On a final note, I recently changed the tyres on my Yamaha 900 Diversion...... And guess what... I now have a wobble at much the same speed as the S'wing, though no problem unless you let go of the handlebars, or if you just have one hand on the bars you notice it a bit more...... The tyres are properly balenced, tyre pressure OK, and the handling of the bike is now super improved to what it used to be.... A mere gentle pressure on the handlebars initiates a lean and it seems with far less "turning" or "steering" effect of the handlebars to get around those corners. It's like riding on rubber marbles rather than tyres.....! I reckon that the wobble is due to the fact that with new tyres with a full curved profile (and quite a flat one at that) as opposed to a worn tyre's squared off one have more room to allow the wheel to oscillate at that critical speed.

The tyres are by Maxxis and a fair bit cheaper than the competition..... £125 for a pair. (17 inch VR rated) That is a good £20 to £80 cheaper than any of the other top brands (Pirelli, Bridgestone, Metzeler, Dunlop, Michelin etc) They are superb! It's like riding a different bike...... Will have to see if they make them to fit my S'wing when my Michelin front and bridgestone rear wear out....

Bernardo,

That particular tire was on the rear of my SilverWing and surprisingly did not give any indication of failure right up until it came apart. Kim noticed a little bit of a ride change out of hers and we stopped before hers came apart.

Read the saga here: http://www.silverwing600.com/safety-section-f11/dunlop-scootline-sx01-tires-t48.htm

Now for a photo of the front tires that developed the same problem:



I did notice a wobble out of these guys.

Read it here: http://www.silverwing600.com/safety-section-f11/dunlop-scootline-sx01-tires-pt-ii-t404.htm

Both bikes now have Bridgestone Hoops on them and I have noticed no "wobble" similar to what others have described in this thread.

Woah... That must have been one wobble.....! But best of all is reading about how everything turned out OK and no-one hurt..... It goes to show that it pays to be careful about ones tyres and check them frequently. Thanks for sending in the pictures...

I have put new Hyper Pro progressive springs in the front end and new
tires and it still has not cured the problem. The dealer in
Mechanicsburg Pa. says that they can't do anymore about it and I have
now contacted Honda HQ's. I am going to have another dealer look
at it and then Honda can decide what they want to do. I will keep you
filled in.

Thank you! I'm just about ready to contact Honda myself. I'm waiting on new Michelin tires to try and then see about it. I don't even want to ride the bike anymore - it's gotten so bad. Thank you!

Dale,

That is sure some defect. I'm glad no one was injured at all. What kind of tires are you going to use now. I use the Pirelli Diablo and really like them. This is my second set after the stock Hoops. Good luck.

Jeff,

We have Hoops on them now front and rear. I have always been satisfied with the Hoops and the only reason we used the Dunlops was availability. At the time we installed them we just could not get hoops at all.

Hi Pete,

Bearings....after that many miles. It would be a good thing to look into. Do you have a shop manual to read? Also check your brake rotors to be sure they are not warped.

DennisB

If you're Silver Wing is over 2 years old and no matter what you do it still has a persistent wobble at 25-35 mph then the teeth in your rear wheel that hold the rear wheel to the drive spline are rusted out. When you bolt a rear wheel with rusted out teeth to your Silver Wing the wheel will bolt on lopsided and cause a wobble at 25-35 mph. The naked eye can not tell the difference so if you suspect that your rear wheel is bolted on lopsided then put your Silver Wing on the center stand stand then rev it up. If the rear wheel bounces up and down at high speeds then that means that it is bolted on lopsided and it is the sole cause of your wobble. The only thing you can do buy a new rear wheel for $418. Before you spend that much money mosey on over to the Honda place and ask them to inspect your rear wheel teeth to see if they are rotted out and untrue. If they are rusted out then your rear wheel will always bolt on lopsided now how much you try to bolt it on straight. Have the Honda place put a new rear wheel on to the drive spline and ask them to replace any bearings if needed. If you ever take the rear wheel of yourself then when you bolt it back on to the drive spline coat it with lots and lots of axle grease to help prevent rust in the future.

Hi Pete,

What a Bummer! Sounds like somewhere in the bikes history a pressure washer was used on the scooter and water got into places that it should not be. That happens all the time. Pressure washers should be avoided at all cost when cleaning the scooter.

The only wobble I have is me not the Swing, that may change as I am having new hoops installed. ya'll got me worried now! Maybe should have kept the old ones even with the cuts across the center of the tires.

the only time i had a problem with wobble was when i had my rear tire replaced while on a trip. i was in decatur ill. and noticed the rear tire needed replaced as i was heading back to georgia and rain was predicted.
i stopped at the local honda shop in decatur and purchased a new rear tire.
on the way back never felt anything thru illinois due to the crappy roads, but as soon as i got kentucky i felt the wobble. when i got home i called the dealership in decatur ill. and found out that they dont balance SCOOTER TIRES, lol, had the tire balanced in georgia where i bought it and it is fine. if you are ever in decatur ill. please avoid the honda dealership there for your own safety.

Jim, That sounds like some sound advice.

I balance my own tires on my GW and plan to on my SW. It's pretty simple to hand balance the tires. On the front tire you can do it by removing the brake caliper from the wheel so it can turn freely when the front of the bike is blocked up off the floor a bit. Just give it a spin, mark the top with chalk when it stops and do it a few more times. Stick a 1/4oz. weight to the middle of the area where the chalk marks cluster and spin again. Once you find the chalk marks ending up randomly around the tire it's in balance. I do the same with the rear wheel by making a U shaped balancing stand out of a couple 2X4s with notches in the upper ends. Sit the stand with the upper ends upward, sit the axles in the notches with the wheel clear of the wood uprights and balance the same way as you did the front wheel. This method is accurate enough that I have no vibration in my GW at 100+mph. You can usually get wheel weights from tire stores. I usually go to Les Schwab tire stores and ask if I can buy a few weights. If you only want half a dozen or so usually they'll give you a handful.

Bumping this as I think it pertains to my problem, possiby?

Pete H wrote: "If you're Silver Wing is over 2 years old and no matter what you do it still has a persistent wobble at 25-35 mph then the teeth in your rear wheel that hold the rear wheel to the drive spline are rusted out. When you bolt a rear wheel with rusted out teeth to your Silver Wing the wheel will bolt on lopsided and cause a wobble at 25-35 mph. The naked eye can not tell the difference so if you suspect that your rear wheel is bolted on lopsided then put your Silver Wing on the center stand stand then rev it up. If the rear wheel bounces up and down at high speeds then that means that it is bolted on lopsided and it is the sole cause of your wobble. The only thing you can do buy a new rear wheel for $418."
My wing has something, not quite like the wobble discussed by most on the coast-down with no hands. Mine is more evident at lower speeds, but still noticeable at higher speeds. It is not very fast, like a "shimmy", but slower, and feels more like the center of gravity of my scoot keeps shifting and I constantly have to correct for it, say every second, or second-and-a-half.
Could this problem with the rear wheel rust causing the wheel to not be bolted on straight be the culprit? Or does anyone else have any ideas?
(Remember, my scoot is rebuilt from a front end collision. Frame was bent straight back, and straightened back out, almost to original specs, but not quite. I was told by the seller that there was no sideways distortion.)
Thanks,
TxSwingrider64

OK. Finally got time to tear down the silverwing and replaced the bent steering stem and stem bearings. Installed the new hyperpro springs, while I was at it. Wow! My silverwing rides like new! No more wobble!

Doug: Sounds like a pretty big job. Can you amplify on what it entailed?

Not me Ted, twas the original poster who carried out the work.

Comes from reading too fast. How about it Swingrider64?

Ted,
I purchased my silverwing used a few months ago (cheap). It had been wrecked and rebuilt. When I first bought it, I thought the slight wobble I felt (mostly at lower speeds) was due to my not having ridden in about 20 years. Later found out that the steering stem had been bent back and attempted to be straightened. It still had some bend to it, and I noticed slack in the steering bearings. I attempted to tighten the bearings, but couldn't get all the slack out. Long story short, I ordered a new steering stem and bearings, and the hyperpro springs as well. (My front end felt soft and would bottom out on any serious bump or dip).
The job was fairly involved, as I had to remove the front cover (headlight section) as well as several other pieces of tupperware just to get to it. Then I removed the front wheel and front forks. Then the steering stem and bearings. Replaced in reverse order, and back on the road again!
I meant to take pictures, both for posting on the forum, and as an aid to my being able to reassemble correctly, but I left my camera at our apartment. Sorry!
Oh, one advantage of changing the steering stem out was that I could use the old one to clamp in my bench vice and then reinstall the fork tubes into the fork clamps to hold them still for me! (Think I'll keep that part around, in case I ever change my springs again!)
Thanks,
Tracy