I never thought I'd be posting about this pertaining to the GW, but here it is. Today, while out riding, I let go of handlebars completely. Yes, I'm VERY comfortable on this bike. While decelerating, once I get down to about 40 MPH, the handlebars start shaking, getting more violent as I slow down. As soon as I grab the bars it stops. I've never had this happen before while having both, or even one hand on the grips. Have any of you ever experienced this? Is this a mechanical problem with the bike? It was a bit unnerving...
Death Wobble
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grampi
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I agree this wobble is nowhere near as dangerous as the high speed wobbles mentioned here, but nonetheless, I still wouldn't want to go down because of it...
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It is a deceleration wobble only happening with your hands off the bars, yea it could be bad if you didn't put your hand back on the bars.
The death wobble has been clearly described here and you clearly have never experienced it, by your own admission. If you had, you would not describe the wobble you have, that can be stopped quite easily, easily prevented from even starting, a death wobble.
I did not call you a name, I described your condition.
I have the same condition, just not on this subject.
I was once the owner of a new 1977 BMW R100RS. I was trying to keep up with my friend on a very curvy local road. 80 mph (est.) into a sharp left hand sweeper. The handle bars suddenly started oscillating violently back and forth. Gas tank was moving 10 inches left to right. Terrifying. I let off the gas, gently braked, straightened her up and made it through the curve. Unforgettable Death Wobble. I really appreciate the sophisticated suspension on my 18 Airbag Wing!
1983 Kawasaki GPZ 1100, 1980 Suzuki GS1100, 1978 Kawasaki KZ 1000, 1973 Kawasaki Z1 900...all would wobble at high speeds especally with worn tires. I sold every one of those because I didn't like how they would wobble at high speeds..as I said it wasn't til 1984 Kawasaki 900 Ninja that I finally owned a motorcycle that didn't wobble at high speeds.
I also owned a '73 Z-1 and I had that bike to at least 130 many times...never experienced any wobble...also had a '79 CBX that never wobbled, also had a '70 Mach III Kawasaki 500 over 120 many times that never wobbled, and an '83 V-65 Magna which I had to an indicated 155 mph, also never wobbled...
Back in those days my friends and I would weld steel gussets in the steering head of the Kawasaki KZ 900 bikes of that era...we also would weld steel flat bar bent in a U shape to the bottom of the steel swingarm in an effort to improve stability and handling.
anyways, I had quite a few fast bikes in those days and for sure the frames in those days were nowhere near that of a modern bike...it really wasn't until 1984 that the Japanese makers really started making motorcycles that didn't wobble at high speeds...and talk about a decel wobble..my friends 1986 Yamaha FJ 1200..a Superbike that was known for handling, had such a violent decel wobble with your hands off the bars that it would crash if you didn't put your hands back on the bars..we simply never took our hands off the handlebars and the bike was just fine...
BTW..I almost bought the 1983 Honda V65 Magna..but bought the 1983 Kawasaki GPZ 1100 instead because I was young and just couldn't bring myself to ride a cruiser at that time dispite it being one of the fastest bikes made at the time...but I rode the V65 Magna quite a bit back then...the V4 engine was so torquey and so fast...we use to have a fun time drag racing that bike all the time back then..
the Mach 3..those 3 cylinder two strokes Kawasaki's were called the Widow maker and boy did I love the sound those 3 cylinder two strokes made...never rode a Mach 3 because they were before my riding time on the street, but I was riding behind a older H2 750 one time while doing a few runs with the guy and seen that bike go into a wobble at high speed..but lucky the guy pulled out of it..but the H2 750 was my dream bike when I was around 13.
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Had a buddy with a Kawasaki 900, can't remember the year but one time his went into a death wobble and he was well over 100 mph. We were all riding together and he was beside me when it started to wobble. I slowed way up and he was fighting it and finally lost it. He laid down on the seat with his head over the rear fender and he knew he was going down. The bike skidded on the pavement and he was right behind it. He ended up sliding on his back to the side of the road, over the top of an approach and flew into the ditch, luckily the ditch had a slough full of water and he landed and stopped in that.
I thought he was dead, and went wading into the water after him, he was laying face up and I was yelling at him and he opened his eyes and said "am i dead"? If we wouldn't have seen this happen, I wouldn't have believed it. His clothes on his back side were shreded and his helmet was ground down on the back side like you took a big grinder after it.
Insurance totaled it and the new bike had a sticker on the speedometer, Do not exceed 100 MPH.
I thought he was dead, and went wading into the water after him, he was laying face up and I was yelling at him and he opened his eyes and said "am i dead"? If we wouldn't have seen this happen, I wouldn't have believed it. His clothes on his back side were shreded and his helmet was ground down on the back side like you took a big grinder after it.
Insurance totaled it and the new bike had a sticker on the speedometer, Do not exceed 100 MPH.
I had a buddy in HS who had a '73 H2 that I used to take out for rides during lunch. The Kaw triples were called widow makers primarily because of their insane and abrupt power bands, but they were also poor handling bikes, and had lousy brakes, but I never experienced a death wobble on one. We used to describe their power deliveries as either bogging or boiling, which was 100% accurate. Many, if not most of today's sport bikes are faster, but their 4 stroke power bands are far more predictable which makes them less dangerous to ride...along with their better handling, better brakes, etc...oh yeah, my 500 Kaw had chambers (which really sounded bad a**), rejtted carbs, and K&N filters, which made it almost as quick as my buddy's stock H2...
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Yes bridge stones I'm on second set good high mileage tire
Definitely the front tire. Usually cupping caused by under inflation will cause a low speed wobble. You don't even feel it when a hand in on the bars..
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“Death wobble” common for honda motorcycles! Why they don’t put tapered bearings in the steering head of such an expensive bike I’ll never know!!
On my 06 wing I learned quickly to keep both hands on the bars! After some research I bought “all balls tapered head bearings” and never had a problem at any speed with wobble after that!
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All Balls steering head bearings solved my problem better than 100,000 miles ago. Honda said keep at least one hand on the bars. That did stop it, but I found that unacceptable. The mechanic at the dealership said ,off the record "all balls".
How was the bike loaded? How much weight in the saddlebags and trunk?
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My 2021B DCT did it with Bridgestone tires. It was VERY violent at 45mph. (Fade in at 40, gone at 50). Recently changed to Dunlop Elite 4's. Poof! Problem gone. (at least for now).
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Exactly how mine is. Decelerate though 50 with hands off the bars, starts at 50, violent at 45, gone at 40. Thanks for posting.
Makes me strongly suspect the Bridgestones. I do see some cupping on the front tire.
Time for new tires anyway, looks like Elite 4's will get ordered.
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Mine's a double darksider with a Bridgestone front and a Pirelli rear. Like I said, if it's the tires causing it, I'll live with it, I just want to make sure it's not the the steering head bearing...
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2,665 Posts
Hi Everyone,
The handlebars and tie rods on a 2018+ Goldwing need to be thought of as "remote controls" for the actual steering of your motorcycle, which is the giant "tuning fork" on the front of the bike. What you traditionally think of as "steering head bearings" are not at your handlebars. There is a set of giant bearings on the tuning fork that are the actual steering bearings.
We have seen only a couple of bike ever with those bearings loose. That is a possibility for a decel wobble on the new Wing, although statistically, it's almost unheard of.
So first, and most importantly... the tie rods on the 2018+ Wing have NOTHING TO DO WITH HOW THE FRONT WHEEL BEHAVES. They never have, and never will. If you ever have any wobbling or shaking going on, it is NOT THE TIE RODS.
The slop in the OEM tie rods is a nuisance, but not a safety hazard... unless you consider the lag in steering response from the slop as a safety hazard, which some might.
Virtually all decel wobbling bikes do so because the front fork is bottomed out and there is no effective suspension travel left. Any energy from anything on the pavement has to be transmitted somewhere, and since it can't go up into the bike, it will try and displace the wheel laterally, and a wobble starts.
While most bikes are undersprung, and ride at or near fully bottomed out anyway, when you add the force of engine braking, you push the nose of the bike down onto the tire, and start your own wobble.
To prove this point, most people are probably "testing" their bike for a wobble in 2nd or 3rd gear. Put your bike in 6th gear (or whatever your top gear is) and repeat the test, and the bike will likely not wobble at all. That's because you at least have taken away the engine braking force.
A simple set of fork springs would fix the 01-17 bike. For the 18+, because of the complexity of getting the shock out, it would be crazy to just try and change the spring and I don't know of one for sale anyway. Changing the shock to an aftermarket upgraded shock and spring will benefit you in a multitude of ways.
As far as putting car tires on a motorcycle, rear tires on fronts, backwards and forwards, any type of behavior out of the motorcycle is possible.
The handlebars and tie rods on a 2018+ Goldwing need to be thought of as "remote controls" for the actual steering of your motorcycle, which is the giant "tuning fork" on the front of the bike. What you traditionally think of as "steering head bearings" are not at your handlebars. There is a set of giant bearings on the tuning fork that are the actual steering bearings.
We have seen only a couple of bike ever with those bearings loose. That is a possibility for a decel wobble on the new Wing, although statistically, it's almost unheard of.
So first, and most importantly... the tie rods on the 2018+ Wing have NOTHING TO DO WITH HOW THE FRONT WHEEL BEHAVES. They never have, and never will. If you ever have any wobbling or shaking going on, it is NOT THE TIE RODS.
The slop in the OEM tie rods is a nuisance, but not a safety hazard... unless you consider the lag in steering response from the slop as a safety hazard, which some might.
Virtually all decel wobbling bikes do so because the front fork is bottomed out and there is no effective suspension travel left. Any energy from anything on the pavement has to be transmitted somewhere, and since it can't go up into the bike, it will try and displace the wheel laterally, and a wobble starts.
While most bikes are undersprung, and ride at or near fully bottomed out anyway, when you add the force of engine braking, you push the nose of the bike down onto the tire, and start your own wobble.
To prove this point, most people are probably "testing" their bike for a wobble in 2nd or 3rd gear. Put your bike in 6th gear (or whatever your top gear is) and repeat the test, and the bike will likely not wobble at all. That's because you at least have taken away the engine braking force.
A simple set of fork springs would fix the 01-17 bike. For the 18+, because of the complexity of getting the shock out, it would be crazy to just try and change the spring and I don't know of one for sale anyway. Changing the shock to an aftermarket upgraded shock and spring will benefit you in a multitude of ways.
As far as putting car tires on a motorcycle, rear tires on fronts, backwards and forwards, any type of behavior out of the motorcycle is possible.
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16,031 Posts
I’ve never experienced a decel wobble on the 18 wing running the G852/853 Bridgestones, the 423 Dunlops, and the Dunlop Elite 4’s.
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