So it was slick & wet out in NJ/PA today was in a left hand turn & thought ok the backend is sliding on the wet, no big deal. Then the bike went from slight sliding to full out WOBBLE!!!!!

Went on auto-mode from my track days. Keep the arms stiff keep steady on the gas & ride it out but wow talk about a serious "$%^&* moment!

It would not stop wobbling till I rolled back off the gas a touch. I've slide my bikes & even this one around from time to time in the corners but this felt like the bike was just all sorts of wrong. Did some reading & was curious is this just something the FLH's/Tour's experience or is this across the line?

 

Check out threads with the TruTrac argument going on. This has been a long time issue with Dynas and Touring frames. A bunch are going to get on here and say there is no such thing but it's for real and you found out for yourself.

 

Assuming you mean the "death wobble" aka head shake. ONLY time experienced that was on my CBR954RR. They were known to be susceptible to it. My own fault when brought front wheel up a few inches accelerating on exiting a corner. Was straight line when front tire made contact but I "think" the alignment was just slightly off. Scary stuff. Anyone knows cause for it on HD's??

 

"Head shake" on a Honda I think is a bit different than a Harley "Death wobble" With Hondas and most other bikes it's due to "notched" or worn or misadjusted steering head bearings. Worn swing arm bearings affect this too.

The pre 09 FL's wobble came more from some frame flex in the middle of the bike. While improved there is still a combination of frame and steering head flex in the 09 and newer models. That's one reason for the bigger forks in the new wet head.

Which always brought me to the question of why guys would spend so much money on stage 1,2,3's and other hot rod mods while leaving poor suspensions on the bike.

Harley has yet to make a touring frame/suspension that could handle the speeds of a AMF 74 cube Shovelhead. Or at least if you turn the bike now and then.

 

Huh. Thanks for info. On my cbr it wasn't "worn" anything. But there was a fix for it with head clamp change.

It makes sense that any slop with forks would potentially cause it.