Shaking front end

[triumph2300owner]

I have a 09 rocket 3 touring. I hace noticed that at 30 to mph, if you let loose of the handlebars, there is a bad shaking of the front end . Checked the tire and all is good, has anyone else had this problem ? It can also be felt when in a curve at the same speed.

 

[TxRIIIRider]

Head stock bearings.. Have your dealer check the headstock bearings and make sure the headstock bearing retaining nut is torqued to specs and the lock nut is secure.

I have a RIII Standard.. but at 12,000 miles I had the same problem. I suspected the head stock bearings because I've experienced on older bikes. When I removed the top triple clamp, I found the retaining nut and it's lock nut to be loose. By loose, I mean they could spin freely!!!!!! I ended removing the front end.. cleaning and regreasing the bearings and torquing the retaining nut and tightening the lock nut over it.. and have not had a problem since.. I'm at 55,000+ miles now..

 

[Power-Tripp]

+1 on the headstock bearing.

 

[RocketDaryl]

Yes, likely the headstock bearing. That said, eliminate the easy fix first. You said the tire was fine, but does that include proper air pressure? My R3T did this within 24 hours of getting the bike. I automatically suspected the headstock bearing, but decided to check the air pressure for kicks and grins even though I really didn't think that would be the issue. Well, it was. The front tire was off by 8 lbs. Inflated it to proper pressure and shaking went a way. I called the dealer the next day and let them know about that and a few other items missed on the PDC.

FTR, the poor PDC prior to delivering my R3T was the only bad experience I've ever had with our dealer. It was straightened out, however, and all is good.

 

[dandiego]

I have a 09 rocket 3 touring. I hace noticed that at 30 to mph, if you let loose of the handlebars, there is a bad shaking of the front end . Checked the tire and all is good, has anyone else had this problem ? It can also be felt when in a curve at the same speed.

It "could" be the head bearings, but I'm guessing it's a bad front tire.

I also had those symptoms when I first got my 2009 R3T. The dealer thought it was a balancing issue but nothing helped. I brought up the issue in some R3T forums.

I suffreed through the shaking, especially in low-speed turns, until I replaced both tires during my recent 10K service. What a difference! I can now take both hands off the bars at 70 MPH and the bike will roll down the highway for miles. (Please don't bust me for that last comments.)

The tire was bad, and I beleive it was bad right from the manufacturer. Looking back--and I'd suggest you do this--I should have demanded a replacement from the dealer once he couldn't find/repair the problem.

On a side note, tires (car or bike) that sit around for a long time between manufacture and sale often have cupping issues. I learned that from the TireRack site. I'll bet that's your problem, too.

Good luck and let us know how this turns out.

 

[jerry a]

i have 08 r3 classic the front end shake started around 2500 miles took it back to the 3 times the last time it was a tire pressure issue bs i check my tires every week the bike has 6600 miles on it now front tire is cupped bad pulled that p.o.s metzler off and put on the dunlop d404 i had sitting here problem gone !!

 

[HellFire]

The tire may "look" okay, but it's not. There are lots of reasons a tire can cause vibration, but bottom line is that it's the only thing up there that can cause it since it's the only thing that spins. It could be out of balance, either static or dynamic. It could have a split in the casing or a slipped belt internally. Even simple slight cupping can cause a shake in the bars.

 

[Kmutt]

I have this same issue but not as bad. My tire pressure is okay. I check it regularly. Could be the headstock bearing. Now that I have my flipmeister stand I just might pull off the triple tree and check. But I suspected ever since the recall on the 08 R3T where they took off the bridgestone and put on the Metz that there was a difference in handling a little vibration that didnt exist with the bridgestones and some funky wobble stuff when I would corner slowly to the right. If mine isnt the headstock obviously the tire is the last check. Ill post when I find out.

mutt