New fork vibrating when braking smooth when not

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spiderskzes

spiderskzes

Member
Oct 10, 2012
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Hello quick question from a noob. I have a cruiser bike with a 4 stroke motor. I just replaced the front fork with mountain bike fork with shocks. I tightened everything down and readjusted the brakes. when i rode it was really smooth but when i would brake there was a lot of "woobly" vibration. I stopped, checked everything and everything was tight but still vibration persists. any ideas on something i did wrong?
 
xseler

xseler

Well-Known Member
Apr 14, 2013
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OKC, OK
If you have calipers, try to bend the shoes slightly this way...... /^\ ....... the arrow being the direction of the wheel travel. That should eliminate a lot of the 'chatter'.

Good luck!!
 
spiderskzes

spiderskzes

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Oct 10, 2012
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Rim brakes
i also had difficulty screwing in the cone, spacer, and nut on the top of the headset. which is what im most afraid of if maybe i havent put the cone down far enough on th bearings
 
maniac57

maniac57

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Oct 8, 2011
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Sounds like your headset is loose. If the fork clunks back and forth while braking, it needs to be correctly tightened.
Get the bike off the ground (no weight on the fork) and shake the front end. If you feel ANY play, it's not adjusted correctly.
 
spiderskzes

spiderskzes

Member
Oct 10, 2012
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san diego
maniac57 said:
Sounds like your headset is loose. If the fork clunks back and forth while braking, it needs to be correctly tightened.
Get the bike off the ground (no weight on the fork) and shake the front end. If you feel ANY play, it's not adjusted correctly.
Click to expand...
When i got home i checked the headset it was snugged down. I lifted it up the front fork and shook it like you said and there was no clunking or movement through the headseat. However i did notice the shocks have about a half inch play heading up is this normal?
 
maniac57

maniac57

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Yes this is normal wear on the cheap plastic bushings inside the forks. They can be replaced easily IF you can find the replacement parts. Me, I generally just replace the entire fork.
Usually not worth fixing these cheap forks.
You can live with it or replace the bushings (again, IF you can find new bushings) or replace the fork.
 
Moto

Moto

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Jan 7, 2012
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maniac57

maniac57

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Oct 8, 2011
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Fork shudder is caused by worn bushings. The better the fork, the less likely it is to shudder under braking.
Adjusting your brake pads may help reduce it like Moto says, but there is no hiding worn parts for long.
 
F_Rod81

F_Rod81

Dealer
Jan 1, 2011
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Denver, CO
Give it a check up. Start with your headset. Even the crappiest brakes shouldn't do that; unless it's metal on metal... but even then. If your headset is offset or loose in any way... correct it quick before something tragic happens. Just to be safe check the frame to make sure there are no cracks in that area. (^)

Ride safe
 
spiderskzes

spiderskzes

Member
Oct 10, 2012
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san diego
Yeah im thinking the bushings are shot in the forks. There used forks i picked up for 40 bucks cuz i wanted suspension. Ive checked several times and there is no movement in the headset. If its steady inside the headset do you think it is safe to ride?
 
maniac57

maniac57

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Oct 8, 2011
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It should be safe to ride, but I would not do much jumping on them...the only fork failure I've seen from bushings was when a guy was jumping and his lower fork legs decided to take a different route! Needless to say, it was not pretty.
Riding on the street is much less stressful. I'd say you should be fine unless they are seriously wasted.
 
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