Hi guys. I'm new to the forum and this is my first post so if I screw up cut me some slack cause I'm a newb!  

I have an 07 Vulcan Nomad 1600 and want to do most of my own repairs and maintenance myself. The bike has a little wobble to it and from what I have been able to learn there are a few possibilities but I think its probably the steering stem nut needs tightening.

Was wondering what the best tool for the job is and where can I find it? Have any of you guys done this?

I'm just getting started on my tool supply and want to make sure I get the right stuff for whatever job I need to do. Cant seem to rely on shops for good service around here.

Thanks  

make sure the first toll you buy is a repair manual. it will list what tools you need for each job. you'll want a good torque wrench also.  

Yeah, thanks. I found somewhere in another forum where you can get downloadable manuals online for 15 bucs. May do that if I can get my printer working right. Torque wrench will be bought as well, which is a reason for wondering what tool to buy for the stem nut. I want to be able to torque it to specs.

Thanks for the reply!  

A loose stem doesn't *cause* wobbling. It will encourage wobbling if something else is wrong, though.

The single most prevalent cause for wobbling is the steering mounted windshield. Adjusting it properly can consume many man hours of adjustment and testing. Remove the windshield and see what that does to your wobble.

The OEM bridgestone that comes on the front of most Vulcans also contributes to wobbling. Those tires are prone to cupping. This can be minimised by keeping them inflated to 40 psi, but it will still happen. Many people end up replacing them because of noise/vibration/cupping, long before they wear the tread down to the tread wear indicators.

regards,
Joe  

The windshield is in the same place it has always been. What I am experiencing is wobbling, not buffeting. I mainly get it around 35 to 40 mph. If I hold the grips loosely at these speeds the handlebars wobble back and forth VERY noticeably.

I am on my second set of tires and currently running ME880 front and rear.

Ive done a little reading on other forums about this problem and they all seem to blame the steering stem nut being loose. This is why I was pursuing this at this point. The tires are at 40 front and 40 rear, and are both balanced.

I plan on taking the shield and bars off this weekend and checking to see if the nut is indeed loose. I cant ride it like this anymore.

Thanks for the input guys.  

About 25 years ago, I had a neck bearing fail while on a trip. The bottom end of the stem was so loose, it was shifting about 1/8th of an inch every time I used the front brake. I rode the bike about a thousand miles that way, before I got home, without any wobble.

The weight of the bike will try to keep the stem centered and stable against the front of the bearing at the bottom of the stem and the back of the bearing at the top of the stem. Unless some off center force is acting to deflect or rotate the stem, there will be no wobble. If you find and eliminate that off center force, the wobble will vanish. If you can reduce the wobble or even stop it by tightening the stem, then you are simply hiding the problem.

regards,
Joe  

Thanks Joe, maybe it is something else I'm not a mechanic so I dont know. Just going by what Ive read on other forums. The bike only has 18k on it and is still under warranty as far as the date on my card so if it is covered I may just go ahead and take it in to have this problem corrected. Then learn as I go. I just hate dealing with dealer shops.  

The list of things that can result in slightly uneven pressure on the stem is almost endless. It includes everything from external factors like wind gusts and road surface, to major factors like windshields and tires, to minor factors like uneven lubrication of wheel bearings or mirror positions. It's all cumulative and interactive, making it even harder to diagnose.

If your choice is to tighten the steering stem until it acts as a damper or take the bike to a mechanic, then tighten the stem. That's probably what the shop mechanic will do first anyways. The shop won't even look for anything they can cover up that way. Any shop that is willing to spend the man/weeks trying to track down and eliminate minor factors, wants more from you than just your money :-)

Tracking down these kind of problems is what those of us who are called "anally retentive" do for ourselves.

you said...
The windshield is in the same place it has always been.

How closely did you measure it's position and angle? We're talking about tweaks of about 1/16 of an inch, to fine tune the windstream on things like mirrors, handgrips, helmet... Besides, windstream pressures are interactive with road friction, which means ongoing tire wear can require changing the tweaking of the windshield.

I went through all this once, back in the early 80's. I've never had another bike with a windshield on it.

regards,
Joe  

Maybe you dont understand my use of the term "wobbling". If I am at 35 to 40 mph, and let my grasp on the handlebars go as loose as possible, the handlebars are wobbling back and forth so bad that other people riding close by could see it. Sorry, I dont know alot but I do know this is not windshield related. I appreciate your attempts to help though Joe.  

kawman,
My bike also has a steering wobble. I have an 05 VTX1300 it wabbles at the same speed, 35 to 40 mph. I'm not sure 'sloowpoke's' got his arms around this problem. I have tightened the steering stem nut some, not sure it got as tight as the honda manual call out, but it dit help some, it still wobbles. the wobble changes when my wife is on the back it think it less. My orginal front tire wore and cupped on the left side, now have ME880 but wobble is still there. No one has explained to my satisfaction why the front tires wear on the left side. But a lot of bikes do.
I sure would like to find out why we have the wobble, I don't belive it is the windshield. Many other bike have windshields and don't wobble.
Let me know if you get it eliminated.

blcliner,  

What you believe or don't believe is irrelevant to your motorcycle.

Troubleshooting a problem is a matter of establishing cause and effect. Things that interact with either the cause or the effect will make it harder to identify the cause.

When the windshield is attached to parts of the bike that move with the steering, the windstream strongly interacts with the wobble. If you try to troubleshoot this problem with the windshield in place, it will be much more difficult to identify the cause of the wobble.  

Hey, I know this is a late addition to this thread.  

I had just let the dealership replace my front tyre and steering bearings when I experienced the exact similar symptom; clearly visible front wheel wobble at the speeds of 60-70kph.

In my bike manual it says the force to push hanle bars must be 200-500grams of pressure, mine was so loose I could just flick it with my finger.

Miught have been that my bearings were all rusty which cancelled out all the wobble --- but it was smooth and fairly good ride, unlike now.

Hope this adds some value.