Front Wheel Wobble??

[HondaSkidoo]

Hello, I noticed my front left wheel had a slight wobble in it so I assumed I had a bent rim, It was time to get new tires anyway so I bought a new set of ITP rims and HD tires and now they both have a slight wobble.

Is that normal?

Or maybe do I have 2 slightly bent spindles?

It doesn't seem to effect the ride. Any Help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

Rich

[2old2race]

Hah!
Please reference my post from about 2 weeks ago.
Yep, the HD tires are quite a difference from stock.

It makes it a lot more difficult to keep up with my friend with his OE Ohtsu's. His bike rides so much smoother and easier than mine.
Where before we were completely even, I need to concentrate like hell just to keep up now with the HD's.

He smokes me on fast trails. But, once it gets rocky, he is nowhere to be found! :p

[REDRIDDER]

CHECK YOUR WHEEL BEARINGS,TIE ROD ENDS ,LOSE SPINDEL NUT

[HondaSkidoo]

Thanks. I will check all of them.

[2old2race]

Yep, I checked all that too.
The tires make a huge difference! ;)

[gcart2]

what 2 old said is true. dont get me wrong if its bad wobvble it is a spindle or something.... however if its mild then its ur tires. try razrs... they are not bad at all

[CarGuy7a]

i love my razr's. they ride straight as an arrow and hook up alot better than stock tires. they are a rougher ride though with them being 6 ply and all. my buddies all hate riding behind me cause i fling crap all over them.

[HondaSkidoo]

I've come to the conclusion its the tires. Not the rims or anything else. It sure seams like new tires should spin straight. :(

my front wheel had a wobble the 2nd week after I got a 400ex. I stepped up from a 250ex that I outgrew and figured hey bigger shocks fast quad lets try some new stuff. Bad idea when its a 10ft up sloped then does into a 90 degree cliff for 4-5ft jump thing. It wasnt supposed to be a jump :/ I did it 4 times then landed wrong and flew off the side of my 400 down about a 8-10ft drop. Well after I fell here came my new 400ex dropping that far down onto my legs haha that bent my wheel and basically made me paralyzed for 2 days until I could move my toes again haha at least I could limp after the 1st week :)

[2old2race]

Originally posted by HondaSkidoo
I've come to the conclusion its the tires. Not the rims or anything else. It sure seams like new tires should spin straight. :(
Yep. Just live with it, I guess.
I am sweating bullets just to keep up with my buddies EX on stock tires. I used to be able to run with him easily...now it's nerve-racking!

[CarGuy7a]

the only thing i can think of is possibly the tire itself being out of balance.

jack up the front end and spin the tire slowly if it's out of balance you'll know. the heavy spot should settle out toward the ground and rock back and forth.

they make little sticky lead weights for balancing tires and wheels. you could get some and try them probably sticking them to the inside of the wheel so you don't see them.

[HondaSkidoo]

Originally posted by CarGuy7a
the only thing i can think of is possibly the tire itself being out of balance.

jack up the front end and spin the tire slowly if it's out of balance you'll know. the heavy spot should settle out toward the ground and rock back and forth.

they make little sticky lead weights for balancing tires and wheels. you could get some and try them probably sticking them to the inside of the wheel so you don't see them.

Thanks for your help. I think your right although I tried what you said and there is a bit to much friction and not enough weight. When I spin the tires with the front lifted you can see the center tread moving left to right in the same spot every time. the left side does it a bit more than the right.

I checked the bearings and they seam tight, the spindle nut is tight and tie rod ends are tight. The only thing I haven't been able to check is the spindle for straightness, which I think is probably the culprit. I may buy one on Ebay and see if it fixes the problem. Any other ideas? :confused:

[sideways]

i beat the ***** out of my 400, and im still riding stock spindles (original from 2000) the only thing that hasnt been bent or broken on my bike. i ride trails hard, mostly in PSF in mass Rocky as hell, bend rims all the time and get the same wobble as you
.
could be the tire, only other culprit is the rim.

[HondaSkidoo]

Originally posted by sideways
i beat the ***** out of my 400, and im still riding stock spindles (original from 2000) the only thing that hasnt been bent or broken on my bike. i ride trails hard, mostly in PSF in mass Rocky as hell, bend rims all the time and get the same wobble as you
.
could be the tire, only other culprit is the rim.

Thanks. It must be the tire then because I bought this last year and it was all stock in excellent condition. I ride it hard, but never have had a roll or hit anything and the rims were new with the tires.

[2old2race]

I'm telling you guys, it's the fact of going from a 2-ply to 6-ply tire.
I have my original tires and original wheels.
If I take off my new front wheel/tires and replace with the OE wheel/tires it is as smooth as can be.
Place the 6-plys back on=busy.

Just a heads up to anybody looking at getting HD 6-ply tires.

[HondaSkidoo]

Originally posted by 2old2race
I'm telling you guys, it's the fact of going from a 2-ply to 6-ply tire.
I have my original tires and original wheels.
If I take off my new front wheel/tires and replace with the OE wheel/tires it is as smooth as can be.
Place the 6-plys back on=busy.

Just a heads up to anybody looking at getting HD 6-ply tires.

I appreciate the input. However i think in this day and age they can produce a tire that spins smooth. I called the place I bought them from today and with no questions asked they are sending me a call tag to pick them up and then will send me another set. I though to myself that was to easy!!! They must already know there were some bad ones out there. My guess is you may have a bad set as well. I will post the results once I get my replacements. It will take a couple of weeks though.

Thanks Again.

[CarGuy7a]

yeah probably a little bit of brake drag causing it not to spin freely.

hmm that sounds to me like the tread is not cast straight on those tires from the mold. i would find the manufacturers phone number or website or something and ask them what the F is up with those tires.

if the tread isn't positioned correctly it will make it act wierd like what you have goin on.

i would rule having a bent spindle out b/c the only effect a bent spindle would have would be an altered caster camber angles.

[HondaSkidoo]

I have emailed ITP yesterday and have not heard a response from them, however as I mentioned above the dealer I bought them from on Ebay (Honda of Troy in Ohio) is sending me a call tag and exchanging them with no questions asked, which makes me think they know there were some defective tires out there. We'll see.

[2old2race]

Originally posted by HondaSkidoo
I have emailed ITP yesterday and have not heard a response from them, however as I mentioned above the dealer I bought them from on Ebay (Honda of Troy in Ohio) is sending me a call tag and exchanging them with no questions asked, which makes me think they know there were some defective tires out there. We'll see.
HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM....that's where I got mine from too. :huh
I've got a less than positive story on Honda of Troy. And, I'm sure if they frequent this site, they'll remember me.
Their salesman gave me a price of $600 for 4 black ITP Baja Wheels with HD Holeshot tires.
When I checked what had been charged to my card on the shipping invoice it was $680! When I called them to ask what's up, I was told I was mis-quoted and I should have been charged even more than $680!!!
So, they in response sent me a call tag to return the tires/wheels should I have a problem with the transaction.
Very nice of them (some might think). But in the process of shopping around I most likely put a sour taste in my local dealerships mouths by going online for my wheel set.

So, not only did Honda of Troy not stick to the price given to me over the phone, they alienated me from my local shops by their fictitious price.

I'd think many here would have gone with H o T given a price that was +$100 less than the local shops.

So, next time I will get all quotes in writing prior to placing an order! Customer service is dead in America...at least in one dealer's case. :scary:

[HondaSkidoo]

Sorry to hear you had a problem. I have not had a problem with their price or service as of yet. I have ordered several different times from them with a very positive experience.

[HondaSkidoo]

Just wanted to update this thread. i received my new set of rims and tires and they both now spin about 95 - 100% straight. I definitely think I had a defective set. I even think one of the rims was slightly bent.

:D