That makes sense. I hope that new rear tire fixes this for you. I'm really curious on how it'll work out so please let us know. Good luck!!

 

Have you played with the tire pressure? trying different air pressures on the rear tire should affect the performance of the tire and should aggravate or diminish the wobble.

If nothing happens with different air pressure on one tire then try the other tire. If the air pressure does nothing and the wobble stays consistent then you can begin to look at the frame or even a damaged wheel.

 

Just food for thought, a bad tire isn't the only thing that can cause the death wobble. Steering bearings being too tight can also cause it. Also, the clamp that tightens the right side axle needs to be correctly aligned per the manual; that can cause wobble as well. Both the front and rear gap needs to be the same, while being torqued correctly.

I've got a 09 Fatboy and have experienced both. When I put my apes on I decided to tighten my steering bearings and got them too tight. Backed it off 1/2 turn and it was gone.

 

Softails need to be set to the minimum falloff, not maximum or tight. It's a different ride if you are not use to it. Set properly, you can steer them thru a turn with just your shift. They go from being on a 1000 lb hog to being on a 100 lb wild pig. You would think this would make them worst at speed but it's the exact opposite. However, these bike were never designed to go as fast as some people ride them with little experience for wind and road conditions. Read your owners manual for top speed. And if you drive like in a race, you need a pit crew to check over the bike before you do it.

 

yes i have played with tire pressure and had the same results at different PSIs. The steering bearings were addressed pretty much every trip i took the bike back to the shop. i just dropped it off friday for a new back tire and have (surprisingly) already heard back from Michelin about my claim. Seems like they will make good on what i spend as long as it is determined the tire was the culprit. I'll keep y'all posted on how the thing rides once i pick it up. Wish me luck!!

 

Anyone that can do the fall away test PER THE MANUAL, I want to see the video. You are supposed to pretty much take everything off that could interfere with the test, including all cables and brake lines. So good luck with that.

I was pointing out something the OP could check; wasn't really looking for a comment or fix action on my situation.

 

The fall off is affected by a huge windshield since it is like a weight hung out but the only cable you really need to release is if your clutch cable is pulled down to the frame upright. The others do not affect it. And the minimum distance is a very short amount.
Note that some bikes actually have a torque. Mine has the old style slotted nut and therefore cannot be torqued.
Also falloff distance do very since the call out is different on different bike and at different points. Mine actually has a hole in the back of the fender for the pointer.

My thought was to the FP but I was actually agreeing with what you said about it can be too tight. Most people just think it needs to be tighter. Sorry if I some how offended you and no way was I telling you how to fix your bike. Just telling the FP in my opinion was the answer was not just to crank back on the adjuster. I should have not quoted you and I attempted to fix it above..

 

Let me put my 2¢ in, I didn't read all of the comments, In my case it was the rear tire, replaced Dunlop with Michelin command 2 I had problems on way home, my bike was not smooth at all, up & down felling especially when slowing handle bar shaking I was not happy, went back to Dunlop problem solved. PS: I went back to my local HD Dealer.
Didn't have to do all that testing, replacing & so on. It came with Dunlop keep them.

 

2 things and forgive if I did not see them
A) Is everything snug?
B) Did the selling retailer or installer check to see if a belt in the tire is slipping?

 

Well...IT WAS THE TIRE!!! Got my bike back yesterday and she is riding beautifully again. When the shop brought my old tire up they told me they had never seen a tire as flimsy as mine before. The side walls bend out with very little effort, and you could squish it down with very little weight. Low and behold, it was a defective damn tire. Michelin has instructed me to take the tire for an inspection and have the shop that inspects the tire call them. Thanks for all the help and advice everyone!