Violent front end shake after getting sway bars

[RealJule]

My F3S rode smoothly at 65mph and above. I could take both my hands of the handle bars and the bike would keep a straight, smooth path. At SITO, I decided to have sway bars installed. Now my bike has such a bad front end shake. I don’t feel comfortable taking even one hand off the handle bars. My after market mirrors shake so bad I can’t see anything. I realize no one would have sway bars installed if this was the norm. Is it possible some oversight took place during the installation? I know nothing about the necessary steps.

[UtahPete]

What is SITO?

Who installed them?

What brand of Sway bar?

Did the shaking start right away? If so, why didn't you go back to where you got them installed?

Something isn't making sense to me so far from your description. New sway bars, properly installed, obviously shouldn't cause this issue.

[Peteoz]

What is SITO?

Who installed them?

What brand of Sway bar?

Did the shaking start right away? If so, why didn't you go back to where you got them installed?

Something isn't making sense to me so far from your description. New sway bars, properly installed, obviously shouldn't cause this issue.

I imagine that SITO would be Spyders In The Ozarks, Pete, which makes even less sense as the sway bar would have been installed by professionals, and therefore correctly. Yeah, something doesn’t add up here. Was there anything else done at SITO or elsewhere recently, RealJule ?

Pete

[Cobwebs]

Someone hasn't taken a liking to your wheel nuts ?

[UtahPete]

Someone hasn't taken a liking to your wheel nuts ?

Good point. Loose wheels would explain it.

[DGoebel]

I too would start with removing and reinstalling the lug nuts.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

My F3S rode smoothly at 65mph and above. I could take both my hands of the handle bars and the bike would keep a straight, smooth path. At SITO, I decided to have sway bars installed. Now my bike has such a bad front end shake. I don’t feel comfortable taking even one hand off the handle bars. My after market mirrors shake so bad I can’t see anything. I realize no one would have sway bars installed if this was the norm. Is it possible some oversight took place during the installation? I know nothing about the necessary steps.

If this condition is still happening - absolutely check the LUG nuts. I can't think of a logical reason for the "sway bar" to be causing this ..... good luck .... Mike

[Peter Aawen]

You'd hafta think that the only thing besides the old sway bar that might be touched during its removal would be the wheels themselves, if they bother removing them at all (cos it's not strictly necessary, but hey?!? ) They might take them off to supposedly 'make it easier' to access when installing the new sway bar! So as others have mentioned, check the lug nuts - maybe even take them & the wheels right off & put them back on again, check the wheels are properly seated on the hubs, then tension the lug nuts up properly using your desired method of tensioning......

And while you're down there with a spanner or two in your hand, just have a quick look underneath the Spyder to see if they've done the job properly & maybe even put the right sized spanner/wrench/whatever on the sway bar to chassis bolts to check they're tight; and check the link bolts too, both ends, just to be sure to be sure....

If you've STILL got a front end shake after that, it's not going to be the sway bar! I reckon I'd be looking at wheels/tires..... what tires are you running, and at what pressure?? . Is there any chance that the wheels got swapped from one side to the other?? Running partly worn radial tires 'backwards', or at least 'in the opposite direction to that which saw most of the wear on them' can result in a REALLY BAD SHAKE on that axle, especially if they aren't all that great a tire to start with, like the 'you know whats'!! So especially if you're running the OE Kendas, but ordinarily if there's even just a chance that your wheels ended up on the other side of your Spyder without being stripped off the rim & re-installed so that they're still rolling in the same direction, swap them back & see if it reduces/removes the problem?!? If not, then inspect the tires & wheels VERY CAREFULLY!! .

If you've done the above, look for any 'heel/toe' wear on the outer tread blocks, or 'scalloping' on some tread blocks but not on others, as that sorta wear can cause this type of wheel shake; as can any lost wheel weights or a warped rim/out of round tire or rim.... so also look for the cleanish spots where a wheel weight or 6 might've come off; and while you're doing that, check the tread pattern carefully all the way around the tire too, looking for odd or un-even wear patterns; and both visually & by touch inspect & feel/press the tires sidewalls & tread areas all the way around to see if there's any odd bits, soft spots, bubbles, or bits of wire protruding.... and check the inside of the tire the same way if you have it off the rim for any reason! I have seen a small number/a (very) few other brands of tires fail like this, but it's generally very rare & in my experience has always been rectified by the manufacturer of the tires as soon as it was brought to their attention.... However, this is not always (or even usually ) the case when it comes to the OE spec Kendas - and I've seen a fair few of those with just this sort of issue!! . The OE Kendas have quite a bit of a rep for 'not being the greatest when it comes to quality control or construction standards' and they are recognised by many in the industry as being one of the 'most prone to construction/manufacturing failures' tires that many of us have ever seen in many years of working with tires of all sorts - and like I said, I've seen more than 'just a few' Kendas where a tread ply or sidewall layer has either separated or delaminated during use or was never assembled in the correct place/way to start with, or they've had other 'manufacturing/construction failures' that've meant those particular tires were simply unbalanceable & basically, unsafe at any speed!! . Some left the factory that way, most that are going to 'fail' do so during the first few thousand miles of operation, and some have simply 'de-constructed internally' for the slightest of reasons - usually something that's waaay short of putting the wheel on the other side without flipping the tire on the rim!!

So I'd suggest that if you can't find anything obvious in the way others have described, &/or as described above, then if there's the slightest chance that the wheels may have been swapped across to the other side, I'd guess that THAT swapping may be your problem & the cause of your tire shakes! Otherwise, it's probably just the tires failing.... . Most good quality & non-directional radial car tires will handle 'running backwards' OK for a short period without copping permanent damage (even tho the shakes might feel bloody awful) so swapping them back & forth a few times to make sure you've got rid of the shakes &/or put them where they cause the least concern/shakes shouldn't really be an issue, but if it's still there after you've excluded all the other potential causes and you've tried running them the other way/both ways, &/or the tires are OE spec Kendas & you just don't know if they are still in good condition internally, then you should either get your tires checked by a competent tire tech that you can/do trust, or at least try another set of tires to see if that helps.... if it does, and you still can't get rid of the shakes with your own tires, especially if they're OE spec Kendas, then it's time to toss those tires as being unsafe cos they ARE VERY LIKELY downright dangerous as they are damaged internally!

Hope it's not that drastic, but I don't see any way your issues could be directly attributable to simply fitting BajaRon's improvement of a sway bar!

Good Luck!

[troop]

Bummer for the OP's 1st post..

[LongIsland]

If it turns out to be loose lug nuts and even if not, I would reach out to whomever installed the sway bar and discuss the problem with them.

[PMK]

I have no answer as to why it shakes, but wanted to share that I do not recall removing tires when installing a swaybar.

What you describe sounds like a failed tire, or a tire imbalance. Why that happened simultaneously during a swaybar install is odd though.

Was any other workscope accomplished at the same time?

[BajaRon]

From your description. There is definitely something seriously wrong. Typically, the front wheels are not removed for a sway bar install. Removing them gives no advantage for this install. I cannot think of a scenario where the sway bar could create the effect that you are encountering. So, I am afraid I can be of no help without more information. You are welcome to call us at 423-609-7588 and we will give you all the assistance we can. But it is important that you not ride until this can be resolved as this could possibly be a dangerous situation.

Ron (bajaron)

[RealJule]

What is SITO?

Who installed them?

What brand of Sway bar?

Did the shaking start right away? If so, why didn't you go back to where you got them installed?

Something isn't making sense to me so far from your description. New sway bars, properly installed, obviously shouldn't cause this issue.

SITO: Spyders in the Ozarks. I did not go out on the highway and ride the bike until much later that evening. Since they were installed by a vendor that was just in the area for the event, and the event was over, I could not take it back to them to see if they could figure out what was wrong. The brand is Baja Ron.

[RealJule]

I imagine that SITO would be Spyders In The Ozarks, Pete, which makes even less sense as the sway bar would have been installed by professionals, and therefore correctly. Yeah, something doesn’t add up here. Was there anything else done at SITO or elsewhere recently, RealJule ?

Pete

No other work was done. I am not saying the shake relates in any way to the sway bars. I just know the entire way to Texas and back the weekend before SITO the shake wasn’t there. It never existed until after the sway bars. If there was more to the story, I would share it.

[BajaRon]

Technically minor point in this situation - But there is only 1 sway bar on a Spyder or Ryker. Please let us know what you find out.

[DGoebel]

RealJule, did you check the lug nuts? And if they're all tight already, I'd remove, swap the left to right wheels, reinstall and retorque lug nuts, then with someone riding a separate vehicle as a safety / follow car/bike, find a quiet road and re test for the wobble, gradually, very gradually getting up to the speed that showed the wobble. I've had one of my original krapenda's fail internally and got a bad shake, but it really was only noticeable on the one front tire, not both at the same time.

[Peteoz]

SITO: Spyders in the Ozarks. I did not go out on the highway and ride the bike until much later that evening. Since they were installed by a vendor that was just in the area for the event, and the event was over, I could not take it back to them to see if they could figure out what was wrong. The brand is Baja Ron.

Have you contacted the vendor who installed the swaybar to find out if they can shed any light on the issue, RealJule? Sorry, but we are clutching at straws here. Also, as Ron mentions above, why do you keep referring to the swaybar in the plural? There is only one of them…….once again, clutching at straws

Pete

[Wmoater]

Realjule, Ron replied with his number in post #12. Its his bar, he’d know best and is “ the easiest guy to talk with!” He’ll diagnose it for you. Check the lugs and also look on the inside of both front wheels. Did they accidentally knock off the wheel weights? If they are the stick on they might have come loose or fell off. What tires are on the bike? I was not there but from all the posts elsewhere, I believe there was only two guys that could have installed the bar at SITO and both would have done it right but something could have been missed or fell off. Both vendors will talk to you for hours to figure it out. Call either one.

[hypurone]

Is it possible the heim joints on the bar ends are seized? This would create a rigid suspension in essence and it could be literally "bouncing" over every imperfection in the road....

[Wmoater]

Is it possible the heim joints on the bar ends are seized? This would create a rigid suspension in essence and it could be literally "bouncing" over every imperfection in the road....

I don’t think so………..you’d hear a loud clunk or loud click every time it shifted side to side if bolt was not tight enough but no way would it seized shut. I’ve raced sleds, put sleds in the coldest worst conditions imaginable, had SXS totally submerged in mud to the steering wheel and have never heard of a heim joint seized shut. Only way that would happen is if the bolt itself was 4-5 inches long and jammed between the inner and outer frame. The installer would have never been able to put in with the washers etc if it was seized. I personally can’t see that happening Hypurone but who knows…….. maybe?

[T.P.]

Is it possible the heim joints on the bar ends are seized?

Not only NO, But HELL NO!!

Seems like a big lack of information from the OP for some reason, Let's get all of the informtion first.

T.P.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Is it possible the heim joints on the bar ends are seized?

Not only NO, But HELL NO!!

Seems like a big lack of information from the OP for some reason, Let's get all of the informtion first.

T.P.

Well according to His Bio He just joined Spyderlovers.... It may be His first Spyder, so He probably doesn't even know what questions and info to give us ..... JMHO .... Mike

[RealJule]

I am not the least bit mechanically inclined, so my plural reference can be attributed to my ignorance. Thank you for the correction.

[Peteoz]

I am not the least bit mechanically inclined, so my plural reference can be attributed to my ignorance. Thank you for the correction.

RealJule, it wasn’t meant as correction per se, just a clarification in case what you believed was the “sway bar’, was in fact something else. You are hearing from some VERY experienced, technically competent riders here, including Baja Ron, who makes and sells the bar, and we are all scratching our heads as a new bar would not cause the issue you are experiencing unless something else was involved

Pete

[BajaRon]

I would love to help you resolve this issue, if possible. Can you tell me if you got the Original or the Ultra bar? Sway bar kits were installed by SpyderPops, Lamonster and my tech (Daniel) using Lamonster's lift. Do you know which of these installed your bar kit?