So Ive had this annoying vibration that feels like something is loose in my front end since day one. I now have over 2k miles on the bike and its still doing it. At my 1k service I mentioned it to them and they said everything is fine. Well, I can tell that something is not fine.

I have searched the different threads and what I feel is not a thunk or thud, its a high pitched noise/vibration in the handlebars over small bumps. I dont feel it over big bumps as they dont seem to hit the tire the right way. Its the little ridges or small successive bumps that really bring this out. Feels like a steering stem is loose(I suppose I should check that) but if the shop didnt find anything wrong what gives?

Anyone else get this?

 

Common problem on these bikes. The steering head bearing hasn't been tensioned correctly. Check for adjusting the fall-away in the workshop manual.

 

Good thing I just bought a shop manual last week. Ok, Ill check that out, thanks for the quick reply!

 

Ok just watched a YouTube on this and checked in the service manual. Not sure how this fixes the vibration I'm feeling over small bumps. I would think it's more the steering head nut. Anyway, taking things apart now to diagnose.

 

I have the same problem on my my 2010 FXDWG.
When I hit a bump, I ear a noise like something inside the gas tank is hitting somewhere.
The whole front end seems to be fine.
With the bike lifted, the rake is turning very smooth without strange noises.

 

Check your tank bolts.

 

Franz 72, defiantly check your gas tank bolts to make sure they are good and tight.

 

Bolts checked OK.
I didn't noticed anything loose around.
I expect something floating inside the tank, is it possible?

 

So I had posted a thread a bit ago about front end vibration and what it could be. Many responses and much research led it to needing to adjust the fall-away. First thing I have to say is the shop manual for these bikes is absolutely the worst Ive ever used. They are as worthless as a $3 bill. I have been using manuals for my automobiles for over 20 years and these Harley ones are the least descriptive of all. Even the guy in service never heard of an HD-50651 tool needed to remove the steering head nut...ok ending the rant.

Speaking of the service department at the dealership. When I called to find out the size of the steering head nut because I wanted to remove it to adjust the fall-away the guy went into a tizzy. "Why are you trying to do that" he shouted at me. I explained what I was experiencing and he said under no circumstances should I be messing with my bike in that manner. An oil change is one thing but playing around with the steering mechanism can be very dangerous and should be left to the shop...yadda yadda. In the end he said to me to "take the bike up to 80mph and take my hands off the bars and see what the bike does". Sounds pretty legit to me, and safe too. After all that he proceeded to say that based on the year of the bike and the mileage it may or may not be covered under warranty but he couldnt say that for sure and was trying to say it in a nice way not to offend.

Ok so after I googled it I found the nut was a 1 1/2. Found the socket at Sears for $8...problem solved.

Got a bike stand also at Sears but that was a pain in the *** also because theres really no place under the bike to place it properly. In the front there looks to be two protrusions off the frame where the front lift of the jack could go but in the back, the frame had an extra rail on the right side welded on to protect a cable running along side it. This made the whole bike tilt while on the jack. This was becoming very frustrating. I ended up using my pitbull stand in the rear to even out the bike while lifting it on the jack(and it still wasnt completely vertical).

After combing through the manual I couldnt figure out how to get the clutch cable disconnected. I even tried taking the whole side of the handlebar apart to no avail. This was not looking good for me.

It wasnt until I just felt exhausted and sat back when I noticed my front forks. This does not look correct(see picture). The manual ended up being useful for this one thing and that was figuring out how to set the forks in the triple tree. Also the torque specs were handy.

Anyway, at least that got accomplished. Thanks for reading my rant.

 

You obviously need to learn to read, before picking a spanner.