Harley let down
Man, you guys are brutal. Vibrations are to be expected on a v-twin regardless and I think the OP knew it. However, on my bike at least, around 2800-3k it smooths out and theres hardly any vibration at all. That being said, somehow, this season, my bike has developed a vibration that is so high pitched, and it gets worse the faster I go, that my eyes literally get blurry in my helmet. I cant figure out where its coming from, Ive re-torqued every bolt on the front end I could find.
I can commiserate with the OP and I hope they figure out where the vibration is coming from. Like others have said, I would probably replace the front motor mount at least with an upgrade.
I can commiserate with the OP and I hope they figure out where the vibration is coming from. Like others have said, I would probably replace the front motor mount at least with an upgrade.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 2,840
Likes: 900
From: Philly Suburbs
I agree with HyperM3 and others who've suggested looking at the motor mounts, but I would start even more simply. Over the last two or three years I've had my bike apart and back together like ten times, and I've learned that little things create big vibrations. For example, I had my pipe off for some reason once, and rushed to put stuff back together for a ride the next day. On that ride, engine vibes reaching me were so brutal I almost tapped out and went home. The next day I lifted the bike, loosened the front mount, loosened both exhaust flanges and the rear exhaust bracket, and ran the motor for a bit at different speeds. Torqued everything back up (still up in the air with the motor running), and everything was completely back to normal.
OP: From your description, I'm assuming you aren't actually a wuss who can't handle the characteristics of a big vtwin and that there actually is an issue (if I'm wrong, you should instantly sell the bike!). Unfortunately, the Dyna chassis (and the Twin Cam engine) have a lot of areas that need to be correct for everything to work well. Fortunately, this usually isn't such a big deal once you understand the whole set-up and the bikes are very rewarding when working properly. The first thing to do is to figure out whether you're feeling chassis vibration or drivetrain vibration. Get the bike up to 50 or 60 and coast for awhile with the clutch pulled in... Does the vibration change? If it's mostly gone, the issue is probably in the drivetrain. If not, then chassis. If it's the drivetrain, how does engine speed affect things? If it's the chassis, how does the bike's speed affect things? Is it different straight versus cornering?
If you can find answers to some of this and report back, you should be able to find some good advice here.
Good luck!
OP: From your description, I'm assuming you aren't actually a wuss who can't handle the characteristics of a big vtwin and that there actually is an issue (if I'm wrong, you should instantly sell the bike!). Unfortunately, the Dyna chassis (and the Twin Cam engine) have a lot of areas that need to be correct for everything to work well. Fortunately, this usually isn't such a big deal once you understand the whole set-up and the bikes are very rewarding when working properly. The first thing to do is to figure out whether you're feeling chassis vibration or drivetrain vibration. Get the bike up to 50 or 60 and coast for awhile with the clutch pulled in... Does the vibration change? If it's mostly gone, the issue is probably in the drivetrain. If not, then chassis. If it's the drivetrain, how does engine speed affect things? If it's the chassis, how does the bike's speed affect things? Is it different straight versus cornering?
If you can find answers to some of this and report back, you should be able to find some good advice here.
Good luck!
I recently purchased a 2010 with low miles. It vibrated like nothing else (compared to my 2014 which purrrrs)
Some new engine mounts and the vibrations narrowe3d to about 400rpm range.
Some additional tuning and they're all gone now.
Some new engine mounts and the vibrations narrowe3d to about 400rpm range.
Some additional tuning and they're all gone now.
Club Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 15,420
Likes: 7,118
From: Beyond Fucital
Really? 400RPM and it idles?
Road Captain
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 673
Likes: 30
From: Warrington England
Bought a Harley 2012 Dyna Street Bob with 5000 miles on it 5 days ago, this thing vibrates in the pedals and handlebars so bad that I do not look forward to getting on it, there is only what I can describe as a humming vibration in the handlebars when you lean into a turn, took it back to the place were I purchased it (45mins away), the guy took it for a ride and when he came back he pulled into the garage and I thought that's good, he knows whats going on, he loosed the belt a bit and took it for another ride and came back and said it's better than before have a nice day, on the way home I thought my teeth were gonna fall out, I'm so dam mad that I spent my money on what I thought was quality and I don;t even want to get on the dam thing, I'm almost thinking I should have stayed with my Suzuki Intruder.
The fact is Harley have had a "possible" problem with the engine mounting system since the Dyna frame was introduced,the 1st thing to read up on is Service Bulletin "1324",which describes a Harley approved mod that can be made to the front engine mount & there are several posts in the section about checking the frame/engine/transmission alignement,there are also a couple of aftermarket front mounts which have been designed to decrease possible vibration levels(such as the Vibra Technics Predator)
Some Dynas can exhibit "excessive" frame/engine vibrations,whether it's a popular comment on here or not,read up on the Bulletin etc,because "if" your bike has excessive vibration it can be "cured" & then the Dyna is a great bike,i'm no my 3rd,the 1st two vibrated like cement mixers,but this was before the above procedures became known,my FatBob is much better,so stick with it.
I'm sure everyone wishes you luck.
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