Continuous Front Wheel Wobble

[_studythepast]

Hey Friends!
I have had a recurring issue with my Trail.
I have had the front wheel balanced, I have tried tire slime, deflating and reinflating the front tire after working the tube around, and I still have an issue with a pronounced front wheel wobble between 20-45 MPH. I have tightened everything I could possibly tighten.
It has done this since the dealer delivered my bike.
Any suggestions? I live far enough away from my closest Honda dealer to make this really inconvenient.
Thanks!

 

[dmonkey]

From my experience tire slime is more likely to cause this issue than correct it, especially in colder weather. Put the bike on the center stand and spin the front wheel in the air, are both the wheel and the tire true? You can set something next to the spinning front wheel and have it nearly skim against it to more easily observe if anything is out of whack there, be sure to look at the contact area of the tire as well for flat spots. What was the result of the front wheel balancing, were weights added? Does it happen on all paved surfaces (some grooved roads will put a smaller motorcycle into a wobble) and with still wind conditions? Are there any mods or changes to the bike that might impact the handling or weight distribution? If there are no fork or wheel issues, you might just have a defective tire - either from manufacturing, or having been stored or transported in a way that damaged it.

 

[Nemo]

I bought a Trail 125 three weeks ago from Sun Sports in Fort Myers, FL. This was the fifth motorcycle that I purchased from this dealer. There has been a profound wobble to the handlebars and mirrors while driving on smooth pavement since the first time that I drove it. After driving on multiple surfaces at multiple speeds, I knew there was something seriously wrong with the bike. I called Sun Sports and the service manager dismissed my claim without even having seen the bike. I took the bike back to the dealer the next day. After keeping the bike for a week, while admitting there was a wobble, they stated that this was normal with the tire equipped with this bike. They never even examined the bike. They only drove it up and down the street a couple of times. This was a total waste of time. I wrote a letter to the owner of Sun Sports. I have heard nothing back.

I contacted American Honda on the phone. An air head who probably never rode a motorcycle kept repeating that I had to take the bike back to the dealer to diagnose the problem. I explained that my bike sat at the dealer for a week and there was no effort to solve the problem. The woman offered no further help.

American Honda followed up with a satisfaction survey. I explained in great detail what transpired while owning this bike and the useless woman working their phone bank. There has been no response from American Honda.

So good luck getting a fix for your bike. My experience is that my dealer is worthless, American Honda is worthless, and the only solution will be trading the bike and seeing it transfer to the next sucker who wants to own a CT 125.

 

[dmonkey]

Something's got to be off quite a bit to be causing that wobble, many CT125s are rolling on aftermarket tires that aren't even balanced and not having issues. It's unfortunate that some dealerships are useless, but nothing unique to American Honda there. If you bring it back to the dealership again be sure to have the service writer type up the conditions that you describe for the issue to occur, or better yet provide them with evidence of it (video), and get everything in writing. If you're done trying to work with the dealership, and troubleshooting the wobble is beyond what you're comfortable with, then I'd recommend reaching out to your local motorcycle community. We're mostly a friendly bunch who help each other out when we can! The issue could be as simple as a tire needing to be reseated. Could happen on any bike. I've run into a defective tire on a brand new bike before, and a few more defective new replacement tires over the years. Even on a new bike Yamaha wouldn't warranty the tire, luckily the tire manufacturers did in every situation that was caught soon enough.

Other than a foot shifter lever recall on earlier models, these CT125s are pretty dang reliable and trouble free. Hope you're able to get yours sorted out!

 

[JPMcGraw]

I had bad wobble on my front tire when i got the bike. When i would spin the front wheel you could see it was oblong shaped. i got my spoke wrench out, connected some zip-ties to the fender as pointers to the rim edge, then started to true the rim best i could. It might still have wobble but it blends in with the cracks in the road so i can't tell.

 

[AZ7000']

Dealers are selling a CT 125 for $4-5k or financing $30k golf carts with accessories and service. As a business needing to pay employees and turn a profit which would you choose???
I’m not saying it’s right but that’s my view. Throw in some “safety” and “almost crashed” and “unsafe” phrases when talking to the dealer and Honda. Make sure they write that in your service order….

Not sure where you are but maybe ride another? take them both to the dealer to compare??

 

[m in sc]

mine sbeen fine. contact american honda via email as a safety concern, regular call center people are there to deflect.

your dealer sounds like a waste of space as most are, try to find a local dirt bike shop to look at it, get a written estimate, send that to honda.

also check make sure the triple tree bolts and lower tree clamps are tight.

I have had mine over 2 years, never, ever had a wobble with the stock tires OR the aftermarket ones I just put on.

 

[bryanchurch06]

I bought a Trail 125 three weeks ago from Sun Sports in Fort Myers, FL. This was the fifth motorcycle that I purchased from this dealer. There has been a profound wobble to the handlebars and mirrors while driving on smooth pavement since the first time that I drove it. After driving on multiple surfaces at multiple speeds, I knew there was something seriously wrong with the bike. I called Sun Sports and the service manager dismissed my claim without even having seen the bike. I took the bike back to the dealer the next day. After keeping the bike for a week, while admitting there was a wobble, they stated that this was normal with the tire equipped with this bike. They never even examined the bike. They only drove it up and down the street a couple of times. This was a total waste of time. I wrote a letter to the owner of Sun Sports. I have heard nothing back.

I contacted American Honda on the phone. An air head who probably never rode a motorcycle kept repeating that I had to take the bike back to the dealer to diagnose the problem. I explained that my bike sat at the dealer for a week and there was no effort to solve the problem. The woman offered no further help.

American Honda followed up with a satisfaction survey. I explained in great detail what transpired while owning this bike and the useless woman working their phone bank. There has been no response from American Honda.

So good luck getting a fix for your bike. My experience is that my dealer is worthless, American Honda is worthless, and the only solution will be trading the bike and seeing it transfer to the next sucker who wants to own a CT 125.

Sir I can understand and emphasize with your frustration, and I'm sorry you are having a bad experience with a bike and I've been in your shoes with a triumph Thunderbird that leaked gas past bad o-rings however your desire to sell or trade to a unsuspecting buying without disclosure of a known issue is a d*ck move and don't give me any buyer beware bs. Comes down to personal integrity at some point. Best wishes to you with solving your issue.

 

[SneakyDingo]

So good luck getting a fix for your bike. My experience is that my dealer is worthless, American Honda is worthless, and the only solution will be trading the bike and seeing it transfer to the next sucker who wants to own a CT 125.

My bike operates smoothly without issues and no wobble. At this point since you have failed to have your issue resolved, my recommendation is to start the lemon law process, as this will give you a bigger fighting edge later on. The process varies slightly but the start of this is to send a written request to the manufacturer to replace or repurchase your defective vehicle. Either way your issue gets resolved or you no longer have to deal with the bike.

your desire to sell or trade to a unsuspecting buying without disclosure of a known issue is a d*ck move and don't give me any buyer beware bs. Comes down to personal integrity at some point. Best wishes to you with solving your issue.

I agree with this. This is still a hot commodity. In the past with other bikes I've seen it either be spokes needing realignment, or potentially a replacement wheel or bearings somewhere. Even fully replacing the wheel is still only a $300 or so cost. Disclosing this comes with very little downside.

 

[Nemo]

I have an update. I went over the service manager's head and spoke to the owner of Sun Sports. She was awesome and has gotten directly involved. She agreed that the wobble is real and has ordered a new set of tires. Still waiting as a work in progress. Also, they prepped another new unit and experienced a similar wobble. I don't know where this ends up, but the folks at Sun Sports are now going over and above to help me out.

 

[Nemo]

Sun Sports put new tires on the bike and they stated that the wobble was the same or maybe even worse. They even prepped a new unit and stated it wobbled as well. I called the helpline again and got nowhere. I sent an email to Honda and they started a case file; stated they would get back with me. We will see.

 

[phiberoptick]

Sun Sports put new tires on the bike and they stated that the wobble was the same or maybe even worse. They even prepped a new unit and stated it wobbled as well. I called the helpline again and got nowhere. I sent an email to Honda and they started a case file; stated they would get back with me. We will see.

I have a new CT125 without a hint of a wobble, my guess is the rim isn't true or forks are bent/not installed correctly. But it could be something deeper. Honda has a one year factory warranty and this is absolutely something that falls under it.

 

[dmonkey]

Sun Sports put new tires on the bike and they stated that the wobble was the same or maybe even worse. They even prepped a new unit and stated it wobbled as well. I called the helpline again and got nowhere. I sent an email to Honda and they started a case file; stated they would get back with me. We will see.

If they're acknowledging that there is an issue, that sounds like it's at least a step in the right direction.
2/2 bikes with wobble? Yeesh! Wonder if this is how Sun Sports unload their new arrivals...

 

[Nemo]

If they're acknowledging that there is an issue, that sounds like it's at least a step in the right direction.
2/2 bikes with wobble? Yeesh! Wonder if this is how Sun Sports unload their new arrivals...

 

[Nemo]

It was clear that neither Sun Sports or Honda were going to resolve the issue with the front end. SS told me that they even test rode a new model that just arrived and it had the same problem. I saw that bike sitting on the showroom floor so they had no qualms selling a bike with front end problems. I grew tired of driving a bike that was a mess on the front end. I took it back to SS and traded it for a Super Cub. It sucked to have been sold a POS with a squirrely front end, but there is no lemon law in Florida for motorcycles. I overpaid in the end, but sometimes you have to cut your losses.

 

[oldskool]

It was clear that neither Sun Sports or Honda were going to resolve the issue with the front end. SS told me that they even test rode a new model that just arrived and it had the same problem. I saw that bike sitting on the showroom floor so they had no qualms selling a bike with front end problems. I grew tired of driving a bike that was a mess on the front end. I took it back to SS and traded it for a Super Cub. It sucked to have been sold a POS with a squirrely front end, but there is no lemon law in Florida for motorcycles. I overpaid in the end, but sometimes you have to cut your losses.

So this particular dealer gets two of the same model bike with the exact same problem that just cannot be identified or fixed. While the bike gets stellar reviews across the globe.......

 

[m in sc]

id suspect transportation or prep issues.

 

[CTExplorer]

Riding my bike made me think of this post. If you let the steering get loose in your hands at all or intentionally quickly steer left and right even an almost unmeasurable amount it will create what I would call a "wobble". Almost seems related to how light the front end on these is compared to other bikes. I imagine it would be amplified if heavily loaded in the rear or with a heavier rider as I'm only 165lb. Reminds me of "death wobble" in Jeeps and 4X4 vehicles with castor/trunion issues. I'd bet if there's any play or improperly installed or defective bearings or components in the center steering pivot it would cause this. Not sure if anyone with the issue had looked at that while troubleshooting.