Topic: CB450 steering wobble, low speed. CB550 does it too but less

[cb550fcafe]

1972 CB450 completely redone,tapered bearings, forks, Hagon shocks, wheels (Buchanan), tires, every detail. I rode last year and had this issue. When riding 40 mph and over &  when I have a moderate lean angle, the steering startes to oscillate left and right and can get the rear of the bike upset also, at that point I feel like I need to get the bike straight up again in a hurry or I'm going down. Obviously with more speed its worse.

Front tire is a 110/90/19, rear 130/90/18. My CB550 does this too but alot less significant, still distrubing because I can push it in the turns that wobble gets your attention. Neither bike has a steering shock. Is that the solution?

Its not a balance issue, both bikes hit 100 mph in a straight line without any vibration, just don't lean into a turn. It does seem worse on right hand turns but that could be me, I prefer lefties, ex oval track racer.

Please advise before I have alot of parts for sale with road rash on them.

[tbpmusic]

Check your swingarm bushings.
Put the bike on the centerstand, grab the rear wheel at the top and push hard, left to right.
You want to see zero sideplay.
Or maybe the rear wheel is not pointing straight - the chain tension marks on the swingarm are notoriously inaccurate.
If it looks good, you may need to think about a steering damper.

[Retro Rocket]

A steering damper will help but i would be inclined to find out the underlying problem first. Incompatible tyres, unbalanced or wrongly balanced wheels, loose steering head bearings {they settle in once fitted so worth a check} and swingarm bushes. That should keep you busy for a while....

[333]

I'd look into the suspension.  Make sure the your weight compresses both front and rear somewhat.  If the springs hold the bike at the top of the travel, it could be trouble.  Then check the alignment of the front.  And make sure either you have a good fork brace, or at least the stock fender to hold the fork legs.  You say you did new forks, did you stick with the stock length?  You may end up trying to play with the height of the forks.

[greenjeans]

Maybe check the front bearings in the front just to double check that they are seated fully ?

Sounds like there may be a tiny bit of slop that might not be noticed in a straight line - cornering forces could be putting an unequal load on one of the bearings.

[tbpmusic]

Just because the front end shakes doesn't mean the problem is in the front end.
All problems with geometry or suspension are expressed at the front end, because that's where the least "resistance" is - it turns freely in each direction there, so that's where the symptoms manifest.
Bad stuff at the rear also makes the front end shake..........

[KurtK]

My 500 k2 did the very same thing.  New tires solved the problem.