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Shimmy in Handlebars

6K views 36 replies 9 participants last post by  KTMgeezer 
#1 ·
I'm experiencing a slight shimmy in the handlebars if/when I take my hands off the bars. I don't recall the bike doing this in the past. It seems to be more noticeable at slower speeds. I just replaced the front rotors and pads due to pulsing, and was hoping that would fix the shimmy, but it didn't. I did put a new front tire on last year. I took it off over the winter and had it balanced again at a local shop. That didn't do anything either. I don't recall the bike doing this before I put the new front tire on. Is it possible the tire is out of round or something? Any help is much appreciated. Thanks.
 
#2 ·
Out of round is obviously easy to check by spinning wheel while placing a pointer close to the tread.
Might be something with the tire but I'd tighten the steering head bearings first. Takes 5 minutes ... we have had many reports of the bike settling down after snugging the bearings. Plenty of mentions in the search feature. I did mine inside a thousand miles. Good luck
 
#3 ·
Things I’d check in addition to the steering head bearings… tire pressure too high and suspension preload settings particularly the rear. If it’s sagging too much in the rear, it’ll lighten the load on the front tire causing a shimmy - usually that’s felt at higher speeds. Also fork tube height in the triple clamp - I dropped my fork tubes flush with the top of the triple clamp to stabilize the bike at higher speeds. I realize you said slower speeds though…
 
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#4 ·
The above is a timely post for me. When coming to a stop or riding over a particularly rough patch of road I would occasionally notice unwanted handlebar shake/stuttering but no actual clunking which had always been the most obvious clue that the steering head bearings were too loose. With my 2015 SDR (22,600 miles, I'm the second owner) raised off of the floor on an ABBA Skylift I could not detect any front to back slop, but I decided to dig deeper which took about five minutes. Started with a 45 Torx bit to loosen both of the top fork tube pinch bolts, and then a 27 mm box end wrench to loosen the steering stem bolt. The adjuster nut (underside of the yoke) is obviously designed for a pin wrench but the ones I have that were the right size to fit the holes in the adjuster nut were too bulky to maneuver, fortunately the pin holes are 15/64 in diameter and may be 1/4 inch deep, perfect for a pin drift/punch or drill bit. The collar was very loose, guessing at least 30 to 40 degrees to snug up the adjusting nut after that I backed it off a few degrees. Tightened the three bolts and went for a test drive, the steering/handling was impeccable as it should be. Quick and easy fix assuming you have the 45 Torx and box end wrench.
 
#14 ·
Hey Bigman! Your issue is most likely loose steering head bearing but, fwiw, Pirelli Angel 2 front tires also can weave slightly and produce a similar effect.

I think it's safe to say that it is a characteristic of the GT. Perhaps the steering stem/ bearing tolerances were designed for a 440 lbs. Super Duke instead of the GT's 517 lbs.? Regardless, I would like to share that a long 45 torx is needed to torque the "collar screw" that secures the nut on a SDGT. A standard socket hits the fuel tank.
 
#12 ·
You might have a GT ... can't speak for the R but the GT does not have that nut? Tighten with the big nut directly under the handlebar... of course you still need to relax the top triple tree bolts AND the pinch bolt on the triple tree just below the "big nut" previously mentioned. Must have front of bike raised - I push/pull on forks to see if there is any slop but also fine tune by tightening a bit then turn bars lock to lock. It's a feel thing, too tight and your bike will not self center while riding.
Should move easily lock to lock, not stiff. Handy to have a soft mallet or dead blow hammer to loosen forks, tap the top tree.
 
#16 ·
Many new motorcycles, or motorcycles with new head bearings & races, will benefit from a re-torque after a short duration. It’s just a result of the low pre-load needed on the bearings, they don’t need to settle much to need a small snug up after say 1-2k miles from new. It’s not a “GT setup” thing at all. (y)
 
#17 · (Edited)
I know folks who have bought many and diverse brands of new bikes and these Super Dukes are the first ones I'v e heard of with so many documented cases of loose head bearings. In fact, I can't remember any other brand with a single case. Trebor, have you experienced loose head bearings in a new bike with any other brand?
 
#18 ·
Never when new, yes, on all my new motorcycles I noticed the tiniest bit of slop after the first few 1,000 miles. Not a lot, but just enough to notice it if you know what to look for. Slightest clunk through the bars when going over a speed bump at very slow speeds.

Honda CB1000R
Kawasaki ZX-10R
KTM SDR

My599 (Hornet) was second hand and I noticed worn out/rusty head bearings after about a year of ownership! 😂
 
#20 ·
Where is the contradiction? I don’t see it.

Let me say it slightly differently, new head bearings (regardless of age of bike) will tend to bed in a little over the first 1000 miles, and a little slop or looseness can develop. With the exception of 2 second hand motorcycles I’ve owned in my life, I only mentioned 1 above, all mine have done it. It’s not specific to KTM and isn’t a knock against them specifically.

One that initial ~1000mi is done they rarely need tightening again for quite a long time. In the UK head bearings “wear out” due to rain and water and corrosion, in my experience, since moving to California, I’ve had no problems with worn out head bearings, yet.

I have friends who claim to never have had an issue. It’s just my experience.
 
#21 ·
I'll share. I bought my SDGT w/ 6,000 mi. on it. The steering head bearings became loose a couple of thousand miles later and have needed regular retightening every 4-5k mi. since then. I have even taken the forks off and cleaned, inspected, and repacked the steering head bearings with new grease and the problem still persists. I use a torque wrench every time. There have been threads where this has been discussed. There seem to be an above average number of owners with similar stories. I've never owned a bike that needed this many steering head adjustment.
 
#31 · (Edited)
Let’s extend the quote a little further to put it into context?

”Never when new, yes, on all my new motorcycles I noticed the tiniest bit of slop after the first few 1,000 miles.”
Yeah I could have worded it a little better, but I still don’t think it’s that un-clear is it?

So when the bike is NEW, as in off the dealer forecourt, I’ve never experienced any play in the head bearings. Just to clarify, in case others have experienced this on a “0-mile” motorcycle. I have no experience of this. Normally they are good front eh factory.
However on my 3 brand new motorcycles, they tend to loosen up just a little bit after the first few 1000 miles. (It’s not new anymore, they were new, but not after a 1000 miles+)

Things like this are why they have a shortened ~600 mile service interval for the first service.

@Hammerhead I hope that helps clear-up my poorly written sentence there for ya bud? (y)
 
#23 ·
I don't know much about motorcycles mechanically but if the steering head bearings are the cone type bearing, then torquing them is overtightening them. Cone type bearings should not be tightened. They should have a slight preload applied that is done by feel.
On older cars I worked on that use cone type bearings for rear wheel bearings, it is quite normal to have slight play. You adjust new bearings to no play by feel, but a few k's down the road, the bearings settle and you will have a little play. It is preferable to have slight play than no play at all as being too tight causes premature wearing to a point where the play can't be adjusted out anymore and the bearing cone starts to pit.
 
#25 ·
The only options I found were from All Balls (US) and a seller (showperformance) from across the pond selling NTN steering bearings made in Japan. I ordered the NTN nine days ago and they should arrive within the next month or so showeperformance on eBay.
NTN Steering Bearings & Seals Kit for KTM 1290 Super Duke R 2014 - 2016



Condition:
NewNew

Quantity:
4 available / 1 sold


Price:
C $41.32
Approximately US $31.61
 
#26 · (Edited)
Geezer, if I wasn't such a homophobe I'd kiss ya!
Thanks for this .... makes me wonder why I assumed that nuthin existed? To all you bearing adjusters out there - get these and you will be done with any steering problems.
Tapered bearings last hundreds of thousands of miles on your auto wheels, these are indestructible in a steering head.
Just have to be sure they fit my 17 GT?
 
#29 ·
Geezer, if I wasn't such a homophobe I'd kiss ya! Thanks for this .... makes me wonder why I assumed that nuthin existed? To all you bearing adjusters out there - get these and you will be done with any steering problems.
Tapered bearings last hundreds of thousands of miles on you auto wheels and are indestructible in a steering head.
Just have to be sure they fit my 17 GT?
You are certainly welcome. When I found out how much my steering head bearings needed to be tightened, I knew they had to go, and (depending on application) caged rollers are intrinsically much stronger and more durable than ball bearings, that's why they are used on automobile front wheels like you mentioned. I was hesitant to post the link for the Japanese bearings because of the negative reviews on that seller, but I checked before posting and my order cleared Chicago a few days ago, so should have it in next few days.
 
#36 ·
I've always adjusted tapered rollers by tightening the nut until you feel a "bite" then backing off a half-turn. Pack 'em as you would any other bearing; push as much grease as possible into the gap in the races and on the rollers themselves. I've known some people to use them as defacto steering dampers, overtightening to inhibit movement. Accelerates wear, but it can be done. Tapered bearings can take this sort of abuse much better than regular rollers.
 
#37 ·
The steering head bearings, races, etc. for my 2015 SDR arrived from GB yesterday, 15 days is not bad. Tore into it a couple of hours ago (I didn't remove handlebars, headlight nacelle or anything else I didn't need to).
I had thought I had ball bearings because of how loose the steering was and had read somewhere that they could be ball or tapered. The stock bearings in my bike are caged tapered/roller SKF (made in Brazil), I'm a big fan of SKF and pay extra for them over GM, etc. for my Chevy. The bearings appeared well greased and to have nothing at all wrong with them, but had everything all apart and new bearings from Japan so I went for it. To pack grease into caged roller bearings I put a golf ball size glop of grease into the palm of my hand, with the other hand I grab a bearing with the small end up and scrape off grease into the larger side of the bearing and continue several times around the bearing until grease comes out the small end of the bearing consistently all around, then smear grease around the roller side and race. Include are a couple of pictures showing what it should look like. Also shown is the grease I used, not indorsing it but an internet search showed a few favorable opinions, I will say that it is very water and soap resistant because I still haven't been able to get it all off of my hands. The packing is not exactly fun but I have to admit it was somewhat strangely satisfying.
 
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