A friend has a Honda VTX 1300 that shimmies upon deceleration that developed suddenly last season. He does not do the forum thing so I thought I would pick your collective brains.

The bike has not been laid down.
He has had both tires replaced and balanced, no change.
The front tire has been re-balanced, no change.
He had the neck bearings checked and adjusted, no change.

I am assuming the dealer checked the wheel bearings and the bike has cast wheels and am assuming the dealer checked the run out. He says there are no unusual noises or handling differences just when you let off the gas and RPMs do not affect it.

What can it be? Back wheel balance , swing arm bearings?

The only thing that I can think of that changes from acceleration/cruise to deceleration is the weight transfer to the front wheel and onto the wheel bearings. I do know that the drive type [chain/shaft] affects this but I couldn't describe the VTX drive or how it might affect this situation.

Is there a change in the vibration when the front brake is applied while decelerating?

Is the vibration a ''wilder'' kind of wobble or more concentrated like a ''shudder''? (not sure how to describe the difference I'm thinking of)

 

Did this happen after he had the wheel off and put back on for whatever reason?? I ask because Vtx forks has to be lined up perfect when wheel go back on, if not u will get the wobble once weight is transferred to the front wheel.

 

I looked at the Honda 1300, good bike, and one thing I found out is there is a common problem with this. Go to the VTX forum and look. If I remember right it was the tree bearings that are poorly made and have to be replaced. Solves the shimmy problem but get it fixed as it is dangerous and will get worse.