About a month ago I hit a crater (pothole) in the road doing about 50mph on my Street Bob. It was dark and I did not see it, but I sure did feel it. Forks and the rear suspension bottomed out pretty hard. I pulled over and did not see anything obvious wrong so I went on my way. As I was riding I noticed the bike felt very unstable, almost like it leaned way too easy (it that makes sense). When I got home I could not see anything wrong, but figured I might have jacked something up in the forks or neck.

I checked the fall away, and it was within spec. I tighten the adjuster nut a little anyway to see if it would have any impact, and it did not. The bike has over 20,000+ miles on it and I had not service the forks yet so I figured it was a good time to do it, even though there was no signs of any damage.

So, I tore the forks down and did not find anything broken or bent. I cleaned them out and replaced all the seals and bushings and put them back together. While I had the forks off I also pulled the tree to check the bearings in the neck and they were good also (other than lacking grease, does Harley grease anything during assembly?). The front tire looks fine, it is fairly new and has no soft spots or any sign of damage. After getting it all back together I still have the same problem.

Any ideas what else I might check?

Forks are good, tire pressure is correct, neck is good, no obvious cracks in the frame, rear shocks appear fine (though I have not removed them to check thoroughly ), tires appear fine, no obvious rim damage, all spokes are tight etc.

I have an ME880 on the rear which is worn unevenly, much more wear in the center than on the sides. I put it on last year before I went to Sturgis, I was loaded down with all my junk for the trip and I guess it was a little much. That and thousands of miles on the interstate going straight. It could be that is the problem, but I hate to replace the tire on end up having the same issue after spending the money. I also hate to give up and take it to the dealer.

My only option at the point is to tear the rear end down and maybe check the rear motor mount. Other than that I am at a loss.

 

might have a shop check the trueness of the wheel, I've seen them bend and kink from good pothole shots before

 

Check to see if the rear wheel got knocked out of alignment.

 

Panthers65, the front "looked" good, but I know it can still be off. I spun it on the bike and did not notice any wobble, but I realize that is not a perfect method and if all else fails I will let a dealer figure it out. I just have not had much luck with the ones in my area and I do not know any good indy's around here.

chester1957, before I came back in to check this thread I put the bike up on the lift and measured from the rear axle to the hole in the swing arm used to check alignment (sort of). It appears at first glance that the belt side is about 1/4 of an inch more forward than the opposite side. I need to go bend a welding rod so I can check it with a little more accuracy. At this point I think I am going to check the alignment using a fishing line by the instructions from the motorcycle metal website.

Thanks guys. I have not given up yet.

 

Exactly what my friend found. Belt keeps that side from sliding back. Good luck.

 

Maybe you have your bandana on too tight.

 

Wow, a 1/4"? That is a lot and certainly would cause the feeling you described. I would imagine you will feel a helluva big difference when you get the alignment back into spec.

 

My melon head is too big for a bandana, I have to use a bed sheet.

 

When I used a rod that was the correct size it turned out it was only off about an 1/8 of an inch. I adjusted the non-belt side adjuster in some so they are even, unfortunately the problem still exists. going to have to figure something else out.

 

What year/model?
Just throwing out a few ideas here...
Is the drive belt tight per spec now?
Did you check the spoke holes on the hubs to make sure they are not elongated at all?
Check the preload on your shocks, make sure they did not "adjust" themselves during the bump.