Okay maybe you'll care that your swingarm is mounted to your tranny, which is bolted to your engine, which obviously has a bad front motor mount. So along with the vibration you don't care about, you probably have a pretty poor handling bike about now.

 

..................ok.......................
dont get your point but yes, the failed mounts have a detrimental effect on the handling of my bike.
i guess what i'm tryin to say is that if i get more vib. with a better mount, thats fine.
But...
i would'nt ignore a FAILED component just b/c i could tolerate the increased vibration from said component's failure.

 

Sorry dude, that's how it came across. I read it wrong then... my bad.

 

right on....

 

have i said i need a new motor mount too... now if i could only get my girl off the bike. Since she found out it was bad she is always going into the shot to "check the mount"... all i hear is my bike reving up and holding it at around 3500... she always goes right to sleep after checking it as well... man must be really hard work to check them

 

...lol...

 

Ok...I guess it's SOAPBOX TIME!!!

If someone's header pipe was actually hitting the front down tubes, the motor mount must have snapped, not worn out....I can put my whole hand between the header pipe and the frame...dude that's some sorry stuff right there.

OK, so basically, what we are saying here is that the factory rubber motor mounts and design, such that they are, contribute to two seperate detrimental factors:

1) Lateral swingarm deflection that can induce "rear steering"

2) Excess vibrations if the mount wears down or is eroded by oil.

Check me someone if these are not the 2 direct concerns here.

Based on the first, I would have to say if you are a true Dyna rider, then the "DYNAmics" of the ride are what led you to own or continue to own the Dyna style bike. If there is some minimal lateral swingarm deflection, then it's a characteristic that must be lived with in order to get the ride you wanted in the first place. OKAY, go get a Sputhe or True Track and sure you'll straighten her tracking out some, but it cost $$, and unless the difference in handling is THAT dramatic, which I have yet to really read on this forum, or experience on another rider's bike, why bother?

If screaming through the twisties is the way you like to ride, perhaps a Buell, or a V-Rod would fit your riding style better than a Dyna.

As far as number 2 goes, that's a real concern, however, I have to say that I had my front motor mount replaced around 2K miles just from reading these forum threads, and then riding my bike with the idea planted in my head that my bike's vibes, were not normal - this is my first Harley. I have owned all kinds of metrics and rode them my whole life....a Harley IS quite a different animal, and Thank God for that!!

So after possibly psycholigically convincing myslef after 2500 miles of pleasurable riding my mount or mounts were bad, I kept bringing it in to the dealership. FINALLY they replaced the front motor mount to appease me I believe. Now, after riding it with the new mount, OF COURSE I was already going to be pre-convinced my ride would be improved and vibes reduced. I really cannot say objectively if they really were, and yes, the rest of the entire bike was checked, spec'd and re-checked.

Psychologically convinced I was riding a perfect Dyna, I put another 7500 miles on it last season alone, including one extremely pleasurable and fun 4,000 mile round trip to Sturgis and back. After I got back home, I was going to look into a True Track to improve handling - not decrease vibes. Instead, both my tires were ready for replacement, so I went with Metzeler 880's and the handling improved so dramitically, I didn't want to mess with success and decided against the True Track.

I think you can improve the handling of any Dyna with the right rubber on the wheels - maybe even more so than installing a True Track. I would STRONGLY recommend from experience that if you are considering a True Track and still have the factory installed Dunlops on your bike, change tires first. You probably will save the $400 on the True Track and love your improved handling. The Avons stick better too, so I am not strictly advocating Metzelers here.

I guess I am just disturbed by this whole motor mount trend. The mounts have been used on Dynas for a long time now and I see a ton of Dynas, old and new, on the road everyday. Do they all replace motor mounts ever 6 or 10K miles? Doubtful.

Folks, I HAVE TO BELIEVE that if the motor mounts were a serious detriment to the ride of a Dyna and/or a safety issue, The MoCo, even in today's economic climate, would put out a bulletin and we'd all have brand new poly isolators.

In short - don't obcess like I did - Go out and ride your bikes.....thats what they are for.

 

wow........guess its time to take some time off of this forum.
first of all, most of you have diff. bikes than mine. i have an 02, most of you have 06 and newer.....diff bike
second of all, just b/c a particular part of design has been used for a while, doesnt ness. mean that it works.
all i wanted to know was if there a better, more durable mount available. i didnt want to hear how someone was convinced on this forum to take their perfectly good, NEW bike to the dealer and demand new parts put on just b/c that part failed on someone elses bike.
i'm not building a crotch rocket.
i know the limits of the bike i'm workin with. if i wanted a Buell, i would have gotten one.
But i can certainly explore my options to make MY bike be what i want it to be.
Certainly the LAST thread i'll ever start..........unless its about slip on mufflers or some sweet ape hangers........................................... ......................................

 

Ya know what 2002 FXDP????

MY BAD. I really never even looked to see the year of the bike you were referring to.

You have my most sincere apologies and I am not being sarcastic.

I guess your thread just struck a nerve because when I was a newb on this forum and to Harleys in general, I took at face value almost everything I read on this forum.

I found it to be a lifesaver on several mods I did myself, and with some other issues too. This forum is a WHOLE WEALTH of information valuable to the HD owner.

I think though in my case, I started reading every single thread, and if something sounded like anything close to something I was wary of with my own bike, I would fly off and check it out.

It really got to the point where I was more concerned with the bike itself, and not enjoying riding it.

Sorry....but I have to say that if there are those out there like me, if my reply helps, then it was worth it.

I didn't mean to fly off or even concern a brother on this thing...just a head'sup and some past fable for all to read.

Props to all....

 

Navy,

There are bad mounts. Period. Whether it was a bad batch, or a design change, I don't know. I'll compare my 07 FXDL with 11k to my buds 08 FXDB with 10.5K. You comment about the header hitting the down tube on the frame.

On my bike, I had about 1/4" clearance between the pipe and tube. On my buds, you could easily slip all your fingers in there, WITH gloves on and not touch the pipe.

If you look at the gap, or lack there of, at the top of the mount. In between the mount itself and the engine block that it's mounted to. On my bike, I couldn't shove a .005" feeler guage in there, my buddy had a least an 1/8" there. The new mounts are rounded on top. Mine had been pounding there long enough you could read the P/N from the engine mount in it, and it was flattened out and 1/2" across.

An isolator is just that. It is mounted to the frame, and to the engine, and thru the rubber mount, it isolates the engine from the frame. Now, if the engine mount is sitting on the isolator, then it's no longer an isolator. It's essentially a hard mounted engine. Period.

Now, there's a couple reasons I had mine checked and replaced. 1st is because of the increased vibes in the seat and pegs at about 3K rpm. This wasn't there before, and in the last couple thousands miles, so something has changed. But I haven't changed anything. So, what has changed?

2nd, I've got the True Trac and knowing the isolator is bad, I'm replacing it before I put the True Trac on, no sense in doing it 2x.


FXDP, I hope I haven't hijacked your thread too much. But, like you, I hope someone comes out with a better isolator, as I don't have much faith in this one. Maybe it will be better, time will tell. Please, let us know if you find or hear of one!




Mike