Intermittent Front End Shaking

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

ISSUES

I have a 2012 RTS SM5 with 12K miles that I just noticed today that I have the shakes at 40 MPH going up to or down to 40 MPH. Handle bar and fenders vibrate very badly. If I speed up past 45 it smooth out. I currently have the Dynamic balancers installed and worked great until now. I don't know if the colder weather has any impact on these. I do have the original wonderful (NOT) tires on this. After reading this post it looks like I need to replace my front tires.

#1., the balancers can be affected ... the rings are filled with OIL (?) and metal bearings., if you bought them from Lamont , I would contact Him about this ..... #2., the Kenda's don't have enough TREAD PLIES to remain flat .... plus the over-all construction is weak, they also have a bad reputation for being defective compared to Auto tires ...... JMHO ..... Mike :thumbup:

 

[trikermutha]

:agree: The oil in the ring balancer could be a bit thick if you are driving in colder temps. If not then its something else as mentioned.

 

[south GA Farm Boy]

front tire shake

If your tires are still real good with lots of thread left, have them trued! That is where a tire store cuts off the high places with a machine making your tires round again! You will have to hunt a dealer who has a machine to do it! Don't tell him it is a motorcycle tire, it is just like a car tire!

I have a 2010 RT SE5 and I have experience the front end and handle bar shaking back a forth. This does not happen all the time. It has happened three times over last summer. The shaking starts between 41 to 43 mph. If I go lower than 41 mph or higher than 43 mph the shaking stops and when you drop back to 41 to 43 it does not shake. I have checked all connections and they seem to be all secured and no problems. I have talked to my service manager at the dealer and he didn't have an answer as he was puzzled by it. He's only suggestion was to rotate the front tires. Has anyone experience this or have an idea in want is causing the shaking?

 

[ARtraveler]

The general consensus here is that tire rotation is a useless thing. The tires are directional and have to be removed from the rims for the process. Usually does not help with wear issues either. :thumbup:

 

[Texascanuk]

Our 2012 RT had the shake too at the same speed range, 41-43. Not on either side of it. The dealer had us change a brake rotor that he measured as warped but that did not fix it. I had the laser alignment performed and the shake went away. I suspect is was some feedback in the powersteering trying to correct itself. Part of the laser alignment is to tell the computer where center is. I don't know about these electronic things so it's just my theory?

 

[Lew L]

From the dealer..........

Our 2014 RT-S was delivered with a tire shimmy/shake at about 40-45 mph. I brought it back to the dealer and they removed the tires and wheels and replaced them with some from a floor model. Also the tire pressure was way off when delivered. Correcting the pressure and replacing the rims/tires fixed the problem.

Older :spyder2:'s may have worn suspension bits ( tie rod ends, bearings ) but bad tires and rims are probably the culprits.

Lew L

 

[Thedragsman]

Update

I spent a lot of time and money trying to find a soluiton to this shake. Numerous dealers looked at the problem and found the bike would shake and then they would replace something (rotor, tie-rod ends, A-arm bushings, etc) and it would be ok for a mile and then it would come back. Can Am even paid to replace the Power Steering unit; thanks Can Am, but that wasn’t the problem.

Finally I found a dealer who their repairman said that there was a known issue with the Toe and shaking with the 2011 RT models. He said that the spec was wrong and adjusted the Toe to be slightly in, reprogramed the Power Steering Sensor, and the shake was gone.

I have put on over a 1,000 shake free miles since and with no issue. The bike does drive differntly and that took some getting used to. With it being slightly Toe’d in, I would expetct some waves to form on the tires but they have not. (Sorry, I am not a mechanic and do not know the official terms, but understand the concepts)

Thanks all that have posted.

 

[Revalden]

Maybe replace SAS (steering angle sensor)