Dyna wide glide handling
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Stage I
Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
From: Illinois
Dyna wide glide handling
Ok I am a newby to riding a big boy bike I had a sporty for a year and I've have my 04 wide glide for a couple months but I still am not comfortable with how it handles it seems very sloppy in corners and wants to scrape at any real speed through a corner just wondering if there's anything I can do to help this also I am a bit small for the bike I am 5'4 with a maybe 29 inch inseam but I like the way the bike feels as I am not a lighter set person
Road Warrior
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 1,570
Likes: 599
From: Minneapolis, MN
Wow, crazy. My experience is quite the opposite with my 2000 Wideglide. I think it handles quite well and feels more confidence inspiring than my sportster did. I guess it might be different for everyone.
How do the tires look? I put a new set on mine and it rides a LOT better than it did when i bought it will old Dunlops on it.
How do the tires look? I put a new set on mine and it rides a LOT better than it did when i bought it will old Dunlops on it.
Tourer
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 497
Likes: 575
From: Maryland
I have a '00 WG as well and routinely ride with a group of sportbikers. I leave them all in the dust on the twisties, they can't keep up. Maybe they're not comfortable in their riding skills, who knows, but the bike handles great, in my experience. Very happy with it. YMMV, of course.
Road Warrior
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,397
Likes: 106
From: -)
If everything is "right" mechanically, then tire and tire pressures are the next thing to look at. My last dyna seemed strange when I first got it but after the last set of tires it seems to have adapted to its owner.
Road Warrior
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,317
Likes: 579
From: Ft Smith Arkansas
Glide
I bought a new Wideglide on 07 after riding an 06 1200 Sportster . The thing i noticed was the skinny front tire followed every groove in the road took awhile to get used too. Never warmed up to that bike didnt help left me stranded in the middle of nowhere 1st trip i took on it.
Tourer
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 295
Likes: 111
From: Medina, Ohio
Check your preload on your rear. I keep mine in the middle at 2 or 3. Also check tire pressure. When I rebuilt my front forks that helped a ton. On the pizza cutter front wheel, tire pressure being off one way of the other will make a huge difference.
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Club Member
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 4,192
Likes: 168
From: Knoxville, Tn
Handling On A Dyna
Like others have said if the bike is lowered with forward controls plus Dunlop tires then the handling won't be great. They come stock with 12" shocks and going down from there makes it scrape. Since you're 5' 4" and the bike fits you then the bike probably been lowered. You can put better tires on it so it corners better but it will still scrape in turns. I'm about 5' 10" and on the second set of foot pegs from new and they are half gone from the grind. Just don't grind the bottom of the primary, if you are that far down, the bike may take you for a wild ride. Also, Dynas handle, in my experience, better with mid controls. I have Michelin Pilot Road III tires on my dyna and they grip like crazy but have a short life span.
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HDF Community Team
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 3,041
Likes: 1,212
From: New Hampsha
It's those cheap Dunlop OEM tires...
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 11,448
Likes: 2,299
From: NW Ohio
Wide Glide is a style bike not a sport bike. Lots of rake and trail, skinny tire up front, shitty braking, poor lean angle....and you can pry mine from my cold, dead hands. 
Not that anybody would look at it and still call it a Wide Glide.
Not that anybody would look at it and still call it a Wide Glide.
