My wife just bought an 08 anniversary addition Super Glide. It vibrates a lot more at idle and going down the road than my 07 FatBoy. Is this normal? I've never owned or ridden a Dyna model before. I really don't want to ask the dealer's opinion, I may not get the correct answer.

 

The softtails have a balanced motor the dynas dont. Its going to vibrate and shake more especially at idle. It should smooth out pretty good though when on the throttle and in the right gear.

 

When I bought my 06 SG I noticed that the Softtails vibrated less than the Dynas so that doesn't surprise me. I have no problems riding long distances, the vibrations are not an issue for me. I don't even think about 'em.

 

Stupid question, why would the 96" engine be balanced on the Softail and not the Dyna? All others balanced as well?
CB

 

because Softails do Yoga and Dynas are drunks? Blind stab in the dark man, I have no forkin' clue.

 

"In 1984 Harley pulled off the major feat of inventing a hard-tail frame with suspension. It had been done on the custom circuit for a while with varying degrees of success, but Harley did their sums right and put it into production. The Softail was born.

At a stroke, the traditionalist Harley custom owner could see a bike in the catalogue that sent all the right signals. The lines were right, albeit a little more cluttered than a stripped-down hardtail, and the motor was right. Even better than that, the motor was solidly bolted into the frame rather than the rubber-mounting system that the FXR had brought in, to give real engine feedback. It was an overnight sensation and allowed The Motor Company to stake its claim on a custom bike world that it had always trodden warily around. The two models ran side-by-side for two years before the Wide Glide ran out of components.

When the rubber-mount Dyna frame was introduced in '91 with the Sturgis, the similarity of its lines to the old 4-speed was not only noted, but actively pointed out and it was almost inevitable that the when the new frame hit the mainstream, the Wide Glide would breathe again. It did, and it still does.

Once again you could pick between two distinctly different bikes, and up until 1998 the differences were marked: you had a solid mount Evo engine in a classic shaped frame, or the more sophisticated rubber mounted, but otherwise almost identical Evo in the seventies-style frame and there was a real argument to be had. Vibration versus smooth-running. The Evo vibrated as a big twin should and it was a matter of whether that comprised a part of your preferred experience or not: it wasn't especially unpleasant but it was noticeable, while the Wide Glide had a pleasant vibration at low revs when you wanted the gentle massaging, and smoothed out at highway speeds to give long distance comfort.

Then in 1999 the Twin Cam 88 arrived. A bigger, better engine with a shorter stroke, higher revs and more power. It was wonderful in the Tourer, it was a revelation in the Dyna … it was passed over in the Softail for 12 months. It is easy to see why. The higher revs and shorter stroke changed the nature of the vibration to the point where it became intrusive on a solid mount engine, and while the die-hards wouldn't like a rubber-mount engine, they'd probably like the change in the vibration pitch even less - not least because it made it much more obvious that the beloved bottomless torque was being sacrificed for mid-range and top-end power.

The solution came through in 2000 with the Twin Cam Softails: a balanced engine. Still mounted solidly in the frame it would give engine feedback to the rider … except that there wasn't any engine feedback to give, because there were no vibes.

In 2000 the arguments stopped. Well, they did for me, anyway.

In 2000 you could have a classic Harley chop shape that didn't vibrate, or a seventies Harley shape that had damped vibration at low revs and smoothed out when cruising."

(borrowed from
- http://www.american-v.co.uk/roadtest...xdwg/body.html

 

I believe only the softail is rigid mounted and has the counterbalancers in em...
Dyna, Sportster, and Bagger all have rubber mounts now...

so you pay 3k over the dyna to get hidden rear shocks, balanced motor, and foward controls or floorboards..

 

Thanks for the info

 

Mine shakes my teeth about out at idle.........I Love It!!!!!



If I wanted super smooth I would have bought a Burner, I want to "Feel" my ride.


F%&$ It! if it blows I got a warrenty, If not its gonna shake, rattle and roll till I kill it.

PS Mine feels good till fifth, then I get a little top end chatter. Like I said, I bought new for the fact that it's under warrenty. If it dies, I aint gonna cry!!


Ride it like your wife after a fight, Dave

 

It's called the Dyna Dance -- no cost feature! Gotta Love It!