My V-Strom has this problem. I thought it was the worn front tire so I replaced the tires, still wobbled. Tire is balanced properly so far as I know, shop mounted my tires & the front one has no weight on it but then again the OEM front had no weight either. I do not feel any hop at speed. I checked the steering stem torque, it was off a little not bad but I torqed it up properly anyway. Still wobbled, not as bad but still doing it. What else is there I can do? Warped brake rotor maybe??? I feel no pulsing in the brake lever & no shuddering under braking. This is driving me nuts. I can't feel the wobble with both hands on the bars only if I let go of the bars & notice it under deceleration at about 35~40 mph. Not a real bad wobble but still it is visually noticeably. I do not think it was doing it brand new but can't really remember back that long. It has 8100 miles on it now & yes I have done a few wheelies on it from time to time. Any suggestions??? sell it, junk it, or just live with it.....
Live with it. All motorcycles do exactly as you describe between 35 and 45 mph. On some bikes it's more noticeable than others, but they ALL do it. A cupped front tire makes it worse. Kevin Cameron has an excellent technical explanation of why motorcycles do this in his book Sportbike Performance Handbook.
Yes I know alot of bikes do this. I've had sportbikes do it when they needed a new front tire. Maybe the V-Strom does it more because of the weight distribution on the machine, it is weighted more to the rear for that off-road use which never is going to happen I just don't remember it doing it new. It was worse with the stock worn out front tire.
Have you played around with the front ride height or changed the springs? If you've lowered the front, that would reduce castor and make the front less stable.
Yes I am guilty of messing with the front fork tube height above top clamp. Had too the thing was very unstable in cross winds & passing 18 wheelers. It would wiggle from front too rear under those conditions. Having solved that by lowering the front 13mm. Initially I lowered it 10mm but when I upgraded to the more pointed Metzler Tourance I had to lower it a tad more because the high speed wiggle returned. Just 3mm more solved that but the handlebar flop at low speed was there with 10mm & now at 13mm. Can't remember if it was there at the stock topped out setting. I'll take the low speed wiggle anyday over the high speed wiggle so in short I'm not moving the tubes back to stock. The bike just has too much weight toward the rear in my opinion. With my 3 case Givi bags on back & a passenger it seems to do it more than with just me & no bags. I am thinking the front tire is out of balance since it has no wheel weight at all. Moron at the shop didn't even balance it I think. however the stock front tire had no wheel weight either.
No it probably has a good natural balance. A out of balance tire wouldn't wobble, it would vibrate constantly in tune to whatever speed you were at. I think you've just made the bike unstable. Maybe you return it to stock ride hight and fill the fairing full of lead? I had the hots for a Strom to when they came out, but one ride on a friend's cured me of that. They are just too tall and spindly for the weight & speed they have...
I like the tall riding stance but I agree they are too flimsy feeling in the front fork department. The motor is a jewel but Suzuki in all their smarts knew to restrict the beast with such a tall skinny profile. The bike comes with "h" rated rubber & that is good since the bike really won't go much over 130 mph. Its a wild ride sitting up high at that speed on narrow dual sport tires I love the bike though, it'll chew up the highway miles & you feel as though you just went across town. It's not too bad on gravel roads or hard pack trails. I owned a TL1000R a few years back & I know 1st hand what this engine will do but I have no desire to have that power in a V-Strom chassis. I plan on messing with the front a little more but I betcha it will still wobble with the tubes topped out like stock. Great commuter bike
You might want to try a different *kind* of tire, preferably a different brand, and see if it goes away. For example, I got rid of most of the low speed wiggle on a CBR1000 by getting rid of the BT020s. Of course, first I checked wheel bearings (front and rear), head bearings, etc, and nothing made any difference.
