2017 EX Front End Vibration

[2017EX_imp]

I previously posted about a front end vibration problem with my 2017 EX. The original dealer I took it to TWICE, whom I purchased the bike from new out of the crate, and does not have a Honda trained and certified mechanic, tried to make the symptom go away without fixing the problem and basically told me I was imagining the problem. You can read back through my original thread if you want to see what they did, or said they did. Lesson learned number one: use a dealer that has a Honda factory trained and certified mechanic. I took my bike to a second dealer that has a factory trained mechanic. The standard CB1100 has cast wheels, so a front end vibration problem is probably going to be caused by an improperly mounted tire, tire out of round and/or flat spot/s, wheel assembly out of balance, defective or damaged front wheel bearing from over torque of the front axle bolt during set up, steering head bearings improperly torqued, or a combination. That said, my EX has spoke wheels, so wheel out of true or out of round is thrown into the mix of possibilities. This second dealer pulled my front wheel and put the wheel assembly on a high speed wheel balancing machine. The assembly was found to be out of round, so next the tire was removed, and the rim spun at speed without tire. The rim was out of round by roughly 1/8" whereas spec run out is about 1mm! To my knowledge all spoke rims are hand trued, as I do not know of any machine that will true a spoke rim. At the moment, I do not know if Honda will tell the dealer to true the rim, or authorize a new rim. I told the dealer that after all I had been through with a brand new bike, I wanted a new rim, but we shall see. In any case it has been my experience over all the years, that Honda motorcycles just do not have any front end vibration, and if vibration ( some have described it as a rhythmic vibration ) is felt, something is wrong that needs to be addressed, and should be addressed before the factory warranty expires. For clarification, I am not talking about a slight buzz felt in the grips, I am talking about an up/down front end vibration, and in my case was enough to shake my arms at 40 mph.

[Nortoon_imp]

That's a bummer!

My EX rides smoothly and the front suspension is good. My problem are the brakes. The front squawks when coming to a stop. The rear disk and pads were replaced by Honda Canada because the pads rubbed and discoloured the disk with heat. The rear pads still drag and now the rear brake is mushy.

I will have to have a look at them when the season is over.

[HondaJon_imp]

Truing a spoke wheel is an art, and it is becoming very hard to find a shop that can do it right. I would insist on a new wheel and tire. My 2013 had a shimmy, front tire had a flat spot. Dealer replaced it no problem/no hassle.

[2017EX_imp]

I finally got my bike back, and it is now smooth as glass. The cause of the front end vibration was two fold: First, the front rim was about 1/8" out of round, and has now been trued to within .004, which is even better than spec. Second, while the front tire was supposedly within the run out spec for being round, apparently sitting in the crate for roughly 5 months caused a flat spot. After truing the rim, vibration was reduced, but still there. It was only after putting a new front tire on as well and balancing, that the vibration was eliminated. This was a legit warranty situation, and I had to be very patient and persistent to get it taken care of fully. Any Honda warranty claim requires that the problem first be verified by a Honda trained and certified mechanic, and not all Honda dealers have one. Go to http://powersports.honda.com/?cid=main_r...rts_pmt_be , click on "find a dealer", and enter your zip code. You will get a list of all Honda dealers in your area, and each has a bunch of symbols next to their respective listings. What you are looking for is the wrench symbol surrounded by a red square with "Factory Trained". All dealers are independently owned, and are apparently not required to have a Honda trained mechanic, as dealers have to pay to send their mechanics to Honda schools to be certified. The dealer I bought my bike from new in the crate, did not have a Honda trained mechanic ( who knew?), and aside from not being qualified to verify a warranty problem did nothing to fix my vibration problem after two trips to the service department. My bike is the CA (EX Deluxe) model with spoke rim, so the rim being out of true was a factor. The SA (Standard) model has a cast mag wheel, so it is unlikely that the mag wheel out of round would be a source of vibration, leaving the tire and balancing as the likely source. In any event and from my experience: Use a Honda certified mechanic, make any warranty claims promptly within the 1 year warranty period, and be prepared to be patient and persistent with a legit warranty claim. Hope the info helps the membership avoid the heartburn I experienced. All that said, and now that the bike is right, I love my CB1100 EX.

[Cormanus]

Glad you got it sorted, 2017EX.

[SportsterDoc]

Glad you got it sorted, 2017EX.

+1

In the seventies, my CB750F was parked on an extended "sidewalk" in front of the electric motor rewind shop that I managed. It required riding up over a fairly high curb...which may have affected the front wheel spokes. As much as I worked on snugging loose spokes and truing the wheel, it was not safe past 110...too much oscillation. Not that I needed to do 110 (rarely past 90 and then for short bursts), but high speed oscillation does not usually improve and can occur at lower speeds.

That was my last street bike with laced wheels/tube type tires.

I finally got my bike back, and it is now smooth as glass. The cause of the front end vibration was two fold: First, the front rim was about 1/8" out of round, and has now been trued to within .004, which is even better than spec. Second, while the front tire was supposedly within the run out spec for being round, apparently sitting in the crate for roughly 5 months caused a flat spot. After truing the rim, vibration was reduced, but still there. It was only after putting a new front tire on as well and balancing, that the vibration was eliminated. This was a legit warranty situation, and I had to be very patient and persistent to get it taken care of fully. Any Honda warranty claim requires that the problem first be verified by a Honda trained and certified mechanic, and not all Honda dealers have one. Go to http://powersports.honda.com/?cid=main_r...rts_pmt_be , click on "find a dealer", and enter your zip code. You will get a list of all Honda dealers in your area, and each has a bunch of symbols next to their respective listings. What you are looking for is the wrench symbol surrounded by a red square with "Factory Trained". All dealers are independently owned, and are apparently not required to have a Honda trained mechanic, as dealers have to pay to send their mechanics to Honda schools to be certified. The dealer I bought my bike from new in the crate, did not have a Honda trained mechanic ( who knew?), and aside from not being qualified to verify a warranty problem did nothing to fix my vibration problem after two trips to the service department. My bike is the CA (EX Deluxe) model with spoke rim, so the rim being out of true was a factor. The SA (Standard) model has a cast mag wheel, so it is unlikely that the mag wheel out of round would be a source of vibration, leaving the tire and balancing as the likely source. In any event and from my experience: Use a Honda certified mechanic, make any warranty claims promptly within the 1 year warranty period, and be prepared to be patient and persistent with a legit warranty claim. Hope the info helps the membership avoid the heartburn I experienced. All that said, and now that the bike is right, I love my CB1100 EX.

Good info. Glad to see that my local dealer is factory trained.

[SpamJ_imp]

Thanks to 2017EX, I have this exact same problem and he reached out to me and told me about it, when the bike goes in for Spring Service, I will be bringing his notes.

[Rocky_imp]

Interesting topic. You don't hear of this problem about a Honda very often.
Glad you got it sorted

[2017EX_imp]

Thought you guys might find this interesting: I pulled out my copy of the warranty repair invoice the dealer sent Honda to get reimbursed. The rim had a hop of .028, which was corrected down to .005, and .015 left to right which was corrected down to .002. Those final numbers are better than spec, but when my bike was test ridden after the wheel true, there was still vibration traced to a flat spot on the tire. The addition of the new tire completed the fix. I have owned and ridden Honda spoke wheel motorcycles, as well as other brands of spoke wheel bikes since the early 70s, and have never had this kind of problem before. As Rocky commented, a very unusual and seldom seen problem for a Honda motorcycle. The purpose here is the exchange of information so that if others encounter a similar situation it can be recognized and dealt with, definitely not to bad mouth Honda.

[use2b_imp]

thanks for the update , good info