Was out on the M25 (in UK) on my '05 Heritage a couple of weeks ago when the steering started to wobble. I slowed and the wobble disappeared. I wondered then if it was something to do with the road surface or conditions.

However, tonight I was travelling at around 65 mph around a bend - I've travelled this bit of road many times before, when the wobble started again. It was very pronounced and for a few seconds I thought I might be in for an off.

This is very worrying. I've had the bike for a year and it's been fine, rock solid at these speeds and higher.

I guess this a job for the dealer, but just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience and can give me some advice.

Thanks

Neil

 

I am guessing your front end is loose somewhere or wheel out of balance.

Either way I would fix that asap

 

Start with the simple things.

Tire pressure front and rear
if you have spoked wheels look for loose or broken spokes front and rear
Loose Axle nut front and rear
engine mounts
loose steering head stem nut

 

advice from neubie
1. check tire pressure front n rear
2. see if the steering is too loose, usually they jack stand the bike so the front end can hang freely, then they center the handle bar first then sort of give a little tap on either handgrip just to see whether the handle bar can swing easily. If it moves too easily, then the steering nut is a bit loose. not too tight and not too loose.
while the bike hangs, turn the front/rear wheel and see if there's unbalance rotation, notice uneven friction sound from the discbrake, or find which part of the wheel makes heaviest resistance to the rotation. That could mean, the disc should be lathed probably it has uneven flat surface, or it could be the wheel having small bends from hitting pot holes.
3. balance the wheels and do wheel alignment
4. Check the suspension, front and rear
5. check the engine mounting
6. Road surface.
7. change to cast wheels, go tubeless...
8. try different roads.

this also still occurs to my dyna too, long curve at 65-70mph, but mostly on those concrete surface roads, they're less smooth than the asphalt.
btw, having bike jackstand is useful, especially when not riding for a long time. I always leave my bike on jackstand after a ride. It's good for suspension, tires, the bike itself. It's only a 5-10min job to jack it up.

 

Have the spokes in front checked. I had to haqve them tightened on my 2006 Heritage 3 times in the first 8000 miles. The rear spokes began breaking at 8000. I am waiting on word about whether Harley will cover them. In the meantime, I've gone to cast wheels. All the bikes I've owned in the last 35 years and this is the first experience I've ever had with tightening more than once (other than tire changes). My dealer has said that he is hearing that there may be a problem that Harley is noticing more than usual warranty claims on the 16" spoke wheels.

 

Guys

Thanks for all your advice. I've given the bike a quick check over today. Tyre pressures are ok, the tyre surfaces look fine, front spokes seem tight (I can't move them with fingers).

I did find several rear spokes that are loose and easily moved, so that may be the source of my problems.

I don't have a bike lift yet (but I will be getting one soon), so I can't get the wheel off the ground to give it a spin to check for buckle.

So. I'll be taking the bike into my local shop during the week and see what they can come up with, I'll let you know the outcome.

Cheers

Neil

 

Guys

I took the bike to my local independent shop today and they checked everything over. Rear spokes were loose and tightened. Front spokes were all OK. Steering head stem nut was slightly loose, so was tightened. Wheels were checked and found true.

Took the bike for a road test and all's fine. There's a very slight wobble at high speed when cornering, but it's minor and apparently not unusual.

So, thanks for all the advice guys. I'll know what to look for if ever this happens again and now I have a service manual, I'll be able to do more work for myself.

Neil

 

Update

After a couple of weeks, the wobble returned (although not to the same extent). Took the bike to the local dealer and they found some more loose spokes. They've been tightened and the bike is stable again.

The dealer suggested that I might need to get the wheel respoked if it happens again. I won't be happy if this happens as the bike only has just over 7,500 miles on the clock!

Neil

 

first of all it is not normal to have any wobble at any speed especially while cornering. I also doubt that it is your spokes "loosening" up every couple weeks. Find a new mechanic and have him true up and balance your wheels and set the spokes. Then have him check the steering head bearing and fall away. Check the tires for flat spots. Also check the motor mounts and rear tire alignment.

High speed wobble is a mysterious phenomenon and a difficult one to diagnose. Low tire pressure may be at fault but it more than likely is something more obscure. If you were using a windshield at the time it may be to blame. I suspect the windshields have aerodynamics that cause a bad harmonic vibration at high speed. Also, flat spots on tires. Especially if the bike has been stored for long periods in one position allowing a flat spot to develop. Of course badly set head bearings and fall away are suspect. Since your bike is new I would guess the steering head and spokes are good and would first suspect flat spots due to improper long term storage. The bike needs to be frequently moved during storage to prevent flat spots or even better mounted on wheel stands. Do not store it on a lift as it will harm the suspension.

I've experienced high speed wobble several times. Sooner or later everyone will experience it. Except those who ride like old ladies. It's a scary thing and survival requires one to not panic. I currently have a softail heritage with a 95 inch motor, 44mm carb and radical cam, and it will gladly run well over 100 mph and be steady as a church. This is it's normal state of tune. This same bike has also had occasion to develop a bad front end wobble at 80 to 90mph. This is not normal.

 

Guys

Since the second time I had spokes tightened, the bike has been stable at all speeds just as it was before I had any problems. Seems to suggest that it was just the loose spokes that caused the problem, and the fact that the wobble didn't go away completely after the first visit to the shop suggests that not all loose spokes were tightened properly at that time.

I could actually feel that there were loose spokes just by rocking them with my fingers. Harley mechanic told me that if it happened again, you can tighten them up yourself by tuning them to make the same sound as the other spokes on the wheel when tapped with a spanner. Hopefully I'll never need to try it out now but you never know...

Thanks

Neil