bearings ? And it dosent sound like it (bearings) solves the problem entirely . I've had a damper on all of my last bikes ... BMW, Ducati etc. and never had a problem with low speed maneuvers. Seems like a no brainer :confused:

The All Balls bearing is only about $40 +/- Labor ??????? That is what you really are asking. My hunch based on the labor cost at Manassas Honda would be a few hundred dollars. I has to be booked as at least a 2-3 hour job.

The All Balls bearing is only about $40 +/- Labor ??????? That is what you really are asking. My hunch based on the labor cost at Manassas Honda would be a few hundred dollars. I has to be booked as at least a 2-3 hour job.

So, maybe the best fix for this wobble would be the bearings and the damper?

I found a damper from Seeley that looks good and probably easy to install. I've had a damper on all of my last bikes ... BMW, Ducati etc. and never had a problem with low speed maneuvers. Seems like a no brainer :confused:

You should be fine then if you are used to the feel. I'm only talking about affecting the quick handlebar flips from side to side like the riders who do lots of cone patterns. Otherwise, I cannot see why the dampner shouldn't help. If you get good results, let us all know. The steering bearing upgrade has been hit and miss on the forums. I like the dampner approach as I do have them on all my bkes too, except the Wing.

Steering damper is one of the few upgrades I'm think of for the RC. 1000rr comes with one right out of the box, for a pretty good reason. I had a tank slapper on my 1200 and it was one of the scariest things I've ever had happen on a bike. Got out of it by adding throttle (I'd heard of it previously). Oscillations were rapid and increasing so I rolled hard on it and out she came. Would have been ugly I'm sure if I hadn't known. This is what can happen when it all goes bad big time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXPHDfKteik&feature=related

What happened on the Wing wasn't near that radical but the message is clear. Turned out that my fork brace was worn badly at the mounting holes; replaced it (stocker) with a Superbrace and it never happened again.

Well after spending $730aus on steering head bearings, 2 front brake rotors, rear swing arm bearings on my 95 GL1500 Goldwing and still having a front end wobble I did the last thing to do & that was spend another $202aus an replace the front tyre & you wouldn't believe it the wobble is no more.. Now it rides a smooth a silk, no more of the handle bars trying to pull themselfs out of my hands as I speed up to the speed limit of 60Kmh or when riding slow in traffic or when slowing down to stop at the lights, just smooth riding like it was before.... So if you suffer from this problem I would recomend you change the front tyre first even if it doesn't look worn it probberly is as mine look like it still had another 5,000kms left in it...