[Graves]

I was just reading the thread about the idle surge/stalling and felt compelled to comment on the wobble.

As with most of you my Wing came with the Dunlops, and after 8K miles they were toast. I’ve always liked Bridgestones so I bought the 704 and 709.

Before I get too far into this I’ll start by saying that many of the motorcycles I’ve had over the years had a front end wobble when the hands were off the bars, and most, if not all, of them were cured with tires. I ride in the dirt as well as the street, even did some desert racing to the point of being a nationally ranked B rider, so a little movement in the chassis doesn’t concern me too terribly much. Bikes just do that.

Back to the Wing tires.

The Bridgestones are specifically designed for the wing, so are the Dunlops, but I find it very interesting that the Dunlop website recommends a different tire that what came as OE. ??? After fitting the Bridgestones I had to completely relearn how to ride this bike. The tires feel much more lively, required substantially less lean angle for a given corner, the bike now rolls with less effort and no more headshake. After a 1K two up ride up the Coast Highway last weekend I’m totally confident that as long as these tires are available, they will be the tires for my Wing. In retrospect all I can say about the Dunlops is that they felt like I was riding on flat tires, and I’m wondering if the Dunlops are actually overloaded when put under the Wing’s girth.

Just my $0.02 worth.

 

[Chopin]

I wanted Stones but had to settle for Metz. They are new and feel great. We will see how I talk about them in a few thousand miles.

 

[RKP000]

Graves,
Very good info. I am going to look hard at Stones when I have to replace the OEM Dunlops.
Rob

 

[joe in calif]

I have ran Dunlops as long as I can remember but my last tire change I went with Bridge stones but I went with the 702 on the rear (70 series instead of the 60), now my speedo is right on with my GPS. I also think the grip the road a lot better and are a lot quieter

 

[budoka]

Interesting post Graves. When I spoke with a tech at Honda yesterday he told me that the Wings have a wobble trait, and not really anything will cure it completely, it's just there. This may sound a bit goofy, but in reality, why would you let go of the bars while slowing down anyway? As you mentioned most bikes will shake their head a bit with no hands on the bars so it's a bit of a non issue. There's a significant amount of stress placed on our tyres on Wings, and we need to be vigilant on the feedback we get from them. We as riders are responsible for our machines and their upkeep/maintenance, no-one else.

 

[Two Wheel Wing]

Sometimes I think I am either in the minority or just extreemly lucky, but I've never had a Wing that wobbled... I don't dispute that they do, I'm just saying I've never had one that did. Not my 98 nor my 09. I've not had to replace tires on my 09, but on my 98 I always replaced them with whatever came as stock when I bought the bike. I've got 8k on my 09 and will probably be looking at new tires in the spring, so it will be interesting to see what happens. Unless convinced otherwise I'll probably put the OEM's back on her. Time will tell. Ride safe..

 

[Dookoo]

I've always found that new tires always feel better than the worn out ones they've replaced, both cars, streetbikes, and dirt bikes.

 

[sail51228]

Honda has difficulty admitting they make mistakes. My VTX wobbled and I had the steering bearings replaced with tapered bearings and the wobble disappeared. My GL1800 started to wobble and I had the bearings replaced with tapered bearings. Amazingly, the wobble disappeared. I know many other Honda riders who did the same thing and cured their wobble. I also noticed that the tires seems to last longer.

 

[budoka]

Agree with you Sail about Honda and admitting things that should be better. Some of the guys here have heard me rant about it, and I'm constantly on my DSM's case about things and he's actually on my side for the most part. Unfortunately his higher ups don't always listen to what he feeds back from the dealers. Wings could use an update on the inner guts of the forks which would in all likelyood eliminate some of the wobble and give us even better handling. But what do we know right?

 

[cloud09]

I read alot on this forum about the wing wobble, i ride with 5-6 fellow Winger's and speak with a few others south of me and yet to find one wobble issue! From what i can gather our Aussie bikes comes standard with Bridgestones 704 & 709s.... i know per capitor we have shat load more roundabouts than the US and also the camber of our roads are a little more than usual, Im probably a little luckier than lads down south as in the top end of Aus the roads are longer & straighter then most...

 

[Dookoo]

I rode a friend of mine's Wing who said they had wobble. I noticed a slight oscillation when I let my hands off the bars at about 35 mph like he told me. It was nothing which was worrywome. Does this progress into something worse?

 

[wrmjax]

My dad owns a 2010 GL with dunlops. His wobble is gotten worse. The speeds from 40-35 mph are what concerns him. I have noticed that I have the wobble in those speeds also. My dad and I's bike are still under warrnety. Wiill Honda work with us and replace the tires with the Bridgestones? My dad is not one to be put off by anyone and he has already moved up to the district manager to get a straight answer from him. He is waiting for a phone call back. The other question I have is if there were enough people from the same model years gathered together with a letter from an attorney, would honda listen then and replace the tires with Bridgestones under warrnety? I am still under a 1000 miles on my bike. I just got it two weeks ago.

 

[budoka]

Tyres (it doesn't matter if it's a car, truck, bike, whatever) are covered by the manufacturer of the tyre, not the vehicle warranty. If they are Bridgstones, Dunlops, whatever, it is up to them to determine whether the tyres are replaceable, and at what extend of coverage. This is stated in the vehicle warranty booklet that dealers are 'supposed' to give each customer at the time of sale; page 9 of the 2010 booklet. Dealers may help contact the maufacturer if they have that information available, but are not bound by it, sorry. As for forming a group and pursuing legal/civil or class action steps, I'm no lawyer, but it takes time, effort, and MONEY to do this. If your father has spoken to the DSM and has had no response, then contact Honda USA customer service. Their number is posted above in the Honda Numbers thread. It's not on the listing anymore, but do a forum search for "Honda Numbers" and it will turn up. Joe in Calif posted the Honda USA # and I posted the Honda Canada #

 

[wrmjax]

Thanks for the info budoka. I knew the attorney route would be long and hard. Just thought with enough signatures and a attorney letter might wake honda up.Kinda the squeeky wheel gets the oil ya know? Well once again thank you for the response.