Curing head shakes?

Headshake

Hi, Alf.....
I had a 'shake problem on my '98 fc; turned out to be several contributing factors. The headset (stem) bearings were dry and also had too much slack due to loose locknut. The forks had been tweaked in a get-off and were slightly out of alignment, and the rear wheel was slightly out of alignment. I have taken care of all the maintenance issues, had the suspension reworked by Factory Connection for my 85kg weight, all kitted up, made sure the sag was set for my personal specs, not the from- the- factory set-up, and, lastly, installed a Scotts steering damper. The latter was done due to the gnarly trails out here in Maine. The work has eliminated all bit a very minor shake at speeds higher than we can normally run on the trails.

Had the same problem with my 03 FE501E. Raise the frontside and put stiffer springs in the fork. Make sure the rear spring is not to stiff. I had the luxury that WP is very close to my home town and I let them do the work, after the modifications no problems anymore!
Good luck.

Alf said:

The bike is an 03 FE400 with only 20 hours running time. I weight 75kg ...
During and enduro last weekend the bike was trying to get rid of me over the open fields as soon as small bumps appeared (like mini-whoops).


Could someone tell me where to start looking?

Many thanks

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You and I weigh the same, so I can tell you how to set up your bike.

Is the bike bucking you like a horse or swapping ends (rear kicks sideways and tries to pass the front tire)?

For bucking: Too little rear sag, try 110 to 120mm race sag. Decrease both low and high speed compression. Back all the way out, then count as you turn in. Then back out 3/4 of the total adjustment range for each. Increase rebound damping in the rear, probably 1/2 turn out from the fully in position.

Front: I installed .44 springs. The book is wrong, oem is for 65kg max rider
Set rebound at about 8 clicks out to start. Set comp at about 14 clicks out to start.

When your bike is dialed in, mini whoops will be just a blurr of scenery as you fly over them.

Hi,

your bike is unbalanced, definetly!!!!.........the posts you already got are all basically right......but for best results, I recommend: go to a good suspension shop, that has experience with PDS/***********, describe the problem, give them some money and let them work on your suspenders.....you will be amazed what the stock parts a capable of!!!

Also invest in a good steering damper.

My 60hp SM 2002 650 shakes like a wet dog coming out of bends hard on the throttle.

This is only since I firmed up the suspension. Do i need a damper ?

Alf,

As suggested above, go right back to the basics and check the sag yourself. What are your current settings on your suspension?

In 03 many of the WP suspension units came out of the factory far, far too stiff. Some said they would bed in but in many cases they actually needed to come apart, be serviced properly and then would work fine.

My 03 rear shock still has too much rebound damping despite the fact that it is fully wound out (e.g. should minimal) so on some dirt sections it just jacks down and causes horrible front end behaviour. To begin with my forks were the same in terms of rebound damping but when I took them apart I found that when they had assembled them at the fasctory someone had cocked it all up and rebound damping rod was fully pushed-in - so whatever I tried on the outside it wouldn't adjust anyway. Once back together it actually works properly

So check your sag first, but also jump up and down on your suspension as this will give you an idea of if there is too much damping somewhere.

Cheers,
Simon

My supermoto 61Hp shakes also on the straight especially with wet tyres.

Supermoto_Husaberg said:

My 60hp SM 2002 650 shakes like a wet dog coming out of bends hard on the throttle.

This is only since I firmed up the suspension. Do i need a damper ?

Click to expand...

No, you don`t need a damper.....a good suspension set up never needs a damper!
You just have to get your suspension balanced again!
Well, it`s difficult to give advice here, because it can basically be everything.....too much rebound in the back, too much compression in the front.....so don`t be fooled, when you got headshake there is not necessarily something wrong with your fork set up.....headshake can be caused by a wrong shock set up!!!!
I only can tell you, play around with your settings....but make sure you write down everything you are doing, otherwise you get confused....and get a feeling what the bike is doing!

I have a Yamaha450 and my Berg 600 and worked on them with my suspension guy and headshake isn`t even coming in my mind!!!!

This could be tricky. Have you checked your current suspension set up? You never know what you get from the factory. If not standard setting, try that first.

I have two set ups. When I go for faster tracks like MX I have 7 cliques more compression damping front and 5 rear but this is often too little. The rebound is 2 cliques less front. Every time the front wheel hits the top of the bumps the handlebar goes as a propeller but the bike goes straight at forth gear with half or ¾ open throttle. A small constant acceleration helps up the situation. If it goes to fast, don’t change gear, apply the rear brake with unchanged throttle and the bike will become more stabile.

In the beginning of this year I had a little problem with wet condition. I noticed the initial rear sag was more than recommended. Before I used maximal sag with me on the bike but that wasn’t good. This changed the bikes behavior a lot. I also changed to standard rebound damping in the fork and the handlebar become much calmer when you runs over roots. Before it was like one bump when you hit the root and then one more when the fork did the rebound. That was the MX setting. A steering damper works but I will quote an ex MX pro from my work “It’s better to put that money in the suspension”.

By the nature Husaberg has good high speed stability. The -02 is too stabile for the tight trails. In this issue you will notice that everyone have an opinion what to do, me too. Many enduro riders tell that you shall have a hard fork and a soft rear.

However,
Check the unloaded sag. Run with the recommended first before you start to manipulate it. If too much racing sag in the front you get an instable bike in bumps.
Go to a well defined part of the track so you can try the different set ups at similar conditions. You will notice that the bike behaves very different depending on the speed. So go with similar speed every time at the test track.

Now you have two possibilities:

Start with the standard set up. Check the rear high speed damping. Take a firm grip in the rear part and shake the bike up and down fast. If the bike becomes very stiff you could try to reduce the damping. Change the set up with two or more clique at the time. Then you see in which direction you shall go. The pro change their set up depending on the track condition and speed many times during one racing day. Do not make to much high speed compression when riding on hard tracks. Make sure that the high speed compression valve is almost open when riding on hard tracks otherwise you will loose traction.

Reset all set up totally. No damping at all. When you start to increase the damping you will realize how it will influence the bike. You can always go back to standard setting whenever you want. Be very careful when riding with very little damping!!!

When you have reached the optimum set up. You can start to manipulate the oil level in the fork to get softer or stiffer behavior.

Once you ride a bike with a properly
set up up steering damper you will
probably never want to be without one.
Deflections from rocks and tree roots are
less,and you won't get as much arm pump
because you can relax a little more,no
more death grip on the bars all the time.

Shaking as you accelerate is definitely a suspension problem.

Dampers are for controlling the front end when you hit a rock or other obstacle. Don't buy a damper until you have the suspension tuned properly.

I had problems with my FC550-03 fork. I was ither stiff or soft. Very difficult to get a allround setting.
So send my fork to a company to change to stiffer springs. When I picked up the fork, to owner said he had changed the shims to -04 settings. He had done that since the -03 shim setting was well known as :evil:

Now it works better. Only need to lower the oil level a little more.

Bergi600 said:

...a good suspension set up never needs a damper!

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Such a broad statement. Surely you cant be talking absolutely every situation?
Does everyone here own a suspension or engine shop?

Alf,
Check the basics and service your forks yourself. Set up as per "Splat" recomendations he appears on the money. Dont hand over cash until you have exhausted all of the easy options or until you get sick of working on your own bike.

Bergi600 said:

Supermoto_Husaberg said:

My 60hp SM 2002 650 shakes like a wet dog coming out of bends hard on the throttle.

This is only since I firmed up the suspension. Do i need a damper ?

Click to expand...

No, you don`t need a damper.....a good suspension set up never needs a damper!

Click to expand...

I'll beg to differ on that one.
If you notice he says his bike is a supermoto. Us supermoto guys tend to drop the front over the forks to speed up steering, which in turn can amke the front shake.
I will agree that a proper suspension set up does pays dividends and is money well spent, but adding the gpr to my bike has given me the freedom to go as low on the front as I want without fear of shaking me teeth out.
First off spend the money on a set up...then go for a damper as the safety option..just my 2p

Hi Alf head shakes is no more poorly setup bike start with basic settings
sag 100mm, forktube even with tripple clamp if bike still shakes go out
with front rebound two clicks if the same go in with rear rebound if better
repeat process if the head shakes is the same there is something wrong
internaly with fork and or shock. Ambient temprature could have influence cold=thicker oil wich could make fork pack temprature have less influence on shock since its operating temp. is higher changing springsetc. would just complicate things there is a good article within this wed sitesee FAQ/ suspension
Happy trails VIKING
PS I dont agre with Mikst Husaberg is a great tight woods bike

mmmmmmmm!

i've been reading this thread with interest. to see what everyone knows.

TO MARK YOUR CARDS.

these bikes don't suffer from headshake so if you've got headshake then something needs setting up better.

brendan came to me with this problem on the force ride and it was risiculously hard to describe until i drew a picture etc, etc.

go right through the bike looking for poor wheel bearings, S/A bushes and notched headrace bearings.

look for the real classic-rear wheel alignment. and to do this i used to put the bare rear wheel back in the bike less the tyre and then do an alignment check using a piece of string. don't ask....

there is suspension 'kicking' which is what i think brian is saying here. basically if you have poor sussies then it'll shake the bike around etc.

it really is a case of 'cold case files' (yes we get it over the pond) when you kill the wife hoping to have a good house clean and the garden dug over by the powlees.

the same rule applies to the electrics and a 'misfire' and this one-the headshake.

get in the owners book and go right through the lot. top to tail.

regards

Taffy

Gix said:

Bergi600 said:

Supermoto_Husaberg said:

My 60hp SM 2002 650 shakes like a wet dog coming out of bends hard on the throttle.

This is only since I firmed up the suspension. Do i need a damper ?

Click to expand...

No, you don`t need a damper.....a good suspension set up never needs a damper!

Click to expand...

I'll beg to differ on that one.
If you notice he says his bike is a supermoto. Us supermoto guys tend to drop the front over the forks to speed up steering, which in turn can amke the front shake.
I will agree that a proper suspension set up does pays dividends and is money well spent, but adding the gpr to my bike has given me the freedom to go as low on the front as I want without fear of shaking me teeth out.
First off spend the money on a set up...then go for a damper as the safety option..just my 2p

Click to expand...

OK, I admit, I don`t know much about Super Moto set up....basically nothing .....probably it is much different to MX and Off Road....but what I know, Husabergs don`t suffer from headshake.......so my conclusion, if your Berg has headshake, dial in your suspension and you are fine......and maybe ad a dampfer for Super Moto!