I have a 2018 KLX250. Bike has only about 200 miles on it (I'm second owner... got it at 20 miles). At about 160 miles I took it for a ride and it felt a little less stable in the first few turns than I remembered. Thought maybe I was riding it a bit harder into the turns and had not yet done suspension set up for my weight so thought nothing of it. After about 20 miles city driving under 35mph it developed a low speed wobble at about 20 mph at say 2 to 4 Hz. I was only a few blocks from home so got it home no problem. I checked the tire pressure (fine) and the rims (no issues). Turned the steering lock to lock with the bike on lift and everything felt smooth. Took it back out around the block and no wobble. Next weekend I did a chain adjustment (not necessary but I wanted to check for rear wheel alignment anyway) and I did notice that although the rear wheel appeared to be straight in the swing arm the adjustment nut was loose (not the axel nut just the adjustment nut). Made sure everything was aligned and properly torqued. Also did the rear suspension preload (took out about 2 cm of sag because I'm 180 lbs in gear). Took the bike out for another ride and again after about 20 miles developed the same low speed wobble. This time the wobble went away after stopping at a stop light. I noticed when I got home that there was grease on the bolt at the top of the steering head. Has anyone else had wobbles come and go like this? Can the steering bearing preload tighten and loosen while riding? Is the grease on the head bolt normal for this bike? I have never had that on any of my other 5 bikes.

 

Larry,
Welcome to KF. It's not normal at all for the steering head to normally tighten or loosen. The bearings wear, but that should be many thousands of miles down the road. However, you may be on to something hear and that would be a good place to look. They may not have been torqued properly at the factory, bike setup, or prior owner. After that, provided tire pressures and wheels are good, look at wheel bearings.

 

I noticed the exact same thing happening on my 2019 KLX250 on almost every ride on the street. I'll be out for about 30 minutes then anywhere from 10 to 20 MPH, riding on the street in a straight line and steady speed, a slow steady wobble starts at the front wheel and won't stop until I come to a stop. Tire pressure is exact at 22. Chain is ok. Everything looks normal. The bike has about 350 miles on it and it's still under warranty so I'll have the shop look at it next week, but in the meantime, any ideas?

 

Got same problem first ~1000km with stock tyres on two 2017 bikes. One day it just stopped untill front tire worn out.
So just wait or replace tyres to something better.

 

Thanks 640. davotta and I were messaging back and forth and thinking the same thing. This issue also went away for me a hundred miles or so after my original post. I was thinking that it might be tire wear related. I also found that the Dunlop 605s were a bit on the 'squirmy' side on gravel and off-road so when they wear out (which won't take too long) I plan to replace them with something else. I'd call this issue closed.

 

Agree. Now, to start researching for the best tire come the Spring. I think I'll be looking at a 50/50 range tire because I don't know how much real off roading I'll be able to do. I figure I'll be limited to city and country gravel roads about half the time.