I'm I reading this right? Are you saying since I have a 09 model Harley has added a third stabilizer? So I wouldn't need a True Track because the MOCO has all ready installed one. Or am I not reading this right.

 

you only have the one stabilizer on the top.

 

Different models in Harley's range have different setups. Current rubber-mount Sportsters and the Buell range all have three stabilizer links, one at the heads, another at front of the engine and the third at the gearbox end. It is difficult to see on a Sportster, but is there.

Until the latest touring models were introduced, they all had two stabilizers, at the heads and front of engine, none at the gearbox end. Dynas have only one stabilizer, at the heads. Erik Buells' original patent for three stabilizers goes back to the 1980s, yet Harley has only introduced the setup onto their own brand with the current Sportster.

The latest touring models have a similar setup to previous models at the gearbox end, with no stabilizer, but the rubber mounts have been changed, presumably 'improved'. The front rubber mount setup is new, changed to a system similar to the gearbox end, with a rubber mount each side, no stabilizer. The remaining stabilizer has been moved from between the heads to in front of the front head, in fact off the rockerbox cover.

All these bikes have the swingarm mounted off the gearbox, so alignment of the rear wheel with the front is dependent on the gearbox rubber mount. Touring models and Dynas are vulnerable to flexing at that location, which is why, especially for the touring models, there is a substantial industry making kits to provide you with that third link. There is now a confusing choice of brands!

Having mentioned patents, all the major motorcycle manufacturers who use rubber-mounted engines have taken out patents for their own solutions to improving handling, so this is not a Harley-specific problem. The Harley-specific solution is a handling kit like TrueTrack.

The only reason I chose them is that they make a kit for my old 1990 dresser. I have their Trackula kit, which includes replacement swingarm bushes and bought their Dyna kit for my wife's bike. I am surprised and pleased with the improvements and anyone who fits one will be too. The extra stabilizers are the only way to travel!

 

Quite right. I don't think the 09 Dynas are any different to earlier models. If you have an 09 touring model, you also now have only one stabilizer. It will be interesting to see if the stabilizer industry comes up with a kit to make that up to three.

 

Thanks guys for clearing that up for me. Maybe I don't ride my bike hard enough or long enough yet but so far I have not had it go to wobbling on me. Knock on wood. But in a way this kind of makes me mad if Harley knows this is a problem and a safety problem I would think they should take care of it. If its not such a problem I think TT should cut back some on thier redaric.

 

H-D redesigned the frame on the FL models to address the issue.
They have done nothing to the Dyna models to correct the design flaw.

 

That was sort of my point. If the problem was a severe and pervasive as TT makes it out to be on their web site, NHTSA would have forced a recall long ago.

I suspect for the average rider who goes the speed limit and doesn't "attack" every curve, this is a non-issue. I'll know soon enough, and if I'm wrong, I'll be the first to admit it.

 

I don't think it is so much a wobble, as we would think of a high-speed wobble. More of how your car/truck would feel on slick roads... rear end not quite tracking with the front... suddenly, and then maybe on and off... slower than a wobble... at least in my mind.

As for recalls, ever read your owners manual, and the pervasive: "Could cause serious injury or death" statement in almost every paragraph. That's the CYA statement....

 

I would not call the current design a flaw...It is more like it is not condusive to high speed handling... like in a car many are not all that great in the curves without better shocks and stabilizer bars... buying the true track(or other companies)will allow you to take your corners a little harder providing a more stable platform to do so. They will instill confidence in the bike to work off those chicken strips you may be sporting. You will have a more stable bike all around and the bike will feel more connected.
If you have the money, I think you will enjoy the return on what these provide.

 

That's a reasonable assessment.

I had a 78 Olds Delta 88 that I ordered from the factory with the police package. The F41 suspension was good, but when I put a set of Bilstein shocks on there, it really transformed that thing into a handling machine. I could hang with a Trans Am WS6 in any curve. A bone stock Delta 88 would be in the weeds at the speeds I could take curves at.

As for the True-Track, does the bike have to be on a lift to install it, or is this a "sitting in the driveway" job?