Handle bar shimmy on 05 LT.

[SWABoeing737700]

I just picked up my 2005 LT this weekend.Very nice.. :)

I noticed that if i take my hands off of the handle bars they suddenly start to shimmy and after about one second the front wheel starts to as well.

So..Ok..I dont make a habit of driving around with no hands on the grips but it was a little scary.

Is this normal for an LT with only 1200 miles? :confused:

MLB

[tbarstow]

Check your tire pressures. The bars will wobble as the front tire wears scallops in it from highspeed cornering when you take your hands off the bars.

FYI - search the Hall of Wisdom for items you have questions on.

[jhsonderb]

My '07 had a shimmy when it was new which the dealer could not fix. Dealer claims it is attributable to the change in rake of the paralever suspension for '05 and up. I just put new tires on at 12,800 miles hoping it would go away but it didn't. My bike shimmys coasting down between 43 through 40mph. Above or below those speeds it does not shimmy. I consider it a defect that BMW won't own up to. I don't let it bother me anymore because the K1200LT is enjoyable in so many other ways.

[SWABoeing737700]

Thanks.
Ive just scanned the site and found all the posts addressing the handle bar shimmy.

My tire pressure is 37 on a Bridgestone Battle Ax front.

MLB :bmw:

[MattKas]

Only around 50 miles/hr

I just picked up my 2005 LT this weekend.Very nice.. :)

I noticed that if i take my hands off of the handle bars they suddenly start to shimmy and after about one second the front wheel starts to as well.

So..Ok..I dont make a habit of driving around with no hands on the grips but it was a little scary.

Is this normal for an LT with only 1200 miles? :confused:

MLB

[jzeiler]

I
I noticed that if i take my hands off of the handle bars they suddenly start to shimmy and after about one second the front wheel starts to as well.

MLB

I was going to say don't do that.

But I have had that shimmy come and go over the last 43,000 miles and it has always been associated with either tire wear or balance. One tire was actually slightly out of round. Eliminate that and you will be just fine.

[rab1967]

I started changing my own tires to save a buck. I've been using Dyna Beads to balance the tires. The ride is very smooth with no vibration in the steering. Here's the web site,

http://www.innovativebalancing.com/motorcycle.htm

Do a search and you'll find some other members that use them.

[taylorjn]

My 07 does not shimmy or wobble. 02 did, but rebalance of front tire and 42psi fixed it.

[Bmyrrh]

My '05 with Metzler's with 10,000 on them doesn't shimmy at all.

[RonKMiller]

I just picked up my 2005 LT this weekend.Very nice.. :)

I noticed that if i take my hands off of the handle bars they suddenly start to shimmy and after about one second the front wheel starts to as well.

So..Ok..I dont make a habit of driving around with no hands on the grips but it was a little scary.

Is this normal for an LT with only 1200 miles? :confused:

MLB

If the tires have been run at anything less than 42 front and 48 rear - absolutely. Even at 1200 miles. It can happen at 500 miles. :(

Read this entirely for an explanation of what has already happened: :o

http://www.rattlebars.com/valkfaq/tirewear/

[scurrie]

I'm pretty much convinced that ALL LT's will exhibit this behavior under the right conditions. It is a design characteristic of the bike, made worse on the 05' plus years with the change in the fork rake angle (and therefore, trail).

Some folks have called this a design failure. I suppose you could make a case for that, and BMW could probably fix it, but at what cost? The change would no doubt alter some other handling characteristic that folks would then complain about.

Some folks insist it is just bad tires, going so far as to suggest one just keep taking their tires back until they get a good one. Like Metzler only produces one good tire out of every five or so. I don't think they would still be in business if that were the case.

Some of these bike self oscillate in the 40-50MPH range with hands off the bars, others do not. Those of you who say your bike never shakes, get it going about 45, take your hands off the bars, then give a quick rap to either handgrip. Get ready to grab the bars! All it takes is the right input to get the oscillation going, a pot hole, an out of balance or cupped tire, etc. With new tires, proper inflation, etc, etc, my 05 will not self oscillate, but one good rap on the bars gets it going every time. Once the front tire gets a few thousand miles on it, it will self oscillate.

The LT is not the only big bike that has this problem, search around the other forums and you will find folks complaining about other bikes.

Bottom line, keep your hands on the bars where they belong, and enjoy the ride.

-Scott

[RonKMiller]

I'm pretty much convinced that ALL LT's will exhibit this behavior under the right conditions. It is a design characteristic of the bike, made worse on the 05' plus years with the change in the front end rake angle.

Some folks have called this a design failure. I suppose you could make a case for that, and BMW could probably fix it, but at what cost? The change would no doubt alter some other handling characteristic that folks would then complain about.

Some folks insist it is just bad tires, going so far as to suggest one just keep taking their tires back until they get a good one. Like Metzler only produces one good tire out of every five or so. I don't think they would still be in business if that were the case.

Some of these bike self oscillate in the 40-50MPH range with hands off the bars, others do not. Those of you who say your bike never shakes, get it going about 45, take your hands off the bars, then give a quick rap to either handgrip. Get ready to grab the bars! All it takes is the right input to get the oscillation going, a pot hole, an out of balance or cupped tire, etc. With new tires, proper inflation, etc, etc, my 05 will not self oscillate, but one good rap on the bars gets it going every time. Once the front tire gets a few thousand miles on it, it will self oscillate.

The LT is not the only big bike that has this problem, search around the other forums and you will find folks complaining about other bikes.

Bottom line, keep your hands on the bars where they belong, and enjoy the ride.

-Scott

There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with the way the LT's front end was designed... except for feeling a slight bit vague -(since this IS an 800 lb. motorcycle) it is probably one of the absolute BEST designs ever, period.

For the definitive answer to what is going on read the link in my post above.

I can tell you that after having bought a dozen sets of tires for my 2 LT's the answer is to keep them at 42, 48 from the start and check the pressure EVERY time you ride. NO oscillations until near the end of the tread life.

[asleeplessknight]

+1 Scott's reply. Mine does it. Doesn't take but a light touch on the bar to control it.. no death grip required... just know it's there and you won't ever be surprised. ... having said that... Does the old girl have her idiosyncracies or what?

Still charms me into submission... every time.... gotta luv 'er

[scurrie]

There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with the way the LT's front end was designed... except for feeling a slight bit vague -(since this IS an 800 lb. motorcycle) it is probably one of the absolute BEST designs ever, period.
So why did they change it in 05, and why do they now have a different triple clamp for those years for people who complain about wobble? I like the design, but it does have a tendency for this "problem".
For the definitive answer to what is going on read the link in my post above.
I agree with the tire wear issue pointed out in the article, which does contribute to front end oscillation on an LT.

I can tell you that after having bought a dozen sets of tires for my 2 LT's the answer is to keep them at 42, 48 from the start and check the pressure EVERY time you ride.
Absolutely! Keep the pressure correct and get the most wear from your tires.
NO oscillations until near the end of the tread life.
My point exactly, they all will oscillate under the right conditions. Many people are not as careful about tire pressure as you are, they will likely experience wobble sooner. Either way, keep your hands on the bars and enjoy the ride.

-Scott

[RonKMiller]

So why did they change it in 05, and why do they now have a different triple clamp for those years for people who complain about wobble? I like the design, but it does have a tendency for this "problem".

The rake change was implemented to improve low speed handling. A new triple crown would be needed for this...

[Powerman]

They have a new triple clamp because the holes are a different diameter on the 04's and earlier. They had to make a new clamp for the 05's.. This new clamp brings the rake back close to what the older ones were.
How do I know this.. I got one of the new clamps put on my 06. Didn't make a lot of difference as far as I can tell. But neither did the new front spring, new steering damper and a near perfectly balanced new tire.

[Bmyrrh]

This is near to pickiing a nit, but. . .

To say that they will all oscillate under the right conditions, suggesting that accelerating the controls (banging the end of the handlebar) will result in oscillation, is simply to say that an operator induced oscillation is possible.

That's a different subject than an auto-induced oscillation as the result of geometry, tire wear or some other factor other mechanical factor.