Bar Vibration

[BA]

Been down in Texas this week riding the '95 Magna.  Spent the day on South Padre Island and on the way back home my wife decides to give me a run for the money on her VTX.  Not to be outdone I kick it down two gears and let her rip.  Passing 100 mph (and her) the bars start to vibrate and it just gets worse the faster I go.  We both hit about 120 before backing off.  I had noticed this same vibration around 50 mph, but it goes away by the time we get up to highway speed.  Wheel bearings and steering head bearings check out ok, no cupping on the tires, so I guess my next steep would be to rebalance the tires/wheels.  Anything else I should look for?  My '99 back in Michigan is smooth as silk at these speeds.

[Sledge Hammer]

Since you experience it at ~ 50 mph and again at ~ 100 mph.I can't think of much else it could be besides an out of balance wheel and tire set-up, except just maybe a defective tire. Try taking it up to 150 mph and see if it happens there, too. If the cops ask why, tell them I said it's okay,,,

[lragan]

If you get the front wheel off the ground, you can easily check the "static balance".  If you spin it gently, is there a preferred stopping point?  You can also check for out of round by holding a tool, pencil, whatever close to the tire and turning it gently to see if it is round.  These checks are easy to perform yourself before you head to a shop.

You may have already done these checks, since you point out that the steering head and wheel bearings check out -- you had to have the front wheel up to know about both of these.

Good luck.

[BA]

Vacation is over now and I'm back in Michigan today.  It will be another month before I get back down there again.  Just wish the bike was up here so I could tinker with it more.  I have access to a fully equipped shop here and could rebalance the wheels myself.  I hate having limited time to work on things when I'm down there.  I might just buy new tires and get them mounted and balanced when I go back, but the stealer there wants to charge me $60 a tire if I bring them in off the bike.  I hate giving them my hard earned money even more.