One thing after another. Buy cheap used bike gotta work the bugs out right....

Anyway I've got a low speed wobble in front end. Handle bars wobbling around in 3rd gear especially at 32-35mph. Been hanging my head over the side watching and can see the forks bounce up and down . Pretty much what you would expect from a out of balance tire. Problem is I just had a new tire put and and balanced. Btw....mostly does this during slowing down. I pull in the clutch and can still see front end shuttering. Shut engine off and let coast down hill.....no wobble. Now being a dyna I expect vibration but not bouncing front tire up and down. Engine mounts look ok to me. I do notice the front suspention feels very squishy and I can easily compress it holding front brake in. No sign of fork oil leaking and bike just rolled over to 17,000 miles. I do feel the front suspention is to soft but not sure if being soft would cause this " bouncy " effect. Also I get the classic POP when hitting a hard spot in road and front end compresses. I'm thinking maybe the neck needs to be re torqued for that. Anyway I know it's hard to explain this stuff in words but I hope you follow me here. It's like the front tire starts bobbing up and down and eventually quits as I slow down. Weird thing is at 70mph it's smooth as glass. I've read about the high speed wobble and I'm good at high speed, just low speed problem

Btw....I rode a sportster with a solid mount engine for years. It never shook enough to make front tire bounce so surely a rubber mounted dyna wouldn't cause that?

 

Check play in the steering head bearings, wheel bearings and wheel alignment. Also double check tyre pressures.

Have a look at the tyre tread for unusual wear patterns. You could have a faulty tyre.

 

My bet is the tire, could be the balance is really bad.

 

Neck bearings do not get torqued. Check out the procedure for setting "fall away".

Just because the tire was replaced and balanced does not necessarily mean it was done right.

Tire could be out of round or out of balance.

 

Since it's only happening with the engine running, and is worse on decel, it suggests a front engine mount which is collapsed or not clearanced properly. Decel puts a greater vertical load on the front engine mount, and can compress an older mount enough to remove all the designed in clearance, and "bottom it out". There's supposed to be about .030 clearance between the snubber and the rubber.

A lot of us cut away a little rubber at the top of the mount to re-establish this clearance, rather than buying new mounts (which can sag pretty soon anyway). Several threads here on how to check this, and how to fix it. I believe Harley had a service bulletin on this too, but can't put my hands on it right now. Can make a night-and-day difference.

 

sounds similar to the issue I had on my bike.. ended up being a rear wheel bearing.

 

thanks for the information and suggestions. i doubt the rear end has anything to do with it. i only feel it in handlebars and can literally see front tire wobbling when i look over the bars. almost like the forks at very bottom are doing a pogo stick motion. i feel non wobbles or vibration behind the steering, just front end.

the guy who done it has a shop and has been in business for 40 years. has a very good reputation locally. The wheel weights from the balance are still there. i still think the front suspension is way softer than it should be. will check that front motor mount too.

 

What year is the bike? I would try changing your fork oil to something a bit heavier.

 

Cheap easy fix is to try some PVC couplings on top of your springs in the front end and change the oil. Then recheck the tire balance, front end fall away etc.

 

Update....

May be onto a motor mount problem. I adjusted the idle speed some with varying results. I notice the motor mounts weren't soaking up the vibration and was shaking whole bike while sitting still. I turned idle down to where the engine is dancing on the mounts and not shaking the bike as much. Without a tach I have no idea if it is correct and the idle seems really slow. But....it reduced the vibration and the fork shaking is a little better. The wheel hop has slown down substantially. I'm a bit concerned about oil pressure with idle seeming so low but it seems to be the sweet spot in getting motor mounts to soak up the idle shake. Keep in mind I'm new to this so it's trial and error.