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Front tire wobble on gravel?

20K views 39 replies 18 participants last post by  CheapBassTurd 
#1 ·
My front tire wobbles very bad at slow spped on gravel, it feels like I'm about to loose it when I get above 20-25mph, like it's on ice. I read where it could be that the stearing is too tight or the tires are not inflated properly?
I have played around with tire pressure with no luck.

J.B.
 
#2 ·
Ruling out mechanical issues that is a common feeling on gravel. Sit back a little further getting the weight off the front, a loose grip on the bars, look far ahead, and gas it. Going too slow in the loose stuff magnifies the feeling of the bike wandering, and it will, even going faster but it is controllable.

Get back on that section of road and ride it until you get a feel for it.
 
#3 ·
In my experience, lowering tire pressures while on gravel will change the "feel" of the ride, but doesn't offer any real advantage with how well the tires perform. I ride gravel all the time and, even though the higher pressures make you "feel" the gravel more, I prefer street pressures on gravel and don't think lowering your tire pressures for gravel travel does any good at all like it does on true dirt. I've found lower pressures on gravel don't offer any advantages when it comes to traction or control and just make the ride seem more "squirmy."

It takes awhile to get used to the feeling. Flash gives excellent advice. My front tire and front end wander all over the place on gravel. Slowing down just makes it seem worse. If you're going in a straight line and holding a steady line, the front tire isn't going to suddenly wash out from under you. Just keep a light grip and let it go where it wants. You do have to be more careful on curves/corners, though where low speeds are more appropriate.

It also depends, of course, on how thick and loose the gravel is but even a 4" layer of freshly-dumped gravel can be easily and safely negotiated: it will just feel like you're floating from road ditch to road ditch as you ride on it.

What kind of tires do you have on it?
 
#6 ·
I didn't know if you had more street-oriented tires. Can't speak from experience, but would think they would be a little worse on gravel because there are no knobs to dig down through the loose stuff. Factory tires are more or less the same tread design as the Shinko 244's that I use. Good luck with your tire choice.
 
#7 ·
I rode the OEM tires for first 7000 miles - about 2/3 gravel - they worked really well on gravel. (here comes the rotten tomatoes). Like the others said - move your weight rear, relax your grip on the bars a lot, let them wave around as the front wheel pecks this way and that, steer a bit with your knees against the tank and enjoy. When I hit deep loose stuff I like to stand up and look where I want to go and apply some throttle and the bike will power through. Practice makes perfect.
 
#8 ·
Riding on gravel, deep gravel is a skill learned and once learned a great way to enjoy the bike. BUT, it takes a while to learn this skill and get comfortable with the feeling. Personally I'm not a fan of the loose frontend feeling. But, on my adventures you have to adapt to these roads often. If you know you are going to be on it for a few hours then I seriously suggest lowering your tire pressures down conciderably. I normally ride with 34/32 pressures on the street but on gravel that is almost suicide!!! You need to have the front tire absorb some of those ball bearing sized rocks and not bounce off them. I usually drop to just below 20 pounds in the front and 24 in the back when I know I will be on the stuff for a few hours. The difference is night and day!!! Also, the saying that speed is best on gravel is also true....surprisingly.....that is straight sections more than curve. You will find that once your front tire starts to get above the gravel and not plowing through it you will instantly enjoy the experience more. But, it takes some nerve to get to this magical speed of 50mph. I have found that it is this speed that everything settles down and you can enjoy the ride over white knuckling it. You also must allow the handle bars to float and not grip them with the death grip that usually comes when the front gets loose. Let them wiggle, the bike will stay upright you will find almost on it's own.
Going around corners takes skill andattention to what the surface is like. Plus you must slow or you will slide off the road as the bike will glide towards the edge as you go around the corner.

The best way to learn is to lower the presures and carefully practise. It won't happen overnight, it takes time to get really comfortable on gravel roads. That is to say gravel that has no ruts or tracks to follow from cars etc.

Take it easy and learn.....wear your gear just in case....be carefull!!....hope this helps....:13:
 
#9 ·
Cottonmouth,
Don't mean to flame anyone, and most of what has been said is helpful.
However, I am experiencing the same feel. Just to be clear, I have competed in MX, TT, desert riding, etc on several brands & size bikes & this bike is the most unstable
at any speed on gravel of any I have ridden.
 
#10 · (Edited)
The problem with gravel is that, unlike most paves surfaces, it's all different. Even a surface you're familiar with can change from week to week depending on rain, 4-wheeled vehicle traffic, etc. I ride down some roads where the composition changes every 1/4-mile or so. Most high-traffic gravel roads around here are covered with 1" rock that's somewhat "round." Some of the seldom-used roads get a gravel dump that's more in the 2-3" size and it's pretty sharp and jagged. Some are deep and some are pretty much like pavement with a light scattering of small rocks on top. Some look fine, but when you start down them after a rain, you find out the gravel isn't that deep after all and the next thing you know you start sliding in the muck, packing the area at the top of the swingarm full of a concrete-like amalgam of clay and large rocks.

I think a large part of the feeling folks get riding the KLR on gravel is just because it's so tall and you're sitting up so high. The somewhat underwhelming factory suspension setup probably doesn't help matters, either.

This time of year around here, they're "maintaining" the roads with graders, dragging all kids of sharp sticks, larger rocks, clumps of mud, weeds and other debris up off the "shoulder" and scraping it back up onto the road. Rides this time of year can be interesting. Riding on them at night is even more interesting because it's much harder to "read" the surface.

Add to these variables the fact that we all run different types and brands of tires and it's pretty much impossible to reach a consensus on how best to deal with riding on gravel roads. I don't think you can go wrong with the opinions of: keep your speed up in a straight line, look further ahead down the road, slow down on the curves and let the front end do its thing.

Another theory with perhaps no credence to it at all. With every other dualsport motorcycle I've ridden, the dash/vestigial "windshield" turned when the bars did. On a GenII KLR, it took me a long time to get used to the sensation of the front end/handlebars moving while the dash and fairings didn't. Just me, perhaps.......

No matter how crazy or loose the surface was, I have never seen anybody lose control of a motorcycle and dump it going in a straight line down a gravel road. Now curves, that's another story.......
 
#14 ·
I've done some experimentation and have found the same to be true. Only difference is more rocks "ping" off the front tire at "street" psi. I don't think it's worth the hassle and wear on the tires to reduce psi on the majority of gravel roads, although there may be exceptions. My Shinko 244's feel better on gravel than either the stock tires or the Mefo Explorers that replaced the stocks when they wore out.

Gravel roads really chew up back tires fast. That's why I like the cheap ones.
 
#17 ·
Of primary importance, of course, is to keep images like this out of your mind.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SooguSpeK4c

I'd say that was a case of target fixation. His front tire got kick up a bit by something but that didn't make him crash. Instead of continuing to turn he goes straight probably right where he was looking!
 
#22 ·
Gravel Sucks. My wifey and I both had V-Strom 650's. We towed them both out to her brothers house to do some riding. Her brother had a V-Strom 650 also. We loaded up our gear & guns to do a little plinking and headed out. When we got to this gravel road I thought I was going to die. The bike was all over the place. I gripped the bars as hard as I could and couldn't keep up with my wifes brother. White knuckes the whole way. I hated the bike and was determined to sell them it as soon as I got back to civilization. But for some strange reason my brother inlaw kept pulling away and seemed totally in control. When he stopped so my wife and I could catch up I asked him what his secret was. He told me three simple things that I will remember until the day I die, a light touch on the bars, scootch your butt back so the front end can float a little, and carry enough speed to ride on top of and not in the gravel. He did mention to watch out for jack rabbits and wolves too.
 
#23 ·
I have found that standing on the pegs can really help stabilize the bike in loose gravel. Standing on the pegs actually lowers the center of gravity of the bike because your body weight transfers through the pegs rather than through the seat thus lowering the c of g. Of course your bars and stuff must be setup to be able to stand and ride comfortably for this to work for longer periods of time. Really low tire pressures 12-15 help the tires float on the gravel but you must be using rimlocks or you may have the same crash as the vidieo when the rim slips in the tire and pulls the valve stem out of the tube! Ask me how I know THAT!!
Regards....justjeff
 
#25 ·
#26 ·
That little kawi is purty. I must be getting old because I'm liking the looks of older bikes more and more each year. :)
 
#29 ·
I have been off roading for a long time on three wheelers (remember the Honda 110 baloon tired three wheelers) and later on four wheelers. My two wheel experience is limited. One thing I do remember from my MSF course was to look where you want to go. This it true on the street also. Look right go right, look left go left. If you stare at some bush, tree, car or dog you will certainly hit it. It's human nature.

When in doubt gas it out. That works too. :28:
 
#31 ·
I just rode a lot of gravel this past weekend. In straight aways i always stand. Bike tracks better. And i tend to go pretty fast. I compare it akin to riding in the desert. Did a lot of 2 stroke stuff in Hesperia CA. Used to haul ass in the deep sand. Just let the bike kinda go on its own. Flexible grip on the bars. Front will track pretty straight at speed and the ass end might want to kick a little left and right once in awhile. Slow gradually , use back brake. In corners I tend to sit down and lean the bike and I stay upright more, use a lower gear so you can give it a little gas if the front gets squirly. This lets the ass end slide and not the front end bite in and push the gravel. Its easy to talk about i guess, its more of a seat of the pants feel and you get better with more practice. Its hard with a bike of this weight, especially any of us that want to use our bike for more dirt bike oriented stuff or where lighter bikes excel. But if you can get the KLR to do about 3/4 of what you could do on a light dirt bike then you are on your way. I watched a vid on youtube where they were comparing all the real big adventure bikes. It was nearly 30 minutes long and no one spoke english. They had the stock tires on, that looked more street than dirt tires and they were blasting these things on dirt roads, gravel and some knarly single track stuff. These guys knew how to ride. They were flinging them around like dirt bikes. So I always scoff ehn folks say the KLR is not good for the dirt or its too heavy for this or that. Its the only bike I got that lets me do both.
 
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