Steering wobble

[Teacher]

A couple of months ago I had the mitchelin Pilot Road 3 fitted at service and MOT
Following this I detected a steering wobble between 40 and 50 mph

I didn't get back to the independent dealer and put a few hundred on the tyres

I have now just returned from a blast down the Alps, so have put on around a further 2700 miles.

The steering wobble is quite evident only between 40 and 50 mph; there is no wobble over 50 or below 40 mph

It's only evident with hands off the bars, but is quite pronounced

I've gone back to the independent today and they are taking a look tomorrow

Has anyone else had this issue? I'm convinced it's the tyres as I first noticed this when i had them fitted, in fact my girlfriend asked me why I was taking my hands off the bars, something I don't normally do !!!

Oh, and I must mention I don't feel unsafe, the bike is perfectly stable at all speeds with hands on the steering !!! It's just annoying because i know it does it and didnt before

Bikes total mileage is still less than 7k, so wouldn't expect head or wheel bearings surely?

[Lonewolf]

Are the tyres balanced correctly? Do you have tyre weld or similar within the tyre? I don't make a habit of it but I can take my hands off the bars at any speed and the bike is as stable as anything.

[flatfour]

I had the same problem after a new pair of Metzeler Z6 tyres were fitted to my BMW K1200. I had owned the bike for four years and two sets of tyres of the same type had already been fitted to it during my ownership. The wobble was most pronounced at around 55 - 60 mph and would disappear at speeds significantly higher or lower. It became most irritating on a trip to France with my daughter, although we found that if she leaned forward or back a little, the speed range affected changed noticeably. Tyre pressure and suspension settings made no difference.

I thought that this must be a balance problem and both wheels were balanced a total of three times by two different dealers, in adittion to the balance on initial fit. The tyres were also checked for runout on both the sidewalls and treads. This was negligible.

Ultimately, the problem remained with the bike until I sold it for the GTR six months after the tyres were fitted.

[nightrider]

I had the same problem on my zzr1200.  Thought it was the head bearings as they are a weak spot on the 12  but it turned out to be the front tyre , even tho it looked fine and had lots of life left in it , when you slowed down from 50 to 40 it did shake the front , like you said with hands off , put new tyre on and it was ok , ,,,,