Rm 80 Headshake

I ride a 2002 cr80 ... absolutely no headshake here

It probably has the best balanced suspension of the 80's as well as a very strong motor.

< Mod edit: No bike bashing comments please >

Headshake can be caused my many variables. Sometimes tightening the steering stem nut can help (bars don't turn as freely). Moving the forks up/down in the clamps can have an effect. Spring weights can make a difference too. Same with the clicker settings.

I moved your thread to the Mini Forum so hopefully others with RM 80's or other 80's can share what they have found in terms of headshake.

I suspect it has alot to do with setup. We are on our 3rd RM,now an 85. With the 01 my son had followed or led through sections with other RM's that had headshake. We never had that problem. Atleast now the new RM's have a more stable front end for all occasions.

My guy is heavy. 135+ last year. We used .31/21 springs and emulators. This Year we are at 140+ and have opted for the 32/33 springs. I asked him about how he handled the stutter bumps and he said. Get back and pin it. If he was braking into them he said he just stayed back and used both brakes. As i remember the kids that had the problem where light weights and smaller., so maybe set up and physical strenght has alot to do with it.

Mike S 300MXC
Mike Jr RM85,TM125E

Some bikes are more suspectable top headshake than others. Most minis dont seem to have a problem but setup and rider style can cause problems.

Your little guy is pretty light. Lighter springs would help as would decreasing the amount of fork going through the top triple clamp. Some times its also rider position on the bike on the fast sections. They need to get up on the pegs and sometimes a bit back on the bike to make it "float" on the rougher sections on fast straights.

Get him a ride on the other brands at the track and see what he likes. Keep in mind though that individual riders set ups (or the parents view of set up) can make one brand seem better than others.

We are now on our third RM, (now the 85 of course). I definitely recommend tightening the steering stem so that the wheel will just barely turn freely side to side with the bike on the stand and the front wheel off the ground. We have had to do so on all our RM's for some strange reason. You should tighten until you achieve a slight resistance in the free movement of the wheel.

After having done so, then you might also experiment with the fork adjustments.

As for the RM vs. other 80cc bikes...the entire '02 crop seems to be one of the collective best. However, for us, we're just partial I guess.

Good luck