Bad Wobble at High Speed with New Tires
#1
Bad Wobble at High Speed with New Tires
I put a set of Michelin Power Commander II's on my 08 Fatboy and now get a terrible death wobble at 70+mph. I put the tires on about a year ago, and have been dealing with the problem ever since. It's completely ruined my joy of riding. Before i put the tires on, i was running a set of factory Dunlops. I bought the bike with 4k miles on it and put 20k on in the past 2 years, so I am very familiar with how to ride and how my bike is supposed to feel. I never had a single problem with the Dunlops. The bike rode straight as an arrow. The ONLY thing that has changed is those tires. After buying them i noticed an immediate wobble, but assumed it was the tires breaking in. Not only did the wobble not get better, it got worse. I have taken it back to the mechanic who put the tires on 3 times now and another local shop once, and they assure me they can't find anything wrong. Both shops have re-aligned, taken apart and put back together, greased/replaced bearings, etc. The guy who put the tires on even did a new front tire for me for free, but it didn't fix the problem. I have now spent over $1000 on new tires, and don't feel safe at all on my ride. I just turned back from Daytona once i was halfway down because the bike felt so bad. I feel like my only option now is to trade the damn thing in, but i love the bike. My question is, does anyone think it'd be worth my time to replace the back tire? The wobble seems to only come from the front tire, which is why my mechanic replaced it for free. Could a bad back tire be making the front end wobble? Or should i just trade the bike in and get something else and let it be the dealerships problem?
#4
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Western South Dakota
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#5
#6
I'm assuming you mean "Commander II".
If you feel that the problem is the Commander IIs then why not just replace them with the Dunlops that you were happy with?
I don't understand why you would even consider trading the bike in because of a set of tires.
As for the Commander IIs, I put a rear one on last weekend and finally test road the bike yesterday and I'm impressed with the tire.
At all speeds the ride is smoother than it was with the Dunlop 401.
Note that I still have the Dunlop on the front.
#7
I would have swapped the tire for another brand. My dunlops developed a wobble as they wore down towards the end of their life. I blamed it on the ape hangers cause it was around the time I installed them. Once the front tire wore down to the point of replacement I swapped out for a Avon cobra front tire and to my surprise my bike road smooth again.
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My Dad has a 2000 Heritage and has always run Dunlops, first the stock 402's and later American Elites. He tried the Michelin Commander II's and had a bad wobble in the front after the switch. We went back to American Elites and the wobble went away. Other than that you are the only one I have heard had that issue.