FOBO = Major shaking

[LisaT]

I bought my FOBO's in February, but living in MN and health issues We weren't able to install them until this past weekend. Rode my bike a couple hundred miles and was noticing a MAJOR shake. Hubby took them off, and no shake. Is this fixable?

Thanks in advance for any advice!!

Lisa

[2dogs]

No. Using FOBO's does not create out of balance problems. Look for an another cause.

[LisaT]

It only shakes with the FOBO's on.....

[2dogs]

Well then two things. 1, leave them off or 2, have the tires rebalanced with them on. See what happens.

[AeroPilot]

Like 2 Dogs said the FOBOs shouldnt cause the shake. Since your bike was setting all winter, I bet the tires had a little flat spot issues for awhile... then when you rode it a bit the tires smoothed out...took the FOBOs off and now its good.. just a wild a-- guess, but sell the FOBOs if they dont work for your application.

[Peteoz]

Like the others have mentioned above, I have never had, or heard of, a major shake after FOBOs have been installed, Lisa. I am at a loss to explain why mounting and removing them would introduce and eliminate shaking. Did you just screw them straight onto the valve stems?

Pete

[LeftCoast]

I’ve been running fobo2’s for 3 months now on Kendas and Continental’s with no shake. I didn’t think they weighed enough to be a cause but who knows.

[Peter Aawen]

Like others have said Lisa, it's not really likely that the FOBO sensors are the issue, because those FOBO sensors weigh somewhat less than most 'tire balance weights', so they shouldn't be anywhere near heavy enough to cause any shakes or wobbles...... BUT, I guess that if the rim & tire together, ie, the whole wheel assembly is only just 'balanced' as it is, and the 'heaviest spot' on that assembly was already at or near the valve stem, then the addition of a very small weight like the FOBO sensor COULD possibly in such a 'perfect storm' scenario, make one of the tires shake or wobble due to the now 'marginally out of balance' state the sensor caused!! But it'd be hafta be a pure fluke that EVERYTHING just happened to line up exactly in order to make the addition of such a tiny weight the thing that pushed that wheel's balance over the edge of 'balanced' into 'not balanced'!! Still, I s'pose that theoretically, the chances of that occurring in this instance are just a smidge on the 'possible' side of 'absolutely impossible'!! However, the likelihood of more than one wheel being tipped over the edge into a noticeably 'unbalanced' state would hafta be so small as to be something like 99% impossible!! So if it's the FOBO sensors causing this, it's almost certainly going to be just one wheel becoming unbalanced by the extra weight!

So, given that IF it is the installation of a FOBO sensor that's pushing one wheel into this 'out of balance' state, you could: 1. take them all off & ride the Spyder a bit to confirm there's no shakes; 2. Then try ONE FOBO sensor on ONE wheel (just pick any one to start with!) & go for a ride to see if that wheel with a sensor on it is what's causing the shakes, and if it doesn't; then 3. try that same sensor on each of the other wheels in turn and see if one of those wheels with a sensor on it causes the shakes. If you get around all 3 wheels with that one sensor & you haven't been able to reproduce the shakes, then I guess you could also try each of the other sensors in turn, but really, if one sensor on one wheel doesn't do it, none of the other sensors on any wheel should cause the shakes either! But, if one wheel DOES shake with the sensor on it, then you know EXACTLY which wheel is the culprit & you also know that the balance on that wheel WITHOUT a sensor on it is ONLY JUST adequate!

A proper 'road force balance' by a skilled operator should fix any shakes caused by the FOBO like that, but if you can't reproduce the shakes with the one wheel thing..... I hafta ask tho, are you still running the OE spec Kendas? If so, it could be that the tire is not in the greatest of condition, & amongst other things, this could possibly even be the first signs of incipient failure or just dodgy wear patterns gradually becoming more obvious. Faoling that, maybe you should start looking at other things, like dodgy ball joints or worn steering components?! How many miles has the Spyder done?

[LisaT]

Thanks everyone!! BTRLIF has an appointment for lazer alignment and tire balancing....hopefully all will work out.

[Peteoz]

Thanks everyone!! BTRLIF has an appointment for lazer alignment and tire balancing....hopefully all will work out.

Fingers crossed, Lisa

Pete

[furface90]

I also had some minor shaking when I installed my FOBO on my 2018 RT. Took them off and no shaking. Had the tires rebalanced with the FOBO installed and the problem went away.

[2dogs]

During the life of a tire it may require rebalancing several times, with or without the use of FOBO's.

[Peteoz]

I also had some minor shaking when I installed my FOBO on my 2018 RT. Took them off and no shaking. Had the tires rebalanced with the FOBO installed and the problem went away.

Aha......so it has happened before......are you running Kenda tyres, furface?

Pete