Death Wobble

[razorback13]

Ok was riding the bike this morning going around a corner with a small grove in it at 45-50 mph . The front end went into a wobble and I mean death wobble . I couldn't control it shook so bad it snapped one of the antennas off . Super lucky didn't go down been riding over 40 years never experienced anything like this very scary !

[cranky]

.. too late now, but I've read - an it was demonstrated, when that
happens, lay down on the "tank", changing the geometry of the
scoot will stop it... it's a harmonic, disturb it and it goes away...
Glad you can type about it!!!! ... now go clean the seat!!! GBG

[razorback13]

I had a "Death" grip on the Handle bars . Seen videos of this but never experienced it it never stopped the wobble until it was completely stopped . It was like the whole bike was doing it not just the front . I'm not itching to get back on it .

[ekap1200]

So this bike is new to you ? There are sure plenty of things to look over. Do you have a place to work on it ? There is also a frame section on the right side that can be loose also. You may need to dig deep to find the cause. Start out with getting the manual and getting familiar with the workings of the bike. Most wobbles are usually noticed only on decel at or about 30 mph. But with the high speed wobble I would be looking at the obvious first then the frame bolts and steering bearing and race condition . This is the worst case I have heard of here on the forum. Give us some more info and your level of skill so we can be of better help to you. With over 40 years of riding you have got to have some fair level of skill in looking things over.
Gene K.

[ekap1200]

You may also benefit by becoming a paid member which will give you more search options on front end and wobble issues from within the forum's long history of knowledge on these bikes. There are quite a few of us here, who have made a good living off of being mechanics... Some of us are slow learners but have had a long time of learning a few things
So how is the weather in Arizona , Up here in the north east , this time of year you need a heated shop to do any work or perish in the cold damp workshop. Don't fear taking off the plastic parts , once you do it ; just one time ; its easy to do.
Oh - we do like pictures, it gives us a better perspective of the condition of the bike your working on.. And how the previous owner did or did not take care of it. Some of these Voyagers that look like they are new have seen 100,000 of more miles of road under them. It is not uncommon to go far over 100k without serious work done as long as they are not abused or neglected.
Gene Kap.
And welcome to the AVA.....

[cranky]

... tires, tire pressure and wheel runout / trueness would be my start.....

I did the laydown trick and it pulled my scoot out of it.. I had a 1500
Vulcan with a darkside tire and the frame was too week to handle it,
went by a semi on a curve and a cross wind and I almost had a heart
attack!!! GBG Yup, scares the crap outta Ya!!!!!!

And YES, the whole bike is shaking, not just the front.... it's
a harmonic and the laydown disturbs it.... it works!!!!

[cushman eagle]

My '99 would go into a mild wobble in the 30-40 MPH range,as has been said,when I got it.
The forum told about the weakness of the Dunlop 404,which my bike had ,and checking the steering head bearing adjustment.I corrected both,and that took care of most of that
Front tire pressure needs to be correct also.
I found the Dunlop E-4 needs 35-40 LBS,to eliminate the light wobble at that speed,where the E-3 was good at 32LBS.
Let us know what you find!

[Mr Jensee]

Like Gene says check the frame for loose bolts. Make sure you have some quality tires on the bike. Plenty of people here can recommend some good ones. After that check and tighten your steering stem. You can find a number of videos on You Tube for the Voyager XII and one on there will show you how. I had a wobble, it wasn't a death one but scary enough since no other bike I ever owned had done this. Changing to E3 Dunlop tires and tightening the steering stem fix it. I hope you find the problem. The bike is too good to become scared of it.

[starrider]

Had the dreaded wobble on both 2002 and 2003 XII's. Mostly low speed but also experienced at higher speeds. Did all the afore mentiones items. Also spoke with Carl and he had me try increasing head bearing preload. Finally tore the head bearing out. Could feel a slight catch in the races with my finger nail. Could feel no catch when turning the handlebars. New stem bearings finally did the trick for me.

[ekap1200]

Had the dreaded wobble on both 2002 and 2003 XII's. Mostly low speed but also experienced at higher speeds. Did all the afore mentiones items. Also spoke with Carl and he had me try increasing head bearing preload. Finally tore the head bearing out. Could feel a slight catch in the races with my finger nail. Could feel no catch when turning the handlebars. New stem bearings finally did the trick for me.

That is a great way of explaining the feeling , that is why I say ,after looking at the obvious , before you start playing with the adjustment. ( UNLESS YOU FIND IT LOOSE ) you need to visually inspect the cone's and cups for the wear at where they mostly reside while your riding. Go over the check list of the items to look into first and if you find nothing go further. It is not a rotating assembly and will get slight ( woop-de-do's ) in the cup's. One can mess around and go up and down with the bearings adjustment. And still end up with a wobble. Take it apart and look It probably needs to have some clean water proof grease added if you have quite a bit of miles on the bike anyhow... And if the bike is one that is just new to you. Someone may have tightened the bearing up , now if it is worn and tightened up it is more likely to wobble at a higher speed as you are getting...

AS Tony from Toledo quotes " 90% of the job is getting started "

[HarryL]

I had a strange experience on my 03 that was the opposite of a wobble.
I first noticed that something was wrong when I couldn't hold a straight line when in a long sweeping curve.
Then one day while out riding, I could not keep the bike running straight. I was going all over the lane riding like a drunk man. I was able to finally get home and after disassembly, I found that the bottom stem bearing was totally dry.
I always washed the bike at home, rode in very little rain, and never used a high pressure wash. I think Kawa skimped on the grease as the bike was not that old when it happened.
New bearings with lots of grease made it right.

[ekap1200]

Hello MIke//// Have you had any time to locate your trouble yet ?
Gene

[razorback13]

Actually sold the bike explained to the new owner the problem . He has owned 4 voyagers and was very familiar with them . This was my second voyager and both the front end did not feel right . 1st one was like new I could never keep it in a straight line . Second one felt fine until the death wobble kinda put me off on the Voyager at this point .