New front avon cobra and a shimmy

Tires, tires, tires....Just got my new 2015 R3T after my 2013 was totaled. I was running the Excedra Max on the front and rear of my 2013 and overall, I liked them. I have to say that now I'm back on the stock Metz front and rear on my 2015, there is a world of difference with the handling.

With the Metz I noticed the new bike feels way lighter and responsive. The Max gives the bike a noticeably more heavy feel and the handling is not as quick. Just my observation going from one to the other. The front Max may be making the difference in the feel. I don't want to do the Avon on the front because it is a bias tire. I may try sticking with the Metz on the front and the Bridgestone on the rear in the future. I already have a new Max for the rear as I bought it before the accident. I've never had a shimmy problem except on my Harley.
 
Well it looks like the problem has to be the tire or the installation of it. Just to rule out the steering bearings, I stayed up late last night and adjusted them. They were already where I would have set them if they were loose but I went ahead and tightened a bit more just to be sure there was no possible slop. Took it for a ride this morning and there is no difference at all except that I can tell the bearings are to tight now. I thought the preload felt good before I changed anything but now I know it's definitely not a loose headstock. Will be changing it back this morning and looking at the tire installation as the problem. In the responses to this thread I see there are some of you that had trouble with these tires as well and I'm hoping it's something that can be fixed and not a tire design issue that doesn't get along with my bike because I really like the tire with its white wall.
 
Well, all this makes me wonder if maybe I ought to stick with Metzler! Such a lack of choices...and I really want to stay with radials.
 
I don't know if Touring vs Roadster has anything to do with this. Mines a 05 standard n I have the 140 size Cobra on n it is smooth as a baby's arse. I switched from balance beads to the Ride-On sealant/balancing product n now it's smoother than ever.
Also, obviously, you should make sure the bead "seated" properly ALL THE WAY AROUND the rim. If not that could be the cause of your problems
 
rocketjohn said:
Well, all this makes me wonder if maybe I ought to stick with Metzler! Such a lack of choices...and I really want to stay with radials.
Click to expand...

Metzzler was worse for me, your results may vary. You may just have a bad tire or bad balance, hard to say.
 

Try Ride-On Tire Balancer and Sealant. Had it put in both my new front and back Avon Cobras. Man what a difference to the handling...
 
Ok, so in getting things pulled back apart I was moving the front end back and forth, using the tire for greatest sensitivity, just off center feeling the resistance and preload. While doing this very slowly and with care I felt a definite notch in the bearing when wheel was strait ahead.I thought the steering had felt a little weird in the last month but thought it was my imagination. It would feel sticky sometimes leaning into a turn but couldn't replicate it when I pulled over to check it. I doubt this is what is causing the shimmy because it wasn't there before the tire Change. So now I know I need to Change the steering bearings. The factory bearings are marked KOYO Japan. I am a timken man if I can get them
 
Well you're going at it right by eliminating one variable, that by your own admission, may have been a problem prior to the tire change and the new tire just exacerbated the problem. I doubt it's the tire, although I do remember a thread about a bad batch of Avons? I have one on the front and it's about 10 times better than the Metz and smooth as silk.
My guess is that the tire installation was done incorrectly. I have seen this a couple of times where the torque sequence on the "U-bolts" clamping the axle was incorrect and it reeked havoc with the front end until they were released and re-torqued correctly. So if your new triple tree bearings don't correct the problem, get the weight off the front tire and release and re-torque. Sounds crazy but I've seen it before?
 
Hope you get it sorted out. I had slow speed front wheel shimmy on my 05 that I could not resolve no matter what I did, that is until I put the bridgestone excedra 130/70 on. That fixed it. I also have the excedra max on the rear. I am still puzzled why that worked but I'll take it. Even though the the bike was rideable with the shimmy it was annoying as hell. When I come up to my house I like to take my hands off the bars to remove my gloves and stuff them against the windshield so I can press the garage door opener. With the shimmy I had to get that job done before it went into a tank slapper.
 
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