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I've got a 2012 Suzuki s40 650 with less than 500 miles on it. I'm getting wobble and shimmy. I'd like suggestions on tires with treads that reduce or eliminate road wobble. Thanks.

Hello Sandra and welcome to the forum. Your tires shouldn't be wore out after only 500 miles. you might want to check your tire balance. I'd look at the fork bearing or the swing arm bearing to see if one or both are loose. Or the axle's front or back could be loose. If you really want better tires Avon or Pirelli make better tires, but you'll pay dearly for them. How about showing us a picture of your S40?

Don't forget to check the air pressure. Motorcycles need air every week.

If your bike is a 2012 with only 500 miles, the chance of a bearing being worn out is minimal. Manufacturing defect is a possibility though. Your profile says you have 1 year experience - you might want to take the bike to a dealer and let an experienced mechanic check it out. But first, as Storysunfolding said, check the air pressure.

Assuming there's nothing wrong with the bike and the tires are inflated correctly, can you tell us more about when you're getting the wobble and shimmy? Is it general riding, or is it related to something specific such as grooved pavement, steel grid bridge decking, etc.

I feel the wobble and shimmy on grooved roads like highways and especially on the freeway.

Inflate your tires to 39 or 40 psi and that the way it's going to be. I still want to see a picture of your bike.

sfgordon57 wrote:I've got a 2012 Suzuki s40 650 with less than 500 miles on it. I'm getting wobble and shimmy. I'd like suggestions on tires with treads that reduce or eliminate road wobble. Thanks.

sfgordon57 wrote:I feel the wobble and shimmy on grooved roads like highways and especially on the freeway.

Now we know what you're asking. I don't know offhand what tires they are putting on the S40 now but some tires are much better than others on construction groves and road situations like open grate bridges, etc. My all time favorite front for stability in these situations is the tread pattern on the Metzeler Lasertec (same as old ME-33 Laser) but they've become quite pricey here. Next is my current Avon Roadrider, I've been using the Roadriders for the last 40k of my over 400k miles.

While the front tire is most noticeable in these wobble inducing situations a badly squared rear can be just as bad if not worse. I had an Avon AM52 rear (a tire that started with a square shape and was worn even worse) on once when I hit very wiggly construction grooves that must have been cut by a drunk LOL and my bike was uncontrollable, had to tack (sp?) off them like a sailboat heading into the wind. Changed the rear only next morning and went back and just sailed smoothly over the same grooves.

It could also be the mere fact that you're riding a smaller bike on the highway, and as you're getting more comfortable, you're noticing every little shimmy and wobble it does instead of concentrating on the big picture like you used to. I did the same thing on my old Volusia.

Death grip on the bars also translates everything into a w bobble sometimes...

I ordered some Metzeler 880s. I hope this solves it. Thanks for your input. I'll let you know how they work out.