Alright guys, I got a 2013 sporty 72 with just under 5000 miles anddddd the spokes are loose. bought the bike 2 months ago with 700 miles on it and when driving home from the dealership i notice whenever i hit a bump (like going over a bridge or something) going about 70 the bike would tend to wobble just slightly so i thought it was just in the bikes nature. Well we went to the mountains about two weeks ago and while i was there it got a lot worse to where i was wobbleing the whole time and found most of the spoke to the rear wheel are loose as ****. i just got back from an indipendant shop and they said theyve never heard of anything like that so i just got home and called ***'s harley and they said theyve never heard of it either but told me since i didn't have harley do the 1000 mile maintinance then i have to pay for it...why should i have to pay for something that nobodys ever heard of just because i like to change the oil on my own bike?? i mean **** i don't have a motorcycle garage in my back yard but i like to do what i can on my bike...
anyone have this problem before? what have you done about it??

 

Checking and adjusting spoke tension is a routine maintenance item every 5000 miles, and it's not unusual for them to need adjustment. I suggest you look at the Regular Service Intervals schedule in the back of your Owners Manual.

Had your "minor" spoke issue been addressed at the 1,000 mile check, it likely wouldn't have gotten progressively worse over the next 4,000 miles.

 

I work on commercial airliners for a living and still have dealers do certain work. Basics such as oil, clutch, and primary adjustments I do. Anything that might effect the warranty the dealer does. Sometimes its worth the money to let someone who specializes do the work.I'm sure most of the guys here can change the oil in a Rolls Royce RB-211, but would you want to fly on it if they didn't have training on the equipment?

 

Yes it is a regular maintenance item to check.
Yes they can come loose.
If many spokes are loose I would agree to take it to a specialist who will insure the rim is trued.

 

Agreed take it to a shop that has the proper machine to true and balance the wheel. Every once in a while I'll take a wood rod and tap each spoke to make sure they are all tight. Spokes come loose sounds like you talked to people that never had spoke rims.

 

Spoke tension should be checked at 1k, 5k, 20k, and every 15k thereafter according to Harley. That's a pretty fair assessment in my opinion.

Once one spoke goes loose it starts a chain reaction of sorts that can quickly go down hill. I've had wheels and hubs ruined completely from a spoke or two coming loose. Had to replace the whole damn thing.

The best, and only, fix for this is to catch it before it happens. New wheels are the most prone because the spokes will loosen over time as they are repeatedly tensioned and bed in. After that it is not so bad.

I typically check them briefly whenever I feel like it, just hit them with a small wrench to see if any are really bad. And every 15k (I'm well past the 20k mark on both wheels) I will break out the spoke torque wrench and go through the process. Every now and then I catch a few that are a 1/4 turn loose.

I can say that on a Heritage Softail Classic with only 18k miles on it, I had to spend 45 minutes fixing the spokes on those wheels. They had come fairly loose (still good enough to be saved) in that short of a time. And that bike had been serviced by the dealer at every interval... :/

 

Those are the exact reasons why I am changing out my spoked wheels for cast wheels on my 2009 XL883L. I got tired of the maintenance and the rust issues. Also I like the idea of tubeless tires - no more inner tubes. Flat tire - no problem, plug, inflate, and go. I'll have my new wheels in a couple of weeks and can't wait. I'll try to post a photo after the new wheels are mounted if I can figure out how to do it.

Ride Safe - Ride Smart


"He Who Lives In Joy Does His Creator's Will".
The Baal Shem Tov, Founder of Chasidic Judaism... ca.1750s

 

There was an issue with the early Seventy Twos and loose spokes. Talk to a dealer.