I always make sure that any load in the saddlebags is weighing aprox the same so there is no inbalance there and make sure that anything in the tourpack does not shift while taking a turn. Can you imagine 2 or 3 kilo's there shifting from left to right? 😱😱 Countersteering helps a lot in preventing the 'wobble'. Installed a stabi link and better front suspension. I have a set of Centramatic wheel stabilizers coming. I have the feeling that will help too with avoiding any imbalance to the bike. And al the things you mentioned 😀👍 Edit 10 months later: Rear airshocks are being replaced with made to fit rear shocks.🥳
Thanks for the video, well covered the problem, did experience the wobble once or twice on my 1990 FXRS but I was pushing too hard into corners, sorted without crashing by rolling off the throttle and a bit firmer hold on the bars, I think it was aggravated by having a fork mounted windscreen that I had for winter riding , also tyre pressure was critical , needs to be kept spot on for good handling, thanks again, cheers John. 🌞🏍
When Eric Buell designed the rubber mount frame in the late 70's when he worked at HD he told them that it required additional link point that they eliminated when they went to produce the bike, that's what the aftermarket fixes do, add the link that they eliminated from Buell's original design.
250,000 miles in the saddle on Harley-Davidson motorcycles and after watching this, I am so grateful I never experienced this engineering (or lack there of) induced death wobble. I logged 80,000 miles on an 05 FLHTCI, and it was one of my favorite motorcycles of all time - often (over) loaded plus passenger, and I still regret having sold it. Why people continue to overpay for inferior engineering is beyond me, suffice to say that nothing feels as good as a Harley-Davison motorcycle when you a traveling in a straight line. It's when it comes time to turn or stop that the wheels come off the wagon so to speak. I made the switch to BMWs 5 years ago, and after 125,000 miles I can safely say there is simply no comparison with respect to performance & handling in my my opinion. They too have their issues, and similar to HD, so much of this is manageable provided you perform regular maintenance. I like this channel - the young man who hosts it wise beyond his years, and, if you are lucky enough to have a relationship with someone like him (they're out there) it's likely the best insurance against the dreaded Harley death wobble? At least that's my thinking.
I have seriously considered BMWs each time before I buy a Harley. My decision-making test: Assuming I have the BMW I love and the Harley I love in the garage, which key fob am I grabbing? So far, it is still the damn Harley! So comfortable for my style of riding: Left foot up on a highway peg, leaning back, music on and just chillin’. BMW riding position always crushes my balls! No thank you. I count the hours I am riding more than the miles I am making. Be well.
Had the wobble on my 2018 CVO limited.identified under warranty. It was positively dangerous. Caught it on some of my TH-cam videos and also replicated by HD Tech. In the end after a year of bitching the Dealer advised that the HD service factory guy suggested to fit the True Track. I said fine but you are paying for it given it’s a well known HD issue and under warranty. HD said they could not given it’s not a HD part. In the end I just had to fix the bike and I fitted the True Track and it did indeed solve the problem. In terms of HD not stepping up to fix their problem, after 25 years and 6 Harley’s I’m know am a Indian owner and could not be happier. Screw you HD you’ve lost another loyal customer forever.
Yup, Indian Roadmaster next for me as HD is completely screwing my buddy who just bought a 2022 Softtail Low Rider S, many times when shifting from 1st to 2nd it will just pop back into 1st, and take 5 times or so before 2nd will take. Harley says they can't reproduce it. So he's effed. Meanwhile HD loses 2 customers for the price of one.
I've never owned nor plan to own a Harley, but your videos are so informative that I just keep watching them. Your channel should be mandatory for every Harley owner.
I was a pro road racer many years ago :) The worst wobble bike I ever raced was the 1985 Suzuki GSXR750, I have ridden many motorcycles and had them wobble but never like the GSXR. I checked many things to find out why and used your suggestions but I when I adjusted the rear chain I found it looked off. On most motorcycles there is alignment lines on the swing arm to make sure the rear wheel is straight and aligned with the front and I had it aligned properly but saw the rear sprocket was off. I taped a perfect square and with a measuring tape I aligned the rear wheel. After tightening I noticed that I was 4 lines out, almost a 1/2 out. From that day forward I aligned every motorcycle since. My 2003 FXD was out just a little bit and never had a wobble on my FXD. I have 80,000 klm on the bike and this winter I am going to check my rubber mounts as per your suggestion, why play with the devil…:)
I have a 96 Dyna Super Glide. I've removed my mounts and filled them with polyurethane and installed Dyna-Trak stabilisers. By far the best mods I've ever done to my bike. I push my bike to the limits and never had an issue.
I’m glad you are addressing the wobble problems. The heart of the issue is much deeper than you can imagine. I have owned three Harley touring models and I never used a bolt on device to get my bike going without the wobble.
Depth of the problem is none of these bikes are properly aligned upon manufacture nor are they checked for proper alignment upon set up at the dealerships. Close but no cigar. Checking alignment and adjustment upon set up and periodic maintenance should be done. Stabilizers help but are a bandaid fix without proper alignment.
A buddy of mine got it at high speed cornering on his Ultra. We left late from the start of a season ending poker run out of Butte Montana. We decided to see how many riders we could pass by time we got to the first stop.There are some badass corners on that stretch of interstate. My bike showed it topped out at 118, and my buddy said his speedo read 120. In the corners I noticed he would drop way back. My 02 Fatboy like me loves corners. I put forward controls on it not long after buying it, and I run a 2-1 Screaming Eagle race pipe, no disks. The only thing I drag is the heel tab on my kickstand. My friend told me he was getting a lot of wobble when he hit the corners too fast. The best part was we passed the lead bike in about 50 miles, and waited a bit for everyone else to get to Clancy. I am so glad I bought that Fatboy, installing a 6 speed in it now.
I just looked up the part and ill be ordering it as soon as I can. Thanks. I had a good scare once and a few close calls. Never heard of this til now and I'm glad I did.
Had heard of the "death eobble" but never experienced it until I took a long sweeping turn at 95 on a '15 Wide Glide. Came out of the turn past the white line - on the wrong side of the road. Have no idea how I kept it shiny side up. Absolute most terrifying experience in 40 years of riding Harleys. Thanks for explaining this and for the excellent prevention tips. As for me, I'm riding a little more sensibly.
I have experienced it on my 2000 FXDWG. But always in a curve never on the straight. If there is a dip or bump on a curve it might show up, not every time. I never noticed it coming from the rear wheel, it always shows up in the handle bars. It will cause the bike to try to turn wider than I intended. With each movement of the bars on a right hand curve it will get closer to the center line of the road which could put you off into on coming traffic if you are not ready. Instead of fighting the wobble, I just push hard on the right handle grip to force the bike to stay in my intended line through the curve. I am just now replacing all the spokes since some were seized and could not be tightened. That was an interesting project. LOL I had a local shop true the rims for me but I saved $150 in labor by removing the old spokes and lacing in the new ones. That shop manual has paid for itself 100 times over. Another video I watched suspected it was because no two rear springs and shocks will have the exact same strength and rebound rate. So if one is slightly stronger than the other, you get some inconsistency in the rear suspension All the info you shared is great stuff. Tighten everything to factory specs and there should not be a wobble bad enough to throw you down.
I went into a high speed Harley wobble on my Dyna, going around a long hiway curve. It got so bad I hit gravel shoulder and was headed for the weeds. I accepted I was a gonner, so hit my throttle wide open. The bike corrected and allowed me to get to a safe stop. The semi driver I passed saw the entire thing and gave me open mouthed thumbs up as he went by. You advise "Don't panic" is key.
In defence of H-D, the wobble is not a thing related to a particular brand. The wobble is deeply linked to the geometry of the bike. Geometry involved: - Wheelbase - Trail A longer frame is more prone to flexing (vertical and transversal axes) and twisting (longitudinal axis), but H-Ds frames are tough as a rock, so we should discard this. Also, a longer wheelbase is more stable (harder to turn in other words). The ratio of wheelbase/trial is moderate in these bikes. A sport bike with its short wheelbase and short trail is more prone to a wobble, and that's because a shorter trail offers less resistance to lateral forces in the front wheel, whether they be pilot directed (steering input) or road induced (a surface groove, bump or pothole can create a disturbance/force in the front frame). The Harley wobble is a way of bashing the MoCo and serves no one. It serves no one because it makes riders ignorant of the geometry and dynamics of bikes as a whole, falsely believing that they're safer riding any other bike than a H-D. In regards of maintenance issues, such as tire inflation, the bearings of the steering head, etc, that can lead to a wobble, they're owner related and no brand is to blamed for what a rider decides to add or neglect to their bike. Having said thay, a proposed way of getting out of a wobble is to lean forward the upper body and relax the arms and hands. After all, a wobble could begin and not be noticed at all, but the amplifying process takes place when the rider is too stiff in their arms and grabs the handlebar too tightly, not permitting the bike to self balance the forces at play. Hey, indeed no rider should be stressed or stiff while riding; proficient riding is achieved by being relaxed and alert. The handlebars are not to be grabbed, they're meant to steer the bike.
I've found the BEST way to get rid of the "Harley Death Wobble" is to "get rid of the Harley" and buy any other brand of motorcycle! I've also noticed that when you search for "motorcycles for sale" you will find a LOT of Harley's for sale! And very few ads for any other brand of motorcycles! That indicates to me that there are a LOT of people who are trying to "Unload" (or get Rid Of) their Harley Davidson's! But not many people are trying to "sell" (i.e., unload) their Honda's, Yamaha's, Kawasaki's, BMW's, Triumphs, and Indian motorcycles! Harley has been well known for its "Death Wobble" for decades on many of their model motorcycles, and yet, people are still buying them! And then trying to "Unload" them on some other unsuspecting victim! IF Harley Davidson REALLY CARED about their customers, you'd think they would TAKE RESPONSIBILITY and FIX THE PROBLEM before someone else gets killed by the "Harley Death Wobble!"
I agree with you, most of it is maintenance, tires, shocks, motor mounts. Keep good tires properly inflated, if you still have air ride keep proper pressure and replace motor mounts when they get worn. The best way to get out of the wobble is let up on throttle some and lean a bit forward to put a little more weight on the front tire, the wobble will stop.
I have a 2012 Dyna purchased new, and a 2004 Road King from a family member who purchased it new. Both have the wobble, but it's different in each one. I have been through it all with the Dyna... spokes, head bearings, stabilizer kits, suspension upgrades and numerous brands of tires. Nothing eliminates it entirely, but experimenting with tire pressures netted the best results. The bike is just extremely sensitive to tire pressure, and if they are off it will wobble at highway speed over the slightest pavement joint. The road king tends to steer from the rear in corners, and is far worse when loaded or carrying a passenger. It also has the high speed wobble on the highway. I haven't started experimenting with that one much yet, but it also seemed to improve after retorquing all engine, frame and suspension fasteners. Getting away from that rock hard Harley branded Dunlop rubber showed improvement too. The funny thing is that I don't think Harley has ever actually fixed anything. My buddy's 2017 street glide and my uncle's 2019 Ultra Classic both have the high speed wobble.
Damn that's crazy, I had a buddy that built a 128 inch Dyna and the motor torque was causing the wobble since it was pulling the engine out of alignment in the mounts. It sounds like you're on the right track doing all the right things chasing that down. Harley made some improvements to the rubber mounting system, I wouldn't say it's perfect though as you've experienced on the new bikes.
I once had this happen to me on a Honda CX500 of all things you, know, the water cooled shaft driven V twin. Now early in my biking career I had an accident on a bike, kept me off work for 3 months. My dad took the keys off me and told me to get trained properly then I can have them back. My local police station was doing a course, so I was trained by the police instructors. Anyway to get back to the wobble, it came right out of blue at around 75MPH on a perfectly straight, good road surface. Remembering what I was taught I slid back to the middle of the seat, gripped the tank hard with my legs, laid as flat as possible, and rolled off the throttle SLOWLY (although it may be an instinctive thing, never apply the brakes.) I won the wrestling match and saved both me and the bike. I never did find out what caused it and it never happened again. I felt really pleased with myself all the way home but when I stopped, the reality sunk in. I was a young married man with a 3 month old son. Shortly after, I gave up the world of two wheels.
Had this happen to me. New front tire mounted at harley shop. Electraglide dual disk, the axel mounting bracket x2 nuts, right side, one side was torqued, the other side not. At high speed, 147klm p/h front wheel went into a Gyro wobble...reduced speed fixed wobble, and at home while inspecting wtf, saw the issue. Solution, even if u trust a pro shop, check it anyway for peace of mind! Thanks for this Video...makes sense
Another big no no to cause High speed wobble is an under rated side wall rating for the weight of your bike. we must have the right weight rating for each bike
As a Harley technician the issue is people normally don’t maintain there neck bearings and have them properly adjusted and lubed. Also a lot of those cases where people go down and try to sue they find bad tires lack of maintenance etc. keep your bike in check don’t put bandaids on your bikes
My sons 06 Sportster, and my 2010 Dyna does the woble when you get over 70+. It's definitely a freaky feeling!!!! But we do just like you do, and have saved it every time. I definitely need to try the stabilizer mount! Thanks
Hasn't happened to me on the 05 Road King but I've had it on an 87 FZR1000 at arrestable speeds. However I generally keep the RK below 80 on the highway. Make sure that alignment is spot on. In both horizontal and vertical axes. Nice video and great common sense advice.
The title says it ALL! "INFAMOUS HARLEY DEATH WOBBLE!" And yet, I have had supporters of Harley Davidson motorcycles tell me that: "it's NOT the 'HARLEY Death Wobble', it's the 'Motorcycle Death Wobble' and it happens on all brands of motorcycles!" REALLY? I have owned a lot of motorcycles (only ONE Harley - and that was enough to convince me that I don't want a Harley), and I have NEVER had a problem with ANY of my "Non-Harley" motorcycles giving me a "Death Wobble!" And yet, it's KNOWN WORLD-WIDE among most all bikers as the "HARLEY DEATH WOBBLE!" And to my knowledge, it has NEVER been called the "Honda Death Wobble" or the "Triumph Death Wobble" or the "Yamaha Death Wobble!" The only thing it has EVER been called is the "HARLEY Death Wobble!" Because it only happens primarily on Harley's! And that FACT is another reason WHY I do NOT want a Harley!
Had A wobble 7months ago on my little sporty after changing the bars (tall 16") . Didn't go on for long and was only doing 70 mph. Pretty scary though . Thank you for giving us a pretty good explanation of what may cause it . gonna thoroughly check every point you made . Ride safe
I have 85k miles on my 2009 FLHTCU, and I have most definitely felt this multiple times. Each time just letting off on the bike (take a wider turn, let off on the throttle a little, etc), and then adjust the #$%^ pressure in the suspension (air suspension) and tires - every time I’ve had this I also hadn’t adjusted the suspension from my last trip to the current ride. There’s a huge difference between me riding solo and the 150 pounds extra when my wife and our gear for a week are loaded up. It wasn’t such an issue when I was fat (since I weighed enough to keep the rear compresses anyway), but it happens when I dramatically change the loading on the bike without adjusting the suspension to match it..
I fixed my death wobble problem by purchasing a Japanese motorcycle. It also seems to have resolved my issues with reliability, oil leaks, low power, and expensive replacement parts that don't last.
You can say that all you want but I’ve ridden metrics. They are nothing like a Harley and I’ll take Harley problems. Metrics are trash copies but…..Just Buy a Indian and all your problems are solved. No reason to ever buy a metric when Indian is on the market.
80mph on a long sweeping turn on my dyna, bike started dancing one of the scariest feelings. I lost some confidence after that on how hard I can push the dyna... Thanks for the video. The FXR don’t really have this issue, the swing arm pivots off the frame.
Thanks Gixxer another awesome video. Man I feel for the guy in the first clip ouch. Trouble with living at the bottom of the world so hard to get reasonable prices for Harley parts and such a selection in your part of the world. It's been nearly two months and still waiting for parts for my RG after my accident. All the best from New Zealand
Most of the time the wobble can be eliminated with a drive train alignment. we do this every day, all day. Any time you have a rubber mounted drive train, it needs the occasional alignment. Stabilizer links secure an out of aligned drive train, it might feel alright for a short time, but the poor handling will return. You should have you rubber mounted Harley professionally aligned before you upgrade your suspension. That way you get the full benefit of your new suspension. Good video! Plenty of good information.
I finally experienced it at about 110mph on my sportster. Absolutely terrifying. Took a good look at the bike. Couldn't find anything wrong with it till I got to the front tire. Had some slight cupping in the center of my Dunlop d401. Replaced the d401s with a set of American elites. Wow! A world of difference. Was a toss up between the American Elites and the Avon cobra chromes.
I experienced the front fork wobble on my CB750 doing 115 mph in South Florida back in 76. Turned out the ball bearings in the steering stem were worn out. I bought a tapered bearing kit and solved that issue. Never have yet had the DW on my Harleys but I will be checking into the stabilizer for my 2018 Ultra Limited. Thanks for the great lesson.
Honda 4s are a totally different problem coz of the short rake front end, good normally but if you hit a rock or something different on the road they can go into a tank slapper real easy so i fixed mine when i hotted up the motor big heaps and fitted a triumph friction damper and as long as i turned it down at high speed i could go over a train track at 140 miles per hour and become air born and when i landed it kept on going dead straight with no wobles at all.
Had it on my 08 Electra Glide. Did all your suggestions including the stabilizer link. In fact that made it worse. One thing worked and made it a different motorcycle. I put Michelin Commander tires on it. I couldn't believe it myself but never ran anything else after.
Tires make one heck of a difference, sometimes when nothing makes sense it's the dumbest simplest thing that corrects it. I've seen tire pressure correct that issue of all things, even right down to a bad tire. I mounted a brand new tire once and couldn't get it to balance, took it to a buddy on another balancer same thing. Ended up sending it back to the manufacturer and getting a replacement.
@@GixxerFoo Here's what I know: I had softer compound tires on my 07 Dyna, didn't last long but not much wobble. when it did wobble it was gentle, controllable. I swapped to Michelin Commanders hearing they get good mileage, probably harder compound. Tires are only thing changed on my bike, I ride same roads same way but get wobble much easier now, can't push bike so hard. Maybe I will try that stabilizer link after checking pressure and alignment.
Negligent maintenance and proper ownership responsibility (tire pressure etc) is 99% of the problem. Adding the link is not going to fix worn parts. Glad you covered the obvious.
I put the chassis stabilizers on my Dyna a few years back both front and rear. Just another fix that should have been stock from the factory. However my Sportster already had the additional links there from the factory. My rubber Mount Sportster always tracked solid and straight.
It almost always happens 90mph+ and on concrete interstate, it doesn’t like crossing over the joint or crack. It gets violently crazy. Do not touch the brakes, lean over the tank, and ride it out.
Happened on my 2016 Sportster 48 when there was this little step and the road material changed, wobbled my handlebars like crazy from 0 to absolutely crazy it came out of nowhere, I just let go of the throttle.
I had a '99 Twin Cam 88 Roadking that I bought new that I rode for about 90k miles. In 2010 I upgraded to a new EG Limited with the new frame and the 103. I wouldn't say the older touring frame and TC88 had a "wobble", I describe it was that the bike didn't turn right as well as it turned left, at the time I just attributed it to the bike having more weight on its left side, heavy primary case hanging out. My even older Evo Heritage softtail was a real floorboard scrapper.
Had it happen a couple times over the years on my 2008 Ultra Classic going into a curve. Just pinned the throttle until I straightened up. Yeah, Harley redesigned the frame the following year......Imagine that!
The first clip you shared was fricken scary. The guy spun his bike to the ground . It seems that even if you haven't experienced such wobble adding the stabilizer would be a very good idea.
The guy in that clip got lucky how he went down, that could of been a lot worse than what it was. A stabilizer really firms up the chassis and makes it much more rigid.
i was a police motor cop for 3 years. i had two very scary tankslappers on two different roadkings. one at 90mph on a curve, the other one on a straight away at 100mph.
OKC PD had Road Kings for a while, those guys wanted their Kawasakis back. They ran interstates and the Harley just didn't have the power the old Kawasaki 1000's had.
i have a 05 road king and have had that experience too many times. ive had to push hard and back off on the throttle. people ive road with thought i was crazy. wtf. thank god you prove my story. amen
It's no joke, it does happen! Get you a stabilizer on there and it should stiffen up that chassis, it won't change your comfort running down the road either. Just makes the chassis more rigid which is what they need.
I have an 03 Road King that had that problem. Several things I noticed. 1. The front motor mount that came from the factory deteriorates when exposed to oil. Several years later, HD corrected on the latest models, but you know HD, they don't recall motorcycles. Even though they put the mount right under the oil filter. The fix is easy. Just order a replacement from HD. The replacement mounts don't deteriorate. 2. The swing arm is rubber mounted and flexes. There are two ways I know of the address this. The best performing one is a Stiffey bushing from Rivera Primo. You remove the side plates , slip them over the swing arm bolts and button it back up. pretty easy. The worst side effect is it essentially makes the rear portion of the engine solid-mounted. It caused my license plate to vibrate off. Several other things almost did, but I caught them in time. The second best thing is to do the same thing with polyurethane bushing by Sta-Bo. They transmit a little bit of vibration, but not too bad. Along with a isolation link from Progressive and a new front motor mount, the Sta-bo bushings keep my bike is pretty stable.
As a Tech that works on all makes and models, I've had people ask me about this. On one bike, a Road King, his mounts were shot. Add the fact that the tires were a cheap brand. Installing new mounts and tires took care of it. I have been looking into this for years. The rubber mounts are what i was looking into first. I admit that i have been side tracked with other things, but i have been back at it. The one biggest piece of advice i can give is keep up the maintenance on those mounts. 2 watch how you load the bike!!. I've seen bikes way over loaded. Check your load weights for the bike and the tires. Tires are coming from everywhere today and some are just junk. I had a cheap Duro tire on the fount of my bike. I bought it to get home from a run after my Tire had sustained some debris damage. At low speeds when i let go of the handlebars ( 35 mph ) i noticed it. I assumed it was being caused by wind buffeting. I never liked the feel of that tire and replaced it with a nice Dunlop and it disappeared. What actually drives me nuts is I'm looking at fixing something Harley Davidson should have taken care of long ago. I have some ideas as i would like to take care of it at the mounts. Until then the best way to mitigate it is to keep good tires on it, replace the mounts at regular intervals and install the track braces. Stay safe and if i get better results or a great fix, I'll let you know.
That's awesome! You are absolutely correct, the mounts and the loading of the bike are big part of the issue. A lot of people are buying those Shinko tires today, they are really inexpensive tires. They are supposedly made using Kenda tooling, I haven't run them myself but I've heard a lot of mixed results about them. I don't think I would try running them on a heavy touring bike loaded down though.
Thanks for the info on this issue. I had the wobble happened on my 07 RoadKing. It happened due to rear wheel spokes loosening up. Was on way home from Myrtle Beach Bike week and had a passenger. Felt it and just didn't feel right. Was able to get it in for repair before catastrophe happened. Had to replace wheel. No more spoke wheels for me.
Its best not to fight a speed wobble. I went into one once, going around a highway curve way too fast, I hit the gravel shoulder and thought i was done. I simply came onto the throttle and the bike straightened out and corrected. Im still here and the semi drive that witnessed the hole thing was shocked 👍
For the earlier touring chassis I install the 02-08 swing arm, bore the trans case to .750 for the swing arm pivot. Ascertain drivetrain alignment and all engine mounts are in good condition and properly torqued. Check front end for fall away and general preventive maintenance. I've owned touring chassis bikes for the last 35 years. No issues with the beefier swing arm. Well worth the extra work.
I have been riding Harleys for over 50 years and I have never experienced this so called wobble. I knew a guy who killed himself in a wobble because he was to cheap to replace the worn out goose neck bearing. Also the swingarm bearing were shot. I warned him repeatedly and he ignored my warnings. The wobble caught him coming out of a corner and he was killed. Rain grooves can cause a wobble with any bike.
Totally agree with you man I have never experienced this on my 99 dyna and I ride it hard this guy doesn't know what he's talking about it is not a inherent problem in design it's a ownership problem and lack of proper maintenance Harley's are like cars if you want them to perform properly you have to properly maintain them and they will be trouble free to enjoy if a person doesn't want to put the time and maintenance in a Harley is not for that person my 99 with 90000+KLM in Canada has never had a mechanical issue and still runs as good as if it was brand new
Thank you for explaining. I just rebuilt a 07 sportster and have been testing and riding it around, and noticed a light shake when riding, but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from
Very informative video but you need to recommend every motorcycle rider watch the old school Dunlap wobble and we've video. For me a dramatic improvement was changing out the motor mounts for high performance mounts which was very inexpensive for the safety. Simply changing out the triple trees from the narrow glide front end to a wide glide front end . Made a world of difference on my 95 Dyna and only took about 2 hours including packing the headset bearings correctly. Just make sure you get the axle,wheel spacers , Rotor spacers that go with it.
That's the part a lot of people miss is getting the proper wheel spacers when they go to a wider front end. Harley chassis used to be very narrow, I am so glad they finally widened it a bit in the later years.
Have heard of this wobble but neither of my bikes are rubber mounted never experienced it. But I liked you suggestions on tyres and general maintenance. Enjoyed the video.
I have experience the wobble many of times...like you said don't panic but hold your left hand up off of the the grip that seems to help come out of that wobble....great videos keep it up
my '09 Electra Glide Classic would wobble when I was tour-loaded, at speed and rounding a twisty aggressively. It was scarry and my solution was progressive 944 shocks, progressive mono-tube front forks and the progressive touring link. Together this almost completely eliminated the issue but not completely. Then I saw a video on trailer wobble when the load was improperly centred (too much load aft the rear axel. The solution finally was moving the tour pak into the solo position - problem solved and it was a great ride. I also have a very strict maintenance process that I follow as a result of being an ex helicopter pilot and that is; when I change my tires I also change the cush-drive, wheel bearings and brake pads, without fail - a little over kill perhaps but, better alive than banged up or dead!
Excellent maintenance goes a long way! Loading is very important too, sounds like you've got a really fine riding bike now with the suspension work you've done!
@@GixxerFoo I've sold it and now ride a 2016 Roadie Ultra. It has the 944 shocks and Fork upgrade but the Touring link doesn't fit and I've also moved the tour pak into the solo position - thankfully I never ride with a passenger so the solo position works perfectly and the bike is near perfect but, there is still a small potential for a mini-wobble if I've entered a corner aggressively, loaded and ride over a bump mid-turn but nothing that has caused me any concern. But, the 2009 was scary until I got it all figured out.
I've experienced a wobble that progressively was getting worse while on a roadtrip on my 2012 heritage. It turned out to be an old front tire. It looked great on the outside but was decaying on the inside. Got it taken care of at the next bike shop I came across. But yeah... I've told folks in the past that the rubber mounting system with the swing arm in the transmission case can be the culprit too. Great topic.
Great post! I've seen tires that look brand new, and twist into a pretzel once they were taken off the rim. Internal belts can break, but the tire will look just fine.
My 2001 Road King did it when brand new, and still does it now sometimes (58K miles). Replaced the front fork innards with Progressive cartridges and rear shocks with Progressive 440 HD shocks this year. Still does it.
Got a 2001 Dyna FXDL, never had any problems. I always heard it was the rear wheel not being aligned with the frame that is the main cause. I periodically check it and make sure it's aligned perfect after I change the rear tire.
I got that wobble on my 2010 ultra at about 110 mph and added the true track system. No more wobble and the bike feels a lot better on those sweeping turns. Added it to my 2015 RG fltruse and wouldn’t ride without one now. Added note….when hitting the throttle hard while going straight ahead, instead of the rear wanting to kick out, it just squats and goes. Great vids, watch them all the time 👍
My buddies Yamaha R6 has wobbled on him quite a few times. I experienced it once on my 2017 Low Rider S. It' was pretty damn scary to say the least. The Dynas are more prone to the problem because the swingarm is mounted to the motor not the frame.
I have experienced this on a 2010 Electra Glide and it happened at maybe 65 - 70mph in a tight curve. I believe the problem was largely tire pressure as I had a problem with the beads not seated well on my old crusty alloy wheels. Last week I road the same road at the same (or higher) speed and no problem despite lean. For me tire pressure - 40psi front and back - was the key. I am sure there is more can be done to tighten everything up though. Good video. Scary subject to discuss.
Couple years ago, I bought an 07 SuperGlide (2400 miles)that rode fine until my wife got on the back(140lbs) We didn't get up to 15 mph and experienced the "death wobble" The faster we went, the worse it got. Kinda freaked me out. I thought the back tire was gonna fly off or something. Turns out, the front forks were out of alignment
Had my '85 FLH well up over 120mph in a straight line and not a shimmy, was in a right hand curve at about 50mph and went to throttle out which caused rear steer. Before you start analyzing what else was wrong with the bike, all new rubber mount components including swing arm mounts, less than 200 miles on Dunlop's Harley tires properly inflated, about 500 miles on wheel bearings and steering head bearings and empty saddlebags. My '63 FL which is all solid mount is solid as a rock in curves. That rubber mount sent me off into the corn. Rebuilt the bike and added a "True Track" linkage and is now solid as my '63. Wouldn't ride any rubber mount without one. Thank the angels that I'm still here to tell the story.
I use to get those wobbles on the highway once in a while! Not a good feeling to feel your rear end wobble and I was riding a brand new road glide so I have to say it was Harley to blame must be by design!
Agree with you.... Ive never experienced it with my dyna's, but others I know who have had the wobble experience, solved the problem with new tires. Due to the fact that many factors could be responsible for it, its hard to determine causation if you change more than one thing at a time. My sport bike friends experience high speed wobble all the time!
I'm a retired motor cop with a metropolitan police. We rode different models; mostly Harley's, mostly FLHP's back in the day. The only wobbles and weaves I had were with the Harleys, all were on straight and level stretches of Interstate at high speed. One "extra" bike would began to "weave" every time at 50 mph and could never be used (I still remember the piece of crap's inventory number... 2950x (x for extra... a loaner when your regular bike was in the shop... after the 3-year contract, this bike was turned in with no miles on it since no one ever rode the death trap). The fix is adding a bit of rack to the front wheel. "Nice" to see that H-D is still denying their bikes are deathtraps... they were doing that 25-years ago. They would send reps to the Department and tell us that our radios and other equipment was causing the problems. Lying bastards!
Another great topic you are always spot on!!!!!!!. We are 30 in our M club all FLH from 2002 to 2019 wobble is always been a topic for us, we will try a stabilizer. Thanks again!!!!!
Wobble isn't limited to Harley-Davidson and rubber mounted engines, I've owned a number of metrics and Harleys in my time. I haven't experienced the infamous "Harley wobble" on any of my Harleys(knock on wood), I have, however, experienced a high speed wobble on a Honda Magna I owned many years ago and I have the road rash scars to prove it.
Was your Magna a V45 or V65? I ran 65000 miles on my V45 with no wobble except when i coasted with no hands on the grips (i was testing the stability at a low speed)
Good video! I had a wobble on my 2000 1500 Kawasaki Vulcan and a decade later on my 2009 FLHTCU Harley. The wobble on the Kaw was worse and neither one resulted in a crash. I gripped the hand grips with all my might to prevent the handle bars from moving while letting off of the throttle. It was intense but I survived without a wreck.
I experienced this wobble the first day I brought the 2012 Street Bob home. I started at about 55mph. Granted it was five years old already. But I checked tire pressure when I got it home and it was about 5 psi low. For the most part it went away. But then I experienced it a few weeks later. So I started to look around the motorcycle. I found that one fork tube was about a 1/2 inch taller than the other in the fork mounts. I adjusted each tube within a few thousands of each other. I also checked tightness of the front axle to spec. Needed a little tightening. Then I loosen both forks to make sure the wheel was perpendicular from the handlebars. I let the tubes loose in the top fork mounts to relieve any twisted tension on the forks. Then I tightened all the mounts with the top of each fork within a couple of thousands from top bracket. I could now ride up to 80mph without a problem.
Those older air ride systems did not age well at all, they do cause a lot of issues. A great option is to just change that old air ride out to a set of shocks from Progressive Suspension. They have some great options that aren't a minimum of a grand too.
@@GixxerFoo oh totally! best thing I did was putting progressive on my RK. it's a totally new bike, specially here in europe where we don't have many straight lines ahah
For the Dynas, best fix is to run Sputhe front/stabilizers with OEM motor mounts (not drag or other brands), replace top stabilizer link with a quality heim(PTFE lined) joint link and make sure to do a proper alignment of the motor. Also tighten steering stem bearings extra 1/8 turn and/or run a GPR steering stabilizer as well. This is all considering your bearings/mounts are in good condition or new All the other type motor mounts have some issues of their own, wether it’s causing more vibration or even making the motor sit too close to the frame and eventually the front of the motor or your exhaust will hit the frame
Harley downplays this problem and I know someone who crashed his tour Glide while riding in a straight line on the highway, his wife lost her life in the crash. This is an extremely serious issue, and the Motor factory had to know it existed but still sold these bikes to their customers.
Dude your videos are worthy their length in gold. serious. 💖 The reason why i quiet Harley is because after you pay the hard money and get in to 5 year loan paying every month hard money, you are not done yet, you still need to go stage 1, replace the suspension, replace this and that here and there... all this still going to cost money money and money... I don't know you guys but me do not print money i work hard for it. Harley is done for me. I expect when one pay huge money for the bike he love one should get it completely set up out of the dealer, no need to open engine later on to add parts or add suspensions or add brakes ....and the list go without end.....
Thank you! Yeah it's a never ending deal on a Harley, they have gotten better though with the brakes and suspension. Price has gone up with those improvements too.
I added am Alloy Art read engine brace. Took out a lot of the wobble issue. However I still have it at around 100 MPH mark. I will check out the brace you mentioned.
2018 Road King here...I've never felt a wobble and I have pushed it through some corners-scraped floor boards but no wobble. I am concerned now though. Maybe I will look into the stabilizer links...that crash was terrifying...
The late models have done really well in terms of stability. Older touring models with the unrevised rubber mounts and the old style air suspension had issues. Thay air suspension caused some problems as it aged.
Yup.... Great advice! I have experienced it on my 94 dyna low rider last summer. New engine mounts and new swing arm bushings and all new bearings in the wheels and neck. I will buy a swing arm stabilizer after watching this video. I was on the fence with it but now i am not. Also thinking about aftermarket shock's. Life is short enough. Why be careless with it.
This is all great advice! One note a fork brace will really help the Sportster. The fork tubes are to thin in my opinion for a bike of this weight and power. Never had a problem with my 2016 Superlow Sportster up to 100 mph. Although to be fair the Superlow has a modified steering head angle and a fork brace.
i have American, Japanese, and British bikes. I have noticed on all bikes going into turns at high speed and holding the curve any chassis will start to wobble. Even a Goldwing with air suspension has made me have to go change dippers coming out of a long sweeper curve.
Before I got my Harley I had a 86 goldwing that wobbled on me. Scared the crap out of me. Only happened once and thank God I didn’t go down. Now I have a 1990 Electra glide and after watching this video I’m worried all over again. Thanks
I put the Kinetic Structures forward and rear engine mounts on my dyna, and it was one of the best upgrades I've ever made in terms of control. Almost right up there with the suspension upgrade.
My ex- wife had an 85 FXRS that it happened on 3 times riding . The first time my 92 Electraglide did it as I was passing a semi and it happened as I crossed back over the center seam in the road . It happened again on my 99 Roadglide on the I-State by Dayton Ohio. I rode out it both times using the same technique you did. I never could get my ex wife to do what I told her how to ride out of it , but she crashed her FXRS 3 times, the last one in 1997. I then bought her a Honda ST1100 and she could speed till her hearts content I put the True Track on my 99 RG and then on my 2004 Electraglide and never looked back. The one change I noticed with my 2010 FLHTK was they moved the top stabilizer from between the cylinders to the very front of the front cylinder. That sure seemed like it would keep the drive train from getting out of line with the front wheel. My 2010 &2014 FLHTK’s and my 2019 FLTRU have been very well behaved and my 19 FLTRU seems even better. I think that stabilizer move made the difference and I’m older and wiser too. Keep up the good you tube videos.
I bought a ‘82v45 magna when I was 17. It would wobble at high speeds going straight. It would wobble until I got the speed down. I think it was the tires bc it didn’t always do this. Scared me, I sold the bike when I enlisted. I had a road glide that would occasionally wobble and I know it was a tire issue. Now I own a ‘03 fat boy, it is good, I did discover that it handles much better with a 140 rear tire compared to a 150 rear. Thanks for posting
awesome advise! i get that wobble with my 07 SG when I ride hard into a corner or faster than i should and so far I have been able to control it... I don't think about it.... and don't fear it.... i know how to ride my bike and I throw it around like a little scooter.... but man! the first time that happened..... i was completely not prepared and had to think very quickly how to get it under control! i would advise everyone to ride safely and slow down in advance before getting to the turn... thes bikes are very heavy and generally speaking very stale and comfortable but they're not race machines
Have you experienced the wobble on your Harley, or even a high speed wobble on any motorcycle?
I always make sure that any load in the saddlebags is weighing aprox the same so there is no inbalance there and make sure that anything in the tourpack does not shift while taking a turn. Can you imagine 2 or 3 kilo's there shifting from left to right? 😱😱
Countersteering helps a lot in preventing the 'wobble'. Installed a stabi link and better front suspension. I have a set of Centramatic wheel stabilizers coming. I have the feeling that will help too with avoiding any imbalance to the bike. And al the things you mentioned 😀👍
Edit 10 months later: Rear airshocks are being replaced with made to fit rear shocks.🥳
Thanks for the video, well covered the problem, did experience the wobble once or twice on my 1990 FXRS but I was pushing too hard into corners, sorted without crashing by rolling off the throttle and a bit firmer hold on the bars, I think it was aggravated by having a fork mounted windscreen that I had for winter riding , also tyre pressure was critical , needs to be kept spot on for good handling, thanks again, cheers John. 🌞🏍
When Eric Buell designed the rubber mount frame in the late 70's when he worked at HD he told them that it required additional link point that they eliminated when they went to produce the bike, that's what the aftermarket fixes do, add the link that they eliminated from Buell's original design.
For Me Only a Couple of Decades ago on Dirt bikes. Not in last Decade as the Set up and Quality of my Motorcycles has been High..
Had a 84 1100 suzuki that would wobbles badly at 135 mph by Time I got it slowed to 50 mph I was so tired I was ready to jump off.
250,000 miles in the saddle on Harley-Davidson motorcycles and after watching this, I am so grateful I never experienced this engineering (or lack there of) induced death wobble. I logged 80,000 miles on an 05 FLHTCI, and it was one of my favorite motorcycles of all time - often (over) loaded plus passenger, and I still regret having sold it.
Why people continue to overpay for inferior engineering is beyond me, suffice to say that nothing feels as good as a Harley-Davison motorcycle when you a traveling in a straight line. It's when it comes time to turn or stop that the wheels come off the wagon so to speak.
I made the switch to BMWs 5 years ago, and after 125,000 miles I can safely say there is simply no comparison with respect to performance & handling in my my opinion. They too have their issues, and similar to HD, so much of this is manageable provided you perform regular maintenance. I like this channel - the young man who hosts it wise beyond his years, and, if you are lucky enough to have a relationship with someone like him (they're out there) it's likely the best insurance against the dreaded Harley death wobble? At least that's my thinking.
Yeah BMW design is way ahead of Harleys designs but two completely different rides.
I have seriously considered BMWs each time before I buy a Harley. My decision-making test: Assuming I have the BMW I love and the Harley I love in the garage, which key fob am I grabbing?
So far, it is still the damn Harley!
So comfortable for my style of riding: Left foot up on a highway peg, leaning back, music on and just chillin’.
BMW riding position always crushes my balls! No thank you.
I count the hours I am riding more than the miles I am making.
Be well.
I keep staring at your chemical shelf on the wall. I think you need a middle support bracket or a thicker shelf. :)
😂😂😂
Lol. Totally! I was thinking.... how funny it would be to see it cone crashing down. .
He's not a Carpenter, He's a motorcycle Mechanic.
Let him live his life lol
I was waiting for the shelf to collapse
Had the wobble on my 2018 CVO limited.identified under warranty. It was positively dangerous. Caught it on some of my TH-cam videos and also replicated by HD Tech. In the end after a year of bitching the Dealer advised that the HD service factory guy suggested to fit the True Track. I said fine but you are paying for it given it’s a well known HD issue and under warranty. HD said they could not given it’s not a HD part. In the end I just had to fix the bike and I fitted the True Track and it did indeed solve the problem. In terms of HD not stepping up to fix their problem, after 25 years and 6 Harley’s I’m know am a Indian owner and could not be happier. Screw you HD you’ve lost another loyal customer forever.
I hear you brother, I have a 2010 Road Kill Will be getting rid of that thing as soon as it’s paid off. Never will consider another HD again!
Yup, Indian Roadmaster next for me as HD is completely screwing my buddy who just bought a 2022 Softtail Low Rider S, many times when shifting from 1st to 2nd it will just pop back into 1st, and take 5 times or so before 2nd will take. Harley says they can't reproduce it. So he's effed. Meanwhile HD loses 2 customers for the price of one.
They're not Indians.@@thebigzippo
@@montanaokie What's not Indians?
Finally! A coherent description of the problem and a straightforward cause & effect checklist. Many thanks for posting this.
I've never owned nor plan to own a Harley, but your videos are so informative that I just keep watching them. Your channel should be mandatory for every Harley owner.
Exactly.. Harley-davidsons are junk
@@PANTHEON71 l have been riding since 1978 finally got a Harley 4 year ago. An will not go back. Love it.😎
@@fatboy9583 to reach their own.. I'll save my money and ride this Honda Valkyrie And be just fine. Plus I don't need a trailer or truck
I have oned them all .Harleys the best
Set your pressure you will never have a wobble. And you feel cooler on a Harley.
@@PANTHEON71 never broke down on any of my Harleys.Had one with 78000 mile when I sold it to my brother. Still going.
I was a pro road racer many years ago :) The worst wobble bike I ever raced was the 1985 Suzuki GSXR750, I have ridden many motorcycles and had them wobble but never like the GSXR. I checked many things to find out why and used your suggestions but I when I adjusted the rear chain I found it looked off. On most motorcycles there is alignment lines on the swing arm to make sure the rear wheel is straight and aligned with the front and I had it aligned properly but saw the rear sprocket was off. I taped a perfect square and with a measuring tape I aligned the rear wheel. After tightening I noticed that I was 4 lines out, almost a 1/2 out. From that day forward I aligned every motorcycle since. My 2003 FXD was out just a little bit and never had a wobble on my FXD. I have 80,000 klm on the bike and this winter I am going to check my rubber mounts as per your suggestion, why play with the devil…:)
I have a 96 Dyna Super Glide. I've removed my mounts and filled them with polyurethane and installed Dyna-Trak stabilisers.
By far the best mods I've ever done to my bike. I push my bike to the limits and never had an issue.
Is tru trak the same as what you said?
I’m glad you are addressing the wobble problems. The heart of the issue is much deeper than you can imagine. I have owned three Harley touring models and I never used a bolt on device to get my bike going without the wobble.
Depth of the problem is none of these bikes are properly aligned upon manufacture nor are they checked for proper alignment upon set up at the dealerships. Close but no cigar. Checking alignment and adjustment upon set up and periodic maintenance should be done. Stabilizers help but are a bandaid fix without proper alignment.
Wheel alignment is a lot less important than people think. @@kevinshort5468
More knowledge of this issue in nine and a half minutes than I've been able to find in months
That's awesome! I am happy it helped!
More knowledge than all HD dealers together. How bad is that?
I know a couple of guys that spent thousands of dollars trying to fix that. Everyone thought it was a front end problem including myself
@@ericschaffer9228 I fixed that problem with a bike replacement... Kawa and Honda.
lololololol......amatuer bullshit.
A buddy of mine got it at high speed cornering on his Ultra. We left late from the start of a season ending poker run out of Butte Montana. We decided to see how many riders we could pass by time we got to the first stop.There are some badass corners on that stretch of interstate. My bike showed it topped out at 118, and my buddy said his speedo read 120. In the corners I noticed he would drop way back. My 02 Fatboy like me loves corners. I put forward controls on it not long after buying it, and I run a 2-1 Screaming Eagle race pipe, no disks. The only thing I drag is the heel tab on my kickstand. My friend told me he was getting a lot of wobble when he hit the corners too fast. The best part was we passed the lead bike in about 50 miles, and waited a bit for everyone else to get to Clancy. I am so glad I bought that Fatboy, installing a 6 speed in it now.
I just looked up the part and ill be ordering it as soon as I can. Thanks. I had a good scare once and a few close calls. Never heard of this til now and I'm glad I did.
Had heard of the "death eobble" but never experienced it until I took a long sweeping turn at 95 on a '15 Wide Glide. Came out of the turn past the white line - on the wrong side of the road. Have no idea how I kept it shiny side up. Absolute most terrifying experience in 40 years of riding Harleys. Thanks for explaining this and for the excellent prevention tips. As for me, I'm riding a little more sensibly.
I have experienced it on my 2000 FXDWG. But always in a curve never on the straight.
If there is a dip or bump on a curve it might show up, not every time. I never noticed it coming from the rear wheel, it always shows up in the handle bars. It will cause the bike to try to turn wider than I intended. With each movement of the bars on a right hand curve it will get closer to the center line of the road which could put you off into on coming traffic if you are not ready. Instead of fighting the wobble, I just push hard on the right handle grip to force the bike to stay in my intended line through the curve.
I am just now replacing all the spokes since some were seized and could not be tightened. That was an interesting project. LOL I had a local shop true the rims for me but I saved $150 in labor by removing the old spokes and lacing in the new ones. That shop manual has paid for itself 100 times over.
Another video I watched suspected it was because no two rear springs and shocks will have the exact same strength and rebound rate. So if one is slightly stronger than the other, you get some inconsistency in the rear suspension
All the info you shared is great stuff. Tighten everything to factory specs and there should not be a wobble bad enough to throw you down.
I went into a high speed Harley wobble on my Dyna, going around a long hiway curve. It got so bad I hit gravel shoulder and was headed for the weeds. I accepted I was a gonner, so hit my throttle wide open. The bike corrected and allowed me to get to a safe stop. The semi driver I passed saw the entire thing and gave me open mouthed thumbs up as he went by. You advise "Don't panic" is key.
like the red baron once said, when your plane starts to go down, the first thing you do is set your watch
So accelerating didn't make it worse?
In defence of H-D, the wobble is not a thing related to a particular brand. The wobble is deeply linked to the geometry of the bike.
Geometry involved:
- Wheelbase
- Trail
A longer frame is more prone to flexing (vertical and transversal axes) and twisting (longitudinal axis), but H-Ds frames are tough as a rock, so we should discard this. Also, a longer wheelbase is more stable (harder to turn in other words). The ratio of wheelbase/trial is moderate in these bikes. A sport bike with its short wheelbase and short trail is more prone to a wobble, and that's because a shorter trail offers less resistance to lateral forces in the front wheel, whether they be pilot directed (steering input) or road induced (a surface groove, bump or pothole can create a disturbance/force in the front frame).
The Harley wobble is a way of bashing the MoCo and serves no one. It serves no one because it makes riders ignorant of the geometry and dynamics of bikes as a whole, falsely believing that they're safer riding any other bike than a H-D. In regards of maintenance issues, such as tire inflation, the bearings of the steering head, etc, that can lead to a wobble, they're owner related and no brand is to blamed for what a rider decides to add or neglect to their bike.
Having said thay, a proposed way of getting out of a wobble is to lean forward the upper body and relax the arms and hands. After all, a wobble could begin and not be noticed at all, but the amplifying process takes place when the rider is too stiff in their arms and grabs the handlebar too tightly, not permitting the bike to self balance the forces at play. Hey, indeed no rider should be stressed or stiff while riding; proficient riding is achieved by being relaxed and alert. The handlebars are not to be grabbed, they're meant to steer the bike.
I've found the BEST way to get rid of the "Harley Death Wobble" is to "get rid of the Harley" and buy any other brand of motorcycle!
I've also noticed that when you search for "motorcycles for sale" you will find a LOT of Harley's for sale! And very few ads for any other brand of motorcycles!
That indicates to me that there are a LOT of people who are trying to "Unload" (or get Rid Of) their Harley Davidson's! But not many people are trying to "sell" (i.e., unload) their Honda's, Yamaha's, Kawasaki's, BMW's, Triumphs, and Indian motorcycles!
Harley has been well known for its "Death Wobble" for decades on many of their model motorcycles, and yet, people are still buying them! And then trying to "Unload" them on some other unsuspecting victim! IF Harley Davidson REALLY CARED about their customers, you'd think they would TAKE RESPONSIBILITY and FIX THE PROBLEM before someone else gets killed by the "Harley Death Wobble!"
I agree with you, most of it is maintenance, tires, shocks, motor mounts. Keep good tires properly inflated, if you still have air ride keep proper pressure and replace motor mounts when they get worn.
The best way to get out of the wobble is let up on throttle some and lean a bit forward to put a little more weight on the front tire, the wobble will stop.
That's the best plan, sometimes it just happens so fast and it can be tough to stop.
Just bought the Sputhe Stabilizer…can’t wait to install!
It will make your chassis a lot more rigid and improve your handling quite a bit!
I have a 2012 Dyna purchased new, and a 2004 Road King from a family member who purchased it new. Both have the wobble, but it's different in each one. I have been through it all with the Dyna... spokes, head bearings, stabilizer kits, suspension upgrades and numerous brands of tires. Nothing eliminates it entirely, but experimenting with tire pressures netted the best results. The bike is just extremely sensitive to tire pressure, and if they are off it will wobble at highway speed over the slightest pavement joint. The road king tends to steer from the rear in corners, and is far worse when loaded or carrying a passenger. It also has the high speed wobble on the highway. I haven't started experimenting with that one much yet, but it also seemed to improve after retorquing all engine, frame and suspension fasteners. Getting away from that rock hard Harley branded Dunlop rubber showed improvement too. The funny thing is that I don't think Harley has ever actually fixed anything. My buddy's 2017 street glide and my uncle's 2019 Ultra Classic both have the high speed wobble.
Damn that's crazy, I had a buddy that built a 128 inch Dyna and the motor torque was causing the wobble since it was pulling the engine out of alignment in the mounts. It sounds like you're on the right track doing all the right things chasing that down. Harley made some improvements to the rubber mounting system, I wouldn't say it's perfect though as you've experienced on the new bikes.
Thats f..up :\ Sell this piece of sh... or change it on Softail.
I once had this happen to me on a Honda CX500 of all things you, know, the water cooled shaft driven V twin. Now early in my biking career I had an accident on a bike, kept me off work for 3 months. My dad took the keys off me and told me to get trained properly then I can have them back. My local police station was doing a course, so I was trained by the police instructors. Anyway to get back to the wobble, it came right out of blue at around 75MPH on a perfectly straight, good road surface. Remembering what I was taught I slid back to the middle of the seat, gripped the tank hard with my legs, laid as flat as possible, and rolled off the throttle SLOWLY (although it may be an instinctive thing, never apply the brakes.) I won the wrestling match and saved both me and the bike. I never did find out what caused it and it never happened again. I felt really pleased with myself all the way home but when I stopped, the reality sunk in. I was a young married man with a 3 month old son. Shortly after, I gave up the world of two wheels.
Had this happen to me. New front tire mounted at harley shop. Electraglide dual disk, the axel mounting bracket x2 nuts, right side, one side was torqued, the other side not. At high speed, 147klm p/h front wheel went into a Gyro wobble...reduced speed fixed wobble, and at home while inspecting wtf, saw the issue. Solution, even if u trust a pro shop, check it anyway for peace of mind! Thanks for this Video...makes sense
Another big no no to cause High speed wobble is an under rated side wall rating for the weight of your bike. we must have the right weight rating for each bike
As a Harley technician the issue is people normally don’t maintain there neck bearings and have them properly adjusted and lubed. Also a lot of those cases where people go down and try to sue they find bad tires lack of maintenance etc. keep your bike in check don’t put bandaids on your bikes
This is true, especially if you live in a very hot climate the grease will ooze out-happened to me
My sons 06 Sportster, and my 2010 Dyna does the woble when you get over 70+. It's definitely a freaky feeling!!!! But we do just like you do, and have saved it every time. I definitely need to try the stabilizer mount! Thanks
Hasn't happened to me on the 05 Road King but I've had it on an 87 FZR1000 at arrestable speeds. However I generally keep the RK below 80 on the highway. Make sure that alignment is spot on. In both horizontal and vertical axes. Nice video and great common sense advice.
I love the arrestable speeds, I gotta remember that!
The title says it ALL!
"INFAMOUS HARLEY DEATH WOBBLE!"
And yet, I have had supporters of Harley Davidson motorcycles tell me that: "it's NOT the 'HARLEY Death Wobble', it's the 'Motorcycle Death Wobble' and it happens on all brands of motorcycles!"
REALLY? I have owned a lot of motorcycles (only ONE Harley - and that was enough to convince me that I don't want a Harley), and I have NEVER had a problem with ANY of my "Non-Harley" motorcycles giving me a "Death Wobble!"
And yet, it's KNOWN WORLD-WIDE among most all bikers as the "HARLEY DEATH WOBBLE!" And to my knowledge, it has NEVER been called the "Honda Death Wobble" or the "Triumph Death Wobble" or the "Yamaha Death Wobble!" The only thing it has EVER been called is the "HARLEY Death Wobble!" Because it only happens primarily on Harley's! And that FACT is another reason WHY I do NOT want a Harley!
The Harley does have an issue on 2009 and earlier touring models that never existed.
Great video! That crash in the beginning was horrible, so sad.
That's a worst case scenario, sometimes when they get to wobbling like that there's no saving it.
Had A wobble 7months ago on my little sporty after changing the bars (tall 16") . Didn't go on for long and was only doing 70 mph. Pretty scary though . Thank you for giving us a pretty good explanation of what may cause it . gonna thoroughly check every point you made . Ride safe
I have 85k miles on my 2009 FLHTCU, and I have most definitely felt this multiple times. Each time just letting off on the bike (take a wider turn, let off on the throttle a little, etc), and then adjust the #$%^ pressure in the suspension (air suspension) and tires - every time I’ve had this I also hadn’t adjusted the suspension from my last trip to the current ride. There’s a huge difference between me riding solo and the 150 pounds extra when my wife and our gear for a week are loaded up. It wasn’t such an issue when I was fat (since I weighed enough to keep the rear compresses anyway), but it happens when I dramatically change the loading on the bike without adjusting the suspension to match it..
That will for sure cause it to happen! Making suspension adjustments with loading is a must!
I fixed my death wobble problem by purchasing a Japanese motorcycle. It also seems to have resolved my issues with reliability, oil leaks, low power, and expensive replacement parts that don't last.
Well that's one sure fire way to solve the Harley issues!
Yuck Fou
You can say that all you want but I’ve ridden metrics. They are nothing like a Harley and I’ll take Harley problems. Metrics are trash copies but…..Just Buy a Indian and all your problems are solved. No reason to ever buy a metric when Indian is on the market.
I still have an FXRS, but my touring bike is an Indian now. Stiff frame, Fox shock, I never new a big bike could be so stable.
I feel like this is Harley Hate Speech! Where's my lawyer? 😂
80mph on a long sweeping turn on my dyna, bike started dancing one of the scariest feelings. I lost some confidence after that on how hard I can push the dyna...
Thanks for the video. The FXR don’t really have this issue, the swing arm pivots off the frame.
I'm so glad you kept your arms and hands going. I never would have understood anything you said.
Lol sometimes it helps!
@@GixxerFoo it's all good.
I'm just messing.
I ride a BMW R1200c KNOCK ON WOOD I HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED THE DEATH WOBBLE.
Thanks Gixxer another awesome video.
Man I feel for the guy in the first clip ouch.
Trouble with living at the bottom of the world so hard to get reasonable prices for Harley parts and such a selection in your part of the world.
It's been nearly two months and still waiting for parts for my RG after my accident.
All the best from New Zealand
Most of the time the wobble can be eliminated with a drive train alignment. we do this every day, all day. Any time you have a rubber mounted drive train, it needs the occasional alignment. Stabilizer links secure an out of aligned drive train, it might feel alright for a short time, but the poor handling will return. You should have you rubber mounted Harley professionally aligned before you upgrade your suspension. That way you get the full benefit of your new suspension. Good video! Plenty of good information.
I finally experienced it at about 110mph on my sportster. Absolutely terrifying. Took a good look at the bike. Couldn't find anything wrong with it till I got to the front tire. Had some slight cupping in the center of my Dunlop d401. Replaced the d401s with a set of American elites. Wow! A world of difference. Was a toss up between the American Elites and the Avon cobra chromes.
Tires make a huge difference, some bikes just work better with different brands. Experienced that myself too!
I experienced the front fork wobble on my CB750 doing 115 mph in South Florida back in 76. Turned out the ball bearings in the steering stem were worn out. I bought a tapered bearing kit and solved that issue. Never have yet had the DW on my Harleys but I will be checking into the stabilizer for my 2018 Ultra Limited. Thanks for the great lesson.
Honda 4s are a totally different problem coz of the short rake front end, good normally but if you hit a rock or something different on the road they can go into a tank slapper real easy so i fixed mine when i hotted up the motor big heaps and fitted a triumph friction damper and as long as i turned it down at high speed i could go over a train track at 140 miles per hour and become air born and when i landed it kept on going dead straight with no wobles at all.
Had it on my 08 Electra Glide. Did all your suggestions including the stabilizer link. In fact that made it worse. One thing worked and made it a different motorcycle. I put Michelin Commander tires on it. I couldn't believe it myself but never ran anything else after.
Tires make one heck of a difference, sometimes when nothing makes sense it's the dumbest simplest thing that corrects it. I've seen tire pressure correct that issue of all things, even right down to a bad tire. I mounted a brand new tire once and couldn't get it to balance, took it to a buddy on another balancer same thing. Ended up sending it back to the manufacturer and getting a replacement.
@@GixxerFoo Here's what I know: I had softer compound tires on my 07 Dyna, didn't last long but not much wobble. when it did wobble it was gentle, controllable. I swapped to Michelin Commanders hearing they get good mileage, probably harder compound. Tires are only thing changed on my bike, I ride same roads same way but get wobble much easier now, can't push bike so hard. Maybe I will try that stabilizer link after checking pressure and alignment.
Negligent maintenance and proper ownership responsibility (tire pressure etc) is 99% of the problem. Adding the link is not going to fix worn parts. Glad you covered the obvious.
The first thing I do to my HD’s is install a Tru Trac. It makes a world of difference. Worth every penny!
Where do you buy em from?
I put the chassis stabilizers on my Dyna a few years back both front and rear. Just another fix that should have been stock from the factory.
However my Sportster already had the additional links there from the factory. My rubber Mount Sportster always tracked solid and straight.
It almost always happens 90mph+ and on concrete interstate, it doesn’t like crossing over the joint or crack. It gets violently crazy. Do not touch the brakes, lean over the tank, and ride it out.
Happened on my 2016 Sportster 48 when there was this little step and the road material changed, wobbled my handlebars like crazy from 0 to absolutely crazy it came out of nowhere, I just let go of the throttle.
@@2stocke9x it’s a ridiculous feeling... it will definitely get your full attention 😳
@@2stocke9x was your bike custom at all?
Those 48's are tight handling too, l've got a 2017 and had it happen to me too.
@@ShowseeTravels Hey my 16 48 is bone stock except for a stage 1 kit and led‘s so I didn’t mess with the suspension or wheels any of that stuff...
I had a '99 Twin Cam 88 Roadking that I bought new that I rode for about 90k miles. In 2010 I upgraded to a new EG Limited with the new frame and the 103. I wouldn't say the older touring frame and TC88 had a "wobble", I describe it was that the bike didn't turn right as well as it turned left, at the time I just attributed it to the bike having more weight on its left side, heavy primary case hanging out. My even older Evo Heritage softtail was a real floorboard scrapper.
Had it happen a couple times over the years on my 2008 Ultra Classic going into a curve. Just pinned the throttle until I straightened up. Yeah, Harley redesigned the frame the following year......Imagine that!
@Anthony Scott I just roll on the throttle until I get through the curve and it quits bucking, then proceed like normal.
The first clip you shared was fricken scary. The guy spun his bike to the ground . It seems that even if you haven't experienced such wobble adding the stabilizer would be a very good idea.
The guy in that clip got lucky how he went down, that could of been a lot worse than what it was. A stabilizer really firms up the chassis and makes it much more rigid.
i was a police motor cop for 3 years. i had two very scary tankslappers on two different roadkings. one at 90mph on a curve, the other one on a straight away at 100mph.
OKC PD had Road Kings for a while, those guys wanted their Kawasakis back. They ran interstates and the Harley just didn't have the power the old Kawasaki 1000's had.
Good job explaining it. I’ll be sure to have my spokes/bearings checked as I’m changing my tires this weekend.
That's a perfect time to go over it all, l always check my bearings when l change tire just to be safe.
i have a 05 road king and have had that experience too many times. ive had to push hard and back off on the throttle. people ive road with thought i was crazy. wtf. thank god you prove my story. amen
It's no joke, it does happen! Get you a stabilizer on there and it should stiffen up that chassis, it won't change your comfort running down the road either. Just makes the chassis more rigid which is what they need.
Man knock on wood..70k miles on my 05..hasn't happened yet..
@@russmode Better buy this true track before you will die. I would do it.
I have an 03 Road King that had that problem. Several things I noticed.
1. The front motor mount that came from the factory deteriorates when exposed to oil. Several years later, HD corrected on the latest models, but you know HD, they don't recall motorcycles. Even though they put the mount right under the oil filter. The fix is easy. Just order a replacement from HD. The replacement mounts don't deteriorate.
2. The swing arm is rubber mounted and flexes. There are two ways I know of the address this. The best performing one is a Stiffey bushing from Rivera Primo. You remove the side plates , slip them over the swing arm bolts and button it back up. pretty easy. The worst side effect is it essentially makes the rear portion of the engine solid-mounted. It caused my license plate to vibrate off. Several other things almost did, but I caught them in time.
The second best thing is to do the same thing with polyurethane bushing by Sta-Bo. They transmit a little bit of vibration, but not too bad. Along with a isolation link from Progressive and a new front motor mount, the Sta-bo bushings keep my bike is pretty stable.
The poly bushings help tremendously on those bikes, flex was the biggest issue they had under load for sure.
As a Tech that works on all makes and models, I've had people ask me about this. On one bike, a Road King, his mounts were shot. Add the fact that the tires were a cheap brand. Installing new mounts and tires took care of it. I have been looking into this for years. The rubber mounts are what i was looking into first. I admit that i have been side tracked with other things, but i have been back at it. The one biggest piece of advice i can give is keep up the maintenance on those mounts. 2 watch how you load the bike!!. I've seen bikes way over loaded. Check your load weights for the bike and the tires. Tires are coming from everywhere today and some are just junk. I had a cheap Duro tire on the fount of my bike. I bought it to get home from a run after my Tire had sustained some debris damage. At low speeds when i let go of the handlebars ( 35 mph ) i noticed it. I assumed it was being caused by wind buffeting. I never liked the feel of that tire and replaced it with a nice Dunlop and it disappeared. What actually drives me nuts is I'm looking at fixing something Harley Davidson should have taken care of long ago. I have some ideas as i would like to take care of it at the mounts. Until then the best way to mitigate it is to keep good tires on it, replace the mounts at regular intervals and install the track braces. Stay safe and if i get better results or a great fix, I'll let you know.
That's awesome! You are absolutely correct, the mounts and the loading of the bike are big part of the issue. A lot of people are buying those Shinko tires today, they are really inexpensive tires. They are supposedly made using Kenda tooling, I haven't run them myself but I've heard a lot of mixed results about them. I don't think I would try running them on a heavy touring bike loaded down though.
Thanks for the info on this issue. I had the wobble happened on my 07 RoadKing. It happened due to rear wheel spokes loosening up. Was on way home from Myrtle Beach Bike week and had a passenger. Felt it and just didn't feel right. Was able to get it in for repair before catastrophe happened. Had to replace wheel. No more spoke wheels for me.
Its best not to fight a speed wobble. I went into one once, going around a highway curve way too fast, I hit the gravel shoulder and thought i was done. I simply came onto the throttle and the bike straightened out and corrected. Im still here and the semi drive that witnessed the hole thing was shocked 👍
For the earlier touring chassis I install the 02-08 swing arm, bore the trans case to .750 for the swing arm pivot. Ascertain drivetrain alignment and all engine mounts are in good condition and properly torqued. Check front end for fall away and general preventive maintenance. I've owned touring chassis bikes for the last 35 years. No issues with the beefier swing arm. Well worth the extra work.
That's some serious work but I bet handles really well afterwards!
I have been riding Harleys for over 50 years and I have never experienced this so called wobble. I knew a guy who killed himself in a wobble because he was to cheap to replace the worn out goose neck bearing. Also the swingarm bearing were shot. I warned him repeatedly and he ignored my warnings. The wobble caught him coming out of a corner and he was killed. Rain grooves can cause a wobble with any bike.
Totally agree with you man I have never experienced this on my 99 dyna and I ride it hard this guy doesn't know what he's talking about it is not a inherent problem in design it's a ownership problem and lack of proper maintenance Harley's are like cars if you want them to perform properly you have to properly maintain them and they will be trouble free to enjoy if a person doesn't want to put the time and maintenance in a Harley is not for that person my 99 with 90000+KLM in Canada has never had a mechanical issue and still runs as good as if it was brand new
@@guycotterhill1822 220,000 on my 87 flhtc
@@andrewbassett2507 that's great mileage man riding myself 46 yrs all makes and models always touring bikes
Thank you for explaining. I just rebuilt a 07 sportster and have been testing and riding it around, and noticed a light shake when riding, but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from
Very informative video but you need to recommend every motorcycle rider watch the old school Dunlap wobble and we've video. For me a dramatic improvement was changing out the motor mounts for high performance mounts which was very inexpensive for the safety. Simply changing out the triple trees from the narrow glide front end to a wide glide front end . Made a world of difference on my 95 Dyna and only took about 2 hours including packing the headset bearings correctly. Just make sure you get the axle,wheel spacers , Rotor spacers that go with it.
That's the part a lot of people miss is getting the proper wheel spacers when they go to a wider front end. Harley chassis used to be very narrow, I am so glad they finally widened it a bit in the later years.
Have heard of this wobble but neither of my bikes are rubber mounted never experienced it.
But I liked you suggestions on tyres and general maintenance.
Enjoyed the video.
Congrats Gixx! Your video/channel is blowing up! Well deserved. Keep going man!
I have experience the wobble many of times...like you said don't panic but hold your left hand up off of the the grip that seems to help come out of that wobble....great videos keep it up
You didn't fix it after the first time
my '09 Electra Glide Classic would wobble when I was tour-loaded, at speed and rounding a twisty aggressively. It was scarry and my solution was progressive 944 shocks, progressive mono-tube front forks and the progressive touring link. Together this almost completely eliminated the issue but not completely. Then I saw a video on trailer wobble when the load was improperly centred (too much load aft the rear axel. The solution finally was moving the tour pak into the solo position - problem solved and it was a great ride. I also have a very strict maintenance process that I follow as a result of being an ex helicopter pilot and that is; when I change my tires I also change the cush-drive, wheel bearings and brake pads, without fail - a little over kill perhaps but, better alive than banged up or dead!
Excellent maintenance goes a long way! Loading is very important too, sounds like you've got a really fine riding bike now with the suspension work you've done!
@@GixxerFoo I've sold it and now ride a 2016 Roadie Ultra. It has the 944 shocks and Fork upgrade but the Touring link doesn't fit and I've also moved the tour pak into the solo position - thankfully I never ride with a passenger so the solo position works perfectly and the bike is near perfect but, there is still a small potential for a mini-wobble if I've entered a corner aggressively, loaded and ride over a bump mid-turn but nothing that has caused me any concern. But, the 2009 was scary until I got it all figured out.
I've experienced a wobble that progressively was getting worse while on a roadtrip on my 2012 heritage. It turned out to be an old front tire. It looked great on the outside but was decaying on the inside. Got it taken care of at the next bike shop I came across. But yeah... I've told folks in the past that the rubber mounting system with the swing arm in the transmission case can be the culprit too. Great topic.
Great post! I've seen tires that look brand new, and twist into a pretzel once they were taken off the rim. Internal belts can break, but the tire will look just fine.
My 2001 Road King did it when brand new, and still does it now sometimes (58K miles).
Replaced the front fork innards with Progressive cartridges and rear shocks with Progressive 440 HD shocks this year.
Still does it.
It can be super hard to track down those issues, stabilizers really help make that chassis more rigid.
Aka JUNK!
First I have heard of the Harley wobble. Thanks for the info.
Got a 2001 Dyna FXDL, never had any problems. I always heard it was the rear wheel not being aligned with the frame that is the main cause. I periodically check it and make sure it's aligned perfect after I change the rear tire.
I've got a 2000 FXDL and never had any probs either. th-cam.com/video/Ds-VhkWNK3c/w-d-xo.html this is what it looks like now though.
I got that wobble on my 2010 ultra at about 110 mph and added the true track system. No more wobble and the bike feels a lot better on those sweeping turns. Added it to my 2015 RG fltruse and wouldn’t ride without one now. Added note….when hitting the throttle hard while going straight ahead, instead of the rear wanting to kick out, it just squats and goes.
Great vids, watch them all the time 👍
My buddies Yamaha R6 has wobbled on him quite a few times. I experienced it once on my 2017 Low Rider S. It' was pretty damn scary to say the least. The Dynas are more prone to the problem because the swingarm is mounted to the motor not the frame.
I have experienced this on a 2010 Electra Glide and it happened at maybe 65 - 70mph in a tight curve. I believe the problem was largely tire pressure as I had a problem with the beads not seated well on my old crusty alloy wheels. Last week I road the same road at the same (or higher) speed and no problem despite lean. For me tire pressure - 40psi front and back - was the key. I am sure there is more can be done to tighten everything up though. Good video. Scary subject to discuss.
Couple years ago, I bought an 07 SuperGlide (2400 miles)that rode fine until my wife got on the back(140lbs)
We didn't get up to 15 mph and experienced the "death wobble"
The faster we went, the worse it got.
Kinda freaked me out. I thought the back tire was gonna fly off or something.
Turns out, the front forks were out of alignment
Had my '85 FLH well up over 120mph in a straight line and not a shimmy, was in a right hand curve at about 50mph and went to throttle out which caused rear steer. Before you start analyzing what else was wrong with the bike, all new rubber mount components including swing arm mounts, less than 200 miles on Dunlop's Harley tires properly inflated, about 500 miles on wheel bearings and steering head bearings and empty saddlebags. My '63 FL which is all solid mount is solid as a rock in curves. That rubber mount sent me off into the corn. Rebuilt the bike and added a "True Track" linkage and is now solid as my '63. Wouldn't ride any rubber mount without one. Thank the angels that I'm still here to tell the story.
I use to get those wobbles on the highway once in a while! Not a good feeling to feel your rear end wobble and I was riding a brand new road glide so I have to say it was Harley to blame must be by design!
Agree with you.... Ive never experienced it with my dyna's, but others I know who have had the wobble experience, solved the problem with new tires. Due to the fact that many factors could be responsible for it, its hard to determine causation if you change more than one thing at a time. My sport bike friends experience high speed wobble all the time!
Definitely not limited to Harleys.
Proper tyre pressure, condition and suspension setup are very important!
Yes! Suspension setup is critical, especially if you load your bike down. Even riding with a passenger changes the whole dynamic of suspension setup.
I'm a retired motor cop with a metropolitan police. We rode different models; mostly Harley's, mostly FLHP's back in the day. The only wobbles and weaves I had were with the Harleys, all were on straight and level stretches of Interstate at high speed. One "extra" bike would began to "weave" every time at 50 mph and could never be used (I still remember the piece of crap's inventory number... 2950x (x for extra... a loaner when your regular bike was in the shop... after the 3-year contract, this bike was turned in with no miles on it since no one ever rode the death trap). The fix is adding a bit of rack to the front wheel. "Nice" to see that H-D is still denying their bikes are deathtraps... they were doing that 25-years ago. They would send reps to the Department and tell us that our radios and other equipment was causing the problems. Lying bastards!
I felt that wobble once on my 07 Dyna. Found out my rear tire was in need of replacing. To be honest, it was a very strange sensation.
That can be one cause.
Another great topic you are always spot on!!!!!!!. We are 30 in our M club all FLH from 2002 to 2019 wobble is always been a topic for us, we will try a stabilizer. Thanks again!!!!!
Wobble isn't limited to Harley-Davidson and rubber mounted engines, I've owned a number of metrics and Harleys in my time. I haven't experienced the infamous "Harley wobble" on any of my Harleys(knock on wood), I have, however, experienced a high speed wobble on a Honda Magna I owned many years ago and I have the road rash scars to prove it.
Was your Magna a V45 or V65? I ran 65000 miles on my V45 with no wobble except when i coasted with no hands on the grips (i was testing the stability at a low speed)
@@angusmcpherson My Honda Rebel 500 wobbles on decel when you take your hands off the bars.
Been there , rzv4 500 yammer ha , tank slapper , 140. But i dont k ow how i lived , stayed up
@@angusmcpherson Mine was a V30, I was doing about 120 when the wobble began and after lifting the wobble became more of a bounce.
My mgx21 has caught me a few times ,I’ve put extra weight on the bars ,so far so good
Good video! I had a wobble on my 2000 1500 Kawasaki Vulcan and a decade later on my 2009 FLHTCU Harley. The wobble on the Kaw was worse and neither one resulted in a crash. I gripped the hand grips with all my might to prevent the handle bars from moving while letting off of the throttle. It was intense but I survived without a wreck.
Had the wrong pressure on my front tire and couldn’t even go 90mph. It’s silly what the difference of 5 psi does.
Up down ?
- @@lawrencefranck9417- down is worse, sidewall collapses. weather is another factor for hot or cold readings.
@@lawrencefranck9417 up. It’s the worst. Couldn’t keep up with the bros. Dam near hazard.
I experienced this wobble the first day I brought the 2012 Street Bob home. I started at about 55mph. Granted it was five years old already. But I checked tire pressure when I got it home and it was about 5 psi low. For the most part it went away. But then I experienced it a few weeks later. So I started to look around the motorcycle. I found that one fork tube was about a 1/2 inch taller than the other in the fork mounts. I adjusted each tube within a few thousands of each other. I also checked tightness of the front axle to spec. Needed a little tightening. Then I loosen both forks to make sure the wheel was perpendicular from the handlebars. I let the tubes loose in the top fork mounts to relieve any twisted tension on the forks. Then I tightened all the mounts with the top of each fork within a couple of thousands from top bracket. I could now ride up to 80mph without a problem.
good video man! the older air suspension on some cruiser models also contributes to the wobble from my experience!
Those older air ride systems did not age well at all, they do cause a lot of issues. A great option is to just change that old air ride out to a set of shocks from Progressive Suspension. They have some great options that aren't a minimum of a grand too.
@@GixxerFoo oh totally! best thing I did was putting progressive on my RK. it's a totally new bike, specially here in europe where we don't have many straight lines ahah
For the Dynas, best fix is to run Sputhe front/stabilizers with OEM motor mounts (not drag or other brands), replace top stabilizer link with a quality heim(PTFE lined) joint link and make sure to do a proper alignment of the motor.
Also tighten steering stem bearings extra 1/8 turn and/or run a GPR steering stabilizer as well.
This is all considering your bearings/mounts are in good condition or new
All the other type motor mounts have some issues of their own, wether it’s causing more vibration or even making the motor sit too close to the frame and eventually the front of the motor or your exhaust will hit the frame
Harley downplays this problem and I know someone who crashed his tour Glide while riding in a straight line on the highway, his wife lost her life in the crash. This is an extremely serious issue, and the Motor factory had to know it existed but still sold these bikes to their customers.
I'm very sorry for it, this is terrible. Please read about airbag vests for motorcyclists.
I had a 84 shovel 1340, fxrwg frame, it never let me down. 16" apes.
Good advice in this video.
I've been hearing about this for a while. Great explanation
Dude your videos are worthy their length in gold. serious. 💖
The reason why i quiet Harley is because after you pay the hard money and get in to 5 year loan paying every month hard money, you are not done yet, you still need to go stage 1, replace the suspension, replace this and that here and there... all this still going to cost money money and money... I don't know you guys but me do not print money i work hard for it. Harley is done for me. I expect when one pay huge money for the bike he love one should get it completely set up out of the dealer, no need to open engine later on to add parts or add suspensions or add brakes ....and the list go without end.....
Thank you! Yeah it's a never ending deal on a Harley, they have gotten better though with the brakes and suspension. Price has gone up with those improvements too.
Also uneven fork oil level from one side to the other
I added am Alloy Art read engine brace. Took out a lot of the wobble issue. However I still have it at around 100 MPH mark. I will check out the brace you mentioned.
2018 Road King here...I've never felt a wobble and I have pushed it through some corners-scraped floor boards but no wobble. I am concerned now though. Maybe I will look into the stabilizer links...that crash was terrifying...
The late models have done really well in terms of stability. Older touring models with the unrevised rubber mounts and the old style air suspension had issues. Thay air suspension caused some problems as it aged.
@@GixxerFoo So I am good to go? Thanks!
Yup.... Great advice! I have experienced it on my 94 dyna low rider last summer. New engine mounts and new swing arm bushings and all new bearings in the wheels and neck. I will buy a swing arm stabilizer after watching this video. I was on the fence with it but now i am not. Also thinking about aftermarket shock's. Life is short enough. Why be careless with it.
This is all great advice!
One note a fork brace will really help the Sportster. The fork tubes are to thin in my opinion for a bike of this weight and power.
Never had a problem with my 2016 Superlow Sportster up to 100 mph. Although to be fair the Superlow has a modified steering head angle and a fork brace.
Excellent info. I have a streetglide and installed the Tru Track system. It helped a lot.
i have American, Japanese, and British bikes. I have noticed on all bikes going into turns at high speed and holding the curve any chassis will start to wobble. Even a Goldwing with air suspension has made me have to go change dippers coming out of a long sweeper curve.
Before I got my Harley I had a 86 goldwing that wobbled on me. Scared the crap out of me. Only happened once and thank God I didn’t go down. Now I have a 1990 Electra glide and after watching this video I’m worried all over again. Thanks
A lot of that wobble issue with the touring bikes was the air suspension as it aged, that for sure caused a lot of problems.
I put the Kinetic Structures forward and rear engine mounts on my dyna, and it was one of the best upgrades I've ever made in terms of control. Almost right up there with the suspension upgrade.
My ex- wife had an 85 FXRS that it happened on 3 times riding . The first time my 92 Electraglide did it as I was passing a semi and it happened as I crossed back over the center seam in the
road . It happened again on my 99 Roadglide on the I-State by Dayton Ohio. I rode out it both times using the same technique you did.
I never could get my ex wife to do what I told her how to ride out of it , but she crashed her FXRS 3 times, the last one in 1997. I then bought her a Honda ST1100 and she could speed till her hearts content
I put the True Track on my 99 RG and then on my 2004 Electraglide and never looked back.
The one change I noticed with my 2010 FLHTK was they moved the top stabilizer from between the cylinders to the very front of the front cylinder. That sure seemed like it would keep the drive train from getting out of line with the front wheel.
My 2010 &2014 FLHTK’s and my 2019 FLTRU have been very well behaved and my 19 FLTRU seems even better.
I think that stabilizer move made the difference and I’m older and wiser too.
Keep up the good you tube videos.
We call them tank slappers over here, happens all to often on sports bikes even in straight lines
I bought a ‘82v45 magna when I was 17. It would wobble at high speeds going straight. It would wobble until I got the speed down. I think it was the tires bc it didn’t always do this. Scared me, I sold the bike when I enlisted. I had a road glide that would occasionally wobble and I know it was a tire issue. Now I own a ‘03 fat boy, it is good, I did discover that it handles much better with a 140 rear tire compared to a 150 rear. Thanks for posting
Very welcome, the Fat Boys handle really well. That's Harleys most iconic late model!
Just an observation, your product shelf has a wicked bow in the middle.
😄 yeah I need to get a new one put up...
awesome advise! i get that wobble with my 07 SG when I ride hard into a corner or faster than i should and so far I have been able to control it... I don't think about it.... and don't fear it.... i know how to ride my bike and I throw it around like a little scooter.... but man! the first time that happened..... i was completely not prepared and had to think very quickly how to get it under control! i would advise everyone to ride safely and slow down in advance before getting to the turn... thes bikes are very heavy and generally speaking very stale and comfortable but they're not race machines
That's the best thing is just knowing your bike and what you need to do, that's a very important piece for when that happens.
I've got 3 Harley's, get 7000 miles a year never had it. Check tire pressure every time out and run good tires professionals mount.