Hi forum,

I'm new to the Harley world, so hear we go

I bought a 2006 Harley Superglide about 4 months ago with python full pipes and screaming eagle air filter upgrade (my first Harley) and I absolutely love it. I have ridden motorcycles for years but nothing compares to the Harley feel Anyways, when I bought the bike it was from a private seller 1 owner who I know personally and he babied the motorcycle.

For the last 3 months or so, I have ridden the bike about every other day. It vibrates a little at idle but nothing I would consider out of the ordinary from what I hear about the dyna's. Once I give it gas and get going the bike runs as smooth as silk, shifting braking, etc.

The other day I decided I wanted to change my Derby cover so I borrowed a friends motorcycle foot pump jack and hoisted my bike up with the assistance of a friend. We believed the bike was on the frame and everything seemed fine. I ended up being busy and I wasn't able to change the derby cover for a few days while my bike stayed jacked up. I finally got around to changing it and put it back down. I completed it (easy job) and brought the bike back down.

I then decided I wanted to take my bike out for a spin. As soon as I fired the bike up I could tell something was wrong. My exhaust now appeared louder than normal and it seemed that the bike idle's faster than before. The bike also vibrated a ton more than before. I thought maybe it was a fluke and took it out anyways.

As soon as I got going I immediately noticed a horrible vibration. After trial and error I determined that the vibration was mainly happening under light acceleration and almost all deceleration. Around 40 mph in gear 3 with light acceleration, the bike shakes so violently that it is almost hard to control. When I pull the clutch in though it all goes away and the bike is smooth.

I thought maybe I broke my exhaust so I took my bike to a local harley mechanic. They took off the exhaust inspected it and properly reinstalled, checked my motor mounts which he said appeared normal. Still the problem continued at which time he thought maybe the ecm map was off. Got the bike dyno'd and still the problem is there.

Since then I have done about 10 suggestions from articles on hear I read, realign motor, check exhaust, spacers in the motor mounts, etc. To no avail. I have checked every bolt, and nothing appears out of the ordinary. I have nearly lost interest in riding it now because the vibration is so severe that it doesn't feel safe. Does anyone know what might be the problem? Thanks so much! Sorry I know this was long but I thought knowing all the conditions might help narrow it down.

 

It's possible the motor mounts failed from being left on the jack. You can't tell by looking at them.

 

Thanks for the reply. I thought that as well but it threw me off since supposedly they checked it and it was fine. Still confused on why my exhaust would sound different though.

 

Exactly. dynahunter, based on reading your post my first thought was the bike wasn't properly lifted on the frame and the engine mounts were under strain, by leaving it sit for days you made the issue worse, if the vehicle alignment is now off by being forced into a new position and/or an isolator failed that would explain what you're experiencing, without actually hearing the difference it's possible your exhaust could be making contact somewhere causing the increased sound you're hearing.

The engine has 3 mounting points; front engine mount/isolator, rear engine mount/isolator and the engine mount bracket and top stabilizer link, with alignment forced out or a failed isolator you'll have all sorts of off vibrations, potential odd sounds, and decel shuddering.

You've already diagnosed your problem here: "When I pull the clutch in though it all goes away and the bike is smooth" When you pull in the clutch and let the engine idle down you're disconnecting the drivetrain from the rolling chassis; now it's smooth as RPM's fall and the clutch is disengaged, no issues there in the rolling chassis; the 3 engine mount points and vehicle/engine alignment would be my number 1 place to start.

Engine isolators can and do fail if they're under stress, my '13 Wide Glide had a collapsed front isolator off the dealer's floor, it was factory installed under tension and sitting for a year before I bought her had stressed and distorted the rubber isolator to the point it collapsed. I don't bother with dealers or warranty BS, I replaced the front, did the vehicle/engine alignment and needed to shim my front isolator out but once done, the bike was silky smooth, no odd vibrations or that bad decel shudder I'd had previously.

For future reference, use the proper lift to raise a bike and don't be so busy you can't finish what you start, a derby cover is a 5 minute job with nothing more than a small block of wood under the jiffy stand to set the bike more upright to keep the fluid in the primary while you remove and replace the cover. The HD Dyna's don't lift like other HD's due to their design and a modified lift, blocks of wood, or the HD Dyna lift adapters are needed or all sorts of fun stuff can happen...

Think of the engine/transmission/primary as a 'package' with the exhaust and intake bolted on to them. This package is sitting in a 3 point support within the frame/rolling chassis, two engine rubber isolators front and back and a solid mounted stabilizer at the top between the cylinders behind the intake keep the vibrations and engine motion from being transferred into the frame/rolling chassis. If you were to jack up the bike from within this 3 point support system instead of the frame you'd place a substantial amount of pressures on the engine isolators damaging them. Your exhaust is making more and different sounds as it's directly tied to the 'package' and the entire package is free to move much more than it could before the lift, when those engine mounts are damaged all bets are off as to what sort of things you'll feel and hear.

I'm a firm believer in overkill, if it's worth doing it's worth overdoing If it were my bike I'd replace the front and rear engine isolators and bolts and give the top stabilizer link, bolts, and spacers a serious look to be certain all is well with them, perform the engine/vehicle alignment procedure as outlined in the Service Manual and be prepared with longer grade 8 bolts and spacers should the front mount require them for proper spacing once the alignment is done. If you don't yet have the Service Manual be sure to get it, it's the best accessory you can buy for your bike... Good luck!

Use this link http://www.shopronniesharleydavidson.com and go to the OEM parts finder, select your year and model and you'll be able to view the parts microfiche...


Edit: I wanted to add this image so you could see how far my front engine mount isolator was shimmed after the alignment, you can see how far the rubber isolator would be distorted if I were to simply bolt it back down which would put it under tension again setting if up for another failure, she's happy and smooth.

 

Yep, Dynas can't be lifted with a motorcycle jack without modifying the jack.
There is a thread somewhere about what to do with the red jack to make it Dyna friendly.

 

Tincup, thank you for your in depth explanation. Your help has been tremendous and it all makes perfect sense now when you break it down and explain it like you did. It is definitely a big learning curve coming from jap bikes to a harley. I guess you have to make mistakes in order to learn- NEVER JACK UP MY BIKE WITHOUT THE PROPER JACK AGAIN!!!!!!!

I guess you can call it a newbie mistake. Well tomorrow I have free so I will start going through your list to see if I can narrow down the issue and correct it. I will definitely update you on the cure (assuming I will find it soon).

Every day I learn more and the longer I stay on these forums the more I want to change on my bike Thanks again for your help.

 

Brother, we've all been there. I could write a book with all my mistakes, faux pas', and outright awhellno moments after all these years with HD's and sport bikes

Lay hands on the Service Manual and try the vehicle/engine alignment first, if that doesn't correct the issues I'd recommend you pick up the front and rear engine mounts/isolators and install them and perform the alignment again, you'll be golden and back on the road

Don't forget a good lift that's either been modified or the HD dyna lift adapters. You can find the thread on the lift mod here: https://www.hdforums.com/forum/dyna-...ification.html

 

Sorry for the delay in response, life gets busy

So I changed front and back isolators as well as engine re-alignment. It has solved 90% of the issues and the bike has way less vibration!!!! Still feels a tad off though as in exhaust still makes a weird sound, but most of it is gone and it is now drive able so for now I'll count my blessings and maybe one day with more money in pocket I could switch out the exhaust. I'm starting to think the exhaust was some of the issue. It almost seems like the exhaust has a hole, but none to be found. O well thanks guys!

 

That is excellent to hear! Glad you're back on the road again

One suggestion, support the engine/primary/transmission assembly from underneath with the bike upright, have someone sitting on it. Use a jack and a block of wood to spread the weight and use just enough support from the jack so the engine can't drop but don't lift it and begin to loosen the front isolator bolts and see if the face of the rubber isolator pulls away from the frame crossmember, if it does you may need to add shims and use longer grade 8 bolts to allow the isolator to be exactly where it wants to be, that could possibly be where that last bit of vibration is coming from.

Good to know you're resolving your vibration problems!

 

The Python pipe shields are held on by radiator hose clamps.
Put your bike on a jack and work your back checking each clamp. You may have one loose or broken.