Front end shimmy

[RydeOn]

I was driving my 2012 RT yesterday to an appointment that I had in town (about 7-8 miles away). The drive there was nondescript.
However, when traveling back home at about 9:30PM, I was coming down hill going about 35 MPH when the front end started shaking like I’ve never experienced.
At first I thought one of the wheels were coming loose. I immediately slowed down and the shaking stopped. Then I thought that perhaps I simply hit some corrugation in the roadway which caused the shimmy. I came to a stoplight, then when I sped back up the shimmy started again. I slowed down and kept it to about 30 the rest of the way home.
I didn’t have time last night to see if anything looked out of order, or to check to insure the lugs were all tight. I’m not a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination, so something would have to be VERY obvious for me to recognize if it was out of place. nojoke

I’ll check it when I get home from work today.

What would cause a shimmy like that? I have felt a bit of shaking before on the freeway between about 65-70 MPH, but it is mild and does not feel like the front end is going to fall off. The obvious things I’ll check is to make sure all lugs are tight (I’m able to do that with my excellent skill-set). And I can see if something (obvious) in the suspension seems to be off or broken. Other than that, what might be the cause??

 

[ralph12345678910]

Sounds like a tire is out of balance maybe some of the weights fell off

 

[Lew L]

Wheel weights???

Good morning Rock,
A wheel balancing weight may have fallen off. Or-- tire pressure change, alignment hardware may have loosened, or as you say lug nuts may have loosened.
Good luck with this and let us know what the diagnosis is.

Front end shimmy will cause:::::::::: Kaos

Good timing there Ralph

 

[PrairieSpyder]

Check your anti-sway bar links. I had one break once.

 

[Culpjp]

It could be the tire. ARe those the original tires? Four years is getting near the life span of the tire. Also there were tread separation issue with certain year RT tires. You might want to do a search on here for threads about that issue.

 

[Chupaca]

Bummer...

Don't know how handy you are but checking the obvious is a start...Lug nuts and tire pressure are the simplest. Wheel weights only with a balancer that most of us don't have. Tire condition usually not to visable. If you can lift the front end and check the steering components by holding the wheel at 12 and 6 and seeing if you have play though not likely on such a new model. Then if not finding anything take it to the dealer and have them check it out.....:gaah:

 

[Ron2andia]

I think it's a wheel weight.. Have been through the that in my car and that was the issue.. Good luck.

 

[Lastchance]

Don't want to scare you to death but check this thread
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...ke-this-bike&p=1152730&viewfull=1#post1152730

 

[deer30084]

Sounds like a severe case of "twitchiness."

 

[Stangman35]

Don't want to scare you to death but check this thread
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...ke-this-bike&p=1152730&viewfull=1#post1152730

:agree: I'd say ball joints

 

[scott16119]

If you still have the original tires up front I'd bet my money on a tire. My front Kenda's started acting much like you are saying at 20,000 miles. Put a pair of automotive quality tires on, they aren't really very expensive. Should that not solve the problem you have eliminated a whole list of might be problems and narrowed it down to a suspension issue.

 

[Machinegunner]

I just had a friend with the same problem with his 2011 RT. It turned out to be the lower ball joints.

 

[meatman]

same thing

I had the same thing, right at 40 mph. Had the wheels balanced twice, no good. switched wheels and tires with a friend, no problem. Replaced the tire, had a busted bead, all good now

 

[RydeOn]

Reason for shimmy

First of all, thanks for all the suggestions.
I went home and checked what I could. Lugs were tight. Weights were still on the rims. Nothing seemed to be broken and dangling down where I could see it. But the tire pressure was fairly low. They were at about 15 lbs or so. I don't have a real accurate tire gauge, but they were both under 20psi. So I pumped both of them up to about 20, and took her for a ride.
I couldn't seem to duplicate the issue that I had, so that seemed to fix it. :yes:
I didn't realize that tire pressure could affect ride that much.

 

[BajaRon]

First of all, thanks for all the suggestions.
I went home and checked what I could. Lugs were tight. Weights were still on the rims. Nothing seemed to be broken and dangling down where I could see it. But the tire pressure was fairly low. They were at about 15 lbs or so. I don't have a real accurate tire gauge, but they were both under 20psi. So I pumped both of them up to about 20, and took her for a ride.
I couldn't seem to duplicate the issue that I had, so that seemed to fix it. :yes:
I didn't realize that tire pressure could affect ride that much.

The Spyder is very sensitive to front end alignment. Low tire pressure can increase drag on the suspension components and will affect not only alignment (to a degree) but also suspension. If you're alignment is already off or borderline. Something as seemingly insignificant as tire pressure can cause problems. Especially, if the pressure is not even on both sides. It might pay you to get one of the tire pressure balancing devices. Even if the pressures are not ideal. Having the same pressure on both sides will go a long way towards improving your ride and handling characteristics.

If you have not already done so. I would recommend getting a laser alignment using the ROLO system and a competent provider. You might be surprised at the difference it makes.