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Dyna Glide ModelsSuper Glide, Super Glide Sport, Super Glide Custom, Dyna Glide Convertible, Super Glide T-Sport, Dyna Glide Police, Dyna Switchback, Low Rider, Street Bob, Fat Bob and Wide Glide.
Want to add that when the dealer were to adjust the steering bearing friction, they said they could not do it because the steering bearing has to be replaced. So I guess I have less friction and to much "fall away" and that this contributes to the unbalance when riding, especially in corners.
I think someone is feeding you a line... no reason you can't adjust fall-away, no matter how old the bearings are.
How many miles on the bike?... I changed my neck bearings out because I was doing a major change of the front end.. and "I was in that far....so.. "... but truthfully the bearings looked fine at 62k miles.
I think someone is feeding you a line... no reason you can't adjust fall-away, no matter how old the bearings are.
How many miles on the bike?... I changed my neck bearings out because I was doing a major change of the front end.. and "I was in that far....so.. "... but truthfully the bearings looked fine at 62k miles.
Hm, they were in a hurry. The thought has struck me, I must admit... Well, I will try myself to adjust the fall-away, and we will see. Bike soon has 10k miles.
I have checked the alignment of my Dyna Low Rider 2006.
I put the frame straight, measured the angles of the brake discs and found a difference of about 2 degrees (using my iPhone). I then took a shot of the bike to confirm the misalignment. It looked like this: How my Dyna aligns right now.
According to the manual, which I looked into at a later occasion, only one degree of misalignment is acceptable, and it suggests adjusting the stabilizer link (which is holding the top of the engine to the frame) so that the discs align up with each other. I will try this later.
For now, I am curious about what kind of experience you all have in this matter. And I have a couple of questions:
1/ Do I have to remove the petrol tank to reach the stabilizer?
2/ If it is impossible to get a good alignment by using the stabilizer link, which is the most likely reason for the bike not aligning?
(To this question I have some thoughts about the front fork not being straight as the bike had an accident with the previous owner.)
Advice and recommendations are much appreciated.
At last I have made two moves in trying to align my bike.
1/ I loosened the rear wheel and adjusted its axle to be straight to the swingarm.
2/ Following the Harley manual, I lifted the bike so it rested on the frame with the rear tire not touching the floor. Then I loosened the tank, detached the fuel line and raised the tank with a support.
After the top stabilizer link was removed (on the left side of the bike), the top of the engine leaned itself to the right whereupon a missalignment between the stabilizer and the engine mounting bracket of about 1/8" occured. With the help of a straight level placed on the frame and a small magnetic one attached to the rear break disc, I could now confirm that the frame and the rear wheel were in a much more correct angle to each other than they were before.
After not being able to adjust the stabilizer link, still attached to the bike, I took the link out and shortened it to a length where it aligned with the hole in the mounting bracket on the bike, thus not creating anymore tension between the engine and the frame.
Torqueing the mount to specifikation and putting the tank on place, I took a test ride. Immediately I found that the bike had received better balance and that the handling was greatly improved.
These two actions, recommended by the manual, have made my riding much easier, and the bike is now more steady, both when riding it straight as well as taking it through corners and bends.
Last edited by OakMountainRider; May 4, 2019 at 07:36 AM.
Re reading your thread here, something stood out to me, the handling of your bike, I would suspect your front mount might be bad, they tend to suck anyway and go bad really early. If you fin d that you are still getting the dreaded dyna wobble...replace your front mount with a really good aftermarket one..predator or mesh...
Re reading your thread here, something stood out to me, the handling of your bike, I would suspect your front mount might be bad, they tend to suck anyway and go bad really early. If you fin d that you are still getting the dreaded dyna wobble...replace your front mount with a really good aftermarket one..predator or mesh...
Thanks Crusader. Yes, I assume the polyurethane Drag mount, (which I installed last year), advertised being more resistant against collapse, is a bit on the hard side, especially to my bike with the lighter TC 88 engine. I really miss that smooth Dyna ride where the vibrations are purely joyful and I am now considering replacing the Drag mount with something better. Do you know anything about the mesh mounts?
I've never seen this procedure in the manual, but will review again. Thanks for posting.
Originally Posted by OakMountainRider
At last I have made two moves in trying to align my bike.
1/ I loosened the rear wheel and adjusted its axle to be straight to the swingarm.
2/ Following the Harley manual, I lifted the bike so it rested on the frame with the rear tire not touching the floor. Then I loosened the tank, detached the fuel line and raised the tank with a support.
After the top stabilizer link was removed (on the left side of the bike), the top of the engine leaned itself to the right whereupon a missalignment between the stabilizer and the engine mounting bracket of about 1/8" occured. With the help of a straight level placed on the frame and a small magnetic one attached to the rear break disc, I could now confirm that the frame and the rear wheel were in a much more correct angle to each other than they were before.
After not being able to adjust the stabilizer link, still attached to the bike, I took the link out and shortened it to a length where it aligned with the hole in the mounting bracket on the bike, thus not creating anymore tension between the engine and the frame.
Torqueing the mount to specifikation and putting the tank on place, I took a test ride. Immediately I found that the bike had received better balance and that the handling was greatly improved.
These two actions, recommended by the manual, have made my riding much easier, and the bike is now more steady, both when riding it straight as well as taking it through corners and bends.
The problem, as mentioned before, is that the front disk must be vertical when the steering is exactly centered. One way to deal with it si to first center the rear wheel in the swing arm using the belt tension adjustments, then lay a straight edge along both sides of the rear tire, as high as possible without touching the frame. The front tire should be equidistant from the straight edge on both sides, and front and back. Sort of like this, except the front wheel is narrower.
Since this is a PITA, it's almost as good if you level the frame under the seat. Finding something that is a good vertical reference is difficult.
The problem, as mentioned before, is that the front disk must be vertical when the steering is exactly centered. One way to deal with it si to first center the rear wheel in the swing arm using the belt tension adjustments, then lay a straight edge along both sides of the rear tire, as high as possible without touching the frame. The front tire should be equidistant from the straight edge on both sides, and front and back. Sort of like this, except the front wheel is narrower.
Since this is a PITA, it's almost as good if you level the frame under the seat. Finding something that is a good vertical reference is difficult.
Thanks for the answer. In the manual, there is no information about how to properly use the front disc in the alignment process, so I excluded this part, using merely the rear disc to get an approximate alignment. I will consider the method you shared here as it might be more to be done to straighten the bike up. I really do not know how vertical the front disc is at this moment, only that the bike handles better.
Anyway, thanks a lot for sharing this method.
Best Regards
Oak Mountain Rider
Last edited by OakMountainRider; May 6, 2019 at 11:31 AM.
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