Speed wobble

[KiwiCol]

I took the bike out fir a bit of a run this afternoon,  95% sedate, but there are some nice, unemcumbered straights in our local environ, so let her rip for a bit on one of them. Around 200 she got a wobble on, not a tank slapper wobble the whole bike was going.
Gently throttled off n it stopped around 140ish.

Was wondering if wind turbulence could cause this at that rate of knots?  I had a loose top on n it was blowing / flapping about at the time, so guess it was that, but just asking if anyone else experienced similar.

Oh, it was a private road I was on at the time . . .  Yeah right.

[Kiwifruit]

When I was down your way last I complained of same to a mate who sent me to the guy that rides his race bike. First checked wheel alignment, was bang on then he said front could be too soft. Stiffened up front end preload. Problem solved.
(I had panniers, topbox, tent and tankbag so we most likely weighed about the same)

[VladTepes]

Yes my experience is that my GSX goes 200 (2 up with luggage) on similar 'closed roads'

[KiwiCol]

Cheers Col, I'll give that a go.

I see you're getting a bit of wind & drizzle up your way . . Hope the homestead stays safe.

[GSXKING]

I've never suffered a wobble at Highspeeds & most of that was at trackdays 😈😈
Tyres grow taller when they're spinning that fast so pressure is critical 👍👍

[Kiwifruit]

Yes my experience is that my GSX goes 200 (2 up with luggage) on similar 'closed roads'

My rear mounted cruise controller starts going apoplectic over 130kph. No such problems from the tent, topbox or panniers though.
Trying to pick the right time to mention my latest speedo margin of error. Am sure the speedo read 100 when for a fee of a mere $80 it was confirmed to read 115kph.  not again.

All good so far thanks Col. Have been securing anything that might take flight without permission.

[grog]

First sign of a speed wobble and would be sold. Mines solid as a rock, been to 240 closed road, ok. My old Kawa 900 got sold real quick, 3 of us had them, all scary. We spent hours trying to fix, there was no fix.

[SwiftandBold]

This happened to me and it was a tyre pressure issue- easy check

[Almost]

Unbalanced  wheels?

[KiwiCol]

Thx guys, there's a few things I'll be investigating, the front pre-load, the tyre pressures (which were fine that day, but dunno about for those speeds) and just keep the speed down to subsonic levels.   Thinking about it today, I remember there's an issue that needs attn on one of the fork legs, so that def won't of helped.

Wheels are balanced & I have my own wheel balance rig & weights, so all good there.

[Hooli]

Fork bushes? a bit of wear there makes the front a lot less stable.

[KiwiCol]

Fork bushes? a bit of wear there makes the front a lot less stable.

No, oil leak.  Will have to get around to putting new seals and fresh oil in.