1982 KZ1000 lTD Wobble

New to the forum and I enjoy almost all the threads.

Quick question concerning the 1982 KZ1000. Does this bike have a history of a wobble at high speeds?

I owned a 1977 KZ (way back) which had a wobble and it was a simple fix with a change of shocks.

Welcome to the madness!


I'd check things out in this order:

1. Tires (they can look good, be mounted & balanced right, and have correct pressure and still cause high speed wobble - this happened to me).

2. Swingarm pivot bushing/bearing play (lift rear wheel off ground; disconnect shocks; see if you can twist swingarm at all - you should not be able to)

3. Steering stem bearings (lift front wheel off ground and see if there is any fore and aft play - too lose; also see if handlebars can flop to either side with zero resistance - too lose; there should be only very slight resistance but they should not be sloppy.

4. Rear shocks

Ed

Thanks very much. Will do!

Also the front forks, same oil level, best to change it if you haven't, and same air pressure on each leg, about 8-10psi. Thats with no fairing. I run 13 with a fairing, and have added spacers for more spring pre-load. Same 82 K2 LTD. I have been getting a wobble from the rear under right corners since putting on a certain tire, Shinko Tour Master. Never had one before, so as Ed says, can be tires.

I'll add my listing too:

I copied this from a post from Jeff Saunders(owner of Z1 enterprises)

Motorcycle Wobble Causes

There's a LONG list of potential area that can cause this.

These are not in any particular order

Wheel bearings

Steering bearings - repack grease, check tightness

Swing arm bushings/sleeves/bearings - replace is worn, repack grease

Fork springs aging - check spring length

Unequal fork oil - if seals leak, then your damping can be ineffective

Rear shocks aging, damper leaks - if you have oil leaking from the seals, the damping is toast.

Worn Tires/Mismatched tires/tire pressures/wrong size tires
Wheel alignment - don't trust the chain adjusters - I visually align the wheels.

Bent rims/broken spokes - get the wheels off the ground and spin them - check for runout / damage

Front disc warped - check for runout

Steering & swing arm bearings are very common problems, but so are tire issues (pressure/mismatch) and wheel alignment.