High speed weave

'06 Duke. 16t front sprocket. 2000 kilockometers old.
Small complaint.....I've been getting a disconcerting slow speed weave at around 160/170 kph. When I mentioned this to the dealer-man at the first service he said "they all do that Sir, you need to buy this expensive steering damper."
Tyre pressures OK, I'm light on the handlebars and chin down on the tank. Wheel alighnment is OK. Forks and shock set to manual (comfort) setting.
Is this normal? I always figured that a damper was not a "cure-all" and that a new bike should behave better than that.
Dealer-man's argument was that the bike was not designed to be ridden at such speeds (ie illegal) and therefore the factory doesn't fit dampers in order to build down to a price. Sounded like crap to me.

Any similar experiences?

Perth Paddy

Your dealer is both right and wrong. Right 'they all do that sir', and wrong 'you need this expensive steering damper'. The SD is 'flighty' to say the least, and there is no real answer other than to relax the death grip that usualy ensues when it starts to weave, and enjoy the ride! The weave doesn't get any worse with speed and I'm quite happy with it on the limiter in top. Fit a damper if you want, it will stop the weave, empty your walet and slow the razor sharp steering, or buy a *onda. Personaly i like it just as it is, there's no chance of nodding off that's for sure

There are so many things that could cause a weave.... I assume that your hands are on the bars when it weaves? Not only tyre pressures but condition of the tyres also play a large part. Check your steering head bearings for play, I believe that the manual will instruct you on how to check. Also, try setting your suspension to standard as a soft setting (especially in the rear) can cause the weave.

Am happy to relax and enjoy the ride. Nice to know it won't get worse. Will grow larger pair of testicles and stop moaning like a beatch.

I mentioned to the dealer that it felt to me like loose head bearings and asked them to check 'em. They said they did. I had landed a few awkward wheelies (from selecting neutral) and thought maybe the bearings had "settled". I guess if ya want anything done proper, ya gotta do it yourself.

All set to disconnect gear sensor on return to civilisation. More smoother power please.

Perth Paddy

Kind of tyres are you using ,have you recently changed them????
Is it happening when you are feeding in the power or steady throttle--does the bike squat a lot under acceleration.

Very simillar experience mate: I just picked up a 2008 SD 2 wks back, ran her in and then went for it. Found the wobble a bit nerv racking above 160 kph so I started to tweak things around. Starting with the front I found compression setting different between L&R HS. Went through setting from standard to sport and the wobble remained. After going back and forth to the dealer getting pretty much SFA support my neighbour who rides a 990 Adventure told me to tighten the rear spring preload (6 turns in the book) Pulled the rear shock and wound in the spring preload to 8 turns. This sorted things out (in addition to relaxing the shoulders and arms - reaction from fear after the first speed wobble over taking a car on the motorway). All was well until I carried a back pack with about 5 kg additional weight and the wobble returned. Finally found that the standard spring is for rider weights between 75 to 85 KG. So ordering the (59) 180-185 d14 titanlook 9101.0276 spring as recommended by WP. These are the comments from WP rep. "The SD is very sensitive to the correct sag of the bike.
The standard spring is meant for aproxx. a 75 to 85 kg person.
Rear sag should be 25mm, front sag should be 35 to 40 mm.

If your bike is wobbly, you should first set the sag right.
If the problem still exists, reduce the pre-load at the front.
If the problem then still exists, you can drop the frontforks through the triple clamps, with 2mm at a time, maximum of 8mm."

Must admit I was pretty pissed off, having just ordered the SD expecting to increase the adrenaline factor above what I get from my HP2 Enduro dressed in supermoto kit, I now realise what a beast the HP2 is. Saying that, I am sure with the sag set, spring changed and steering damper (jeez these KTM's are becoming like Harley's for addons just to get them usable) it will be a tight ride!!
Good luck!

Forgot to mention, my weight is 98KG.

cjc, this is taken from the link http://www.wpsuspension.com/service/installation.php

With rider, the spring distance should be between 35% and 50%. Example: the total spring distance is 70 mm, so the negative spring distance should vary between 25 and 35 mm[/i]"

inshala - great link. Thanks.