In July 20233 I purchased an entirely stock 2017 CVO Limited with 4,800 miles on it from a dealer who had taken it in on trade for a new trike from an 83-year-old rider. After picking it up I noticed the front brake was pulsing badly. The dealer ordered new rotors that turned out to be the wrong part number after taking off the old ones. After re-installing the old rotors the pulsing went away. New rotors were received and they replaced them and the studs with the result of no pulsing.

In June 2023 before leaving for a long ride I had Commander III's installed prior to a cross-country trip that otherwise would have required new tires mid-trip. By this point I had 11,000 miles on the odometer. A couple days later I noticed one of the ***** for my Madstad adjustable windshield had vibrated completely free. At the same time I noticed high frequency vibration in the handgrips across the rev range but particularly on deceleration. I dropped the bike off for them to check it and they blamed the tires. I keep the front at 41psi and rear at 46psi cold. They didn't charge me anything but neither do I think they really did anything. The tech who worked on it is early in his career and, frankly, having known him from a previous dealership I wasn't thrilled with the answer.

The more I rode it the more dissatisfied I became so I took it to another dealer the next week. They had a Master Tech take it for a test ride. He also said Commander III's cause vibration but said the belt was a bit on the loose side and head bearing was just about out-of-spec loose. They adjusted the belt and reset the head bearings to the center of tolerance. I did notice improvement when I picked it up even though a smaller amount of vibration was still present.

At this point I left on a three week cross-country ride covering 5,400 miles in twelve days of riding across numerous mountain ranges and scenic byways. About 10% of the miles were interstate - the rest were old US highways. The high frequency vibration seemed to fade about 1,000 miles into the trip. About 800 miles from the end of the trip I noticed the vibration returning worse than before. The vibration went away completely with the clutch engaged. It felt as-if the primary chain was too tight and every movement of the throttle resulted in instant changes in vibration to the handgrips. Once home I dropped off the bike at dealer #2 for a crankcase oil change and to have them check the primary. They did both but claimed both wheel bearings were bad. It's not uncommon for Touring wheel bearings to go bad so I let them replace them.

The bike handles just fine but I still have high frequency vibration in the bars that disappears when the clutch is engaged. The one thing I hate in any motorcycle is high frequency vibration. I don't believe this vibration was present before the tire change.

I'm asking for your recommendations on what to have checked next. I work a 50-60 hour per week professional job and stopped wrenching myself some years ago. I have an independent shop near me that will have openings after Sturgis. The bike now has over 17,000 miles on it. I'm wondering if the compensator is going bad or if there is a bearing going bad... possibly in the transmission. The vibration is worse in third gear but can be felt from third through sixth. And... to top it off... the pulsing front brake problem is back. I checked the rotor studs and all seem to be tight, but I did not loosen and re-torque them.

Although I ride the bike almost daily, it's primary use is a couple trips every season across remote regions of the western US far from interstates where HD dealers are located. Having a mechanical failure where I ride is not an option. Reliability is paramount. I never had any issues with my 2017 Road King in 38,000 miles. I'm frustrated and disappointed with the CVO despite otherwise loving it. I'll switch back to OEM tires at the next change but I seriously doubt that is the cause of the vibration.

For now I'm riding the bike and, frankly, hoping that something fails catastrophically while I'm near home... but I'm not optimistic that this won't hang on for ten thousand miles or more. Give me your best ideas and I'll pass them along to my Indy shop when I drop it off with them. I appreciate your advice in advance. Photos for inspiration and enjoyment.

Red Canyon near Lander WY


US50 somewhere in Nevada


Glacier National Park


Mystery of the Trees, Klamath California


Crescent City, California

 

"I keep the front at 41psi and rear at 46psi cold."
Why do you keep your tires overinflated? Is that what Michelin recommends? I've always run my touring bikes at 36 front and 40 rear cold psi. I only run American Elite's. I would think overinflation would wear the center tread more quickly causing vibration in the ride after a few thousand miles.

 

The problem comes in the definition of "Cold" and my riding region. The Owners Manual specifies 36 psi front and 40 psi rear at 68F. I live in Minneapolis and, regretfully, ride a lot of miles well below 68F... which you might guess leads to the opposite problem - cupping on the off-center portion of the tire which makes the front tire noticeably "sing" when leaned over. For example, a typical morning commute is 47-53 degrees F while the afternoon commute is typically between 70-80F. That photo above taken in Glacier National Park - the temperature 37F there at Logan Pass and most of the entire 500-mile day was spent below 50F (it sucked since I don't wear heated gear). The 5,400-mile loop through the West I rode in June and July was through unseasonably cool weather. For example, I rode across Nevada on US50 on June 30th and the highest temperature was only 77F while the mountain passes were in the mid-50's Out of twelve days, only two of them were consistently above 68F..

I think your point is valid and I'll drop the pressures a few psi and see if that changes things.

I was never successful on my Road King at keeping any set of tires (Dunlops or Michelins) from cupping when running factory recommended pressures. __PRESENT

 

Love the pics, been to some of the same places! Our weather in the Shenandoah valley isn’t the same as the twin cities lol but does vary from 20’s in the winter to around 100 in the summer. I check my tire pressure the old school way once a month adding if necessary. I really don’t worry about altitude changes during trips, I just came back from New Hampshire/VT where you can go up and down all day long. Good luck.

 

Is there a reason you way over fill your tires. 36/40 cold. There is no reason to run them as high as you do.

 

I read you explanation of why you run the tire pressure so high. I’m not in your climate, but weather does vary here and I adjust as needed. On a cool/cold morning trying setting the tires at 36/40 and see if that makes a difference. When I start with the front at 36, it will be between 40/42 during the ride. Starting at 40, I would think it would be 46+ during the ride.
Good Luck sorting it out.

 

well... just for info I run mine since new on my 2013 ultra (metzelers) at 40/45 cold (give or take) and they are approaching 20.000 miles with just a hint of cupping on the front.
previous owner used to run the recommended pressures (also on metzelers) and rear tire was badly worn (probably because he used to ride 2-up, me not so much) and front was horribly cupped... had to replace it even with a lot of thread left in it.

on my CVO I tried to stay more whithin the recommended (still the stock dunlops in it) because otherwise the TPMS complains about 'HI' ... front still looks OK, but rear has some cracks and is getting 'squared'. bike hasn't crossed the 10.000 mile mark yet...

so as they say... YMMV.

the reason? I have a hard time believing my tires in a tourings should be running the same pressures as on my sportster that weights a lot less.

 

I have a 2019 CVO Limited, I switched to Michelin after not being able to get Dunlop Elites because of the pandemic. I had used Commander II's on my street glide and had good experience, so I order the Commander III's and had them sitting in my garage until I needed them, so had them mounted up in the spring, went on a trip to North Carolina and Tennessee. There was a vibration while ridding straight, as soon as you lean left or right it went away. After getting home I started researching the problem, Michelin had a problem with the early Commander III's, they replaced it and I had it mounted (at my expense) it was a newer tire which I could tell by the date code and it it 99% better, how ever I can still feel a very slight high pitch vibration, as soon as I wear these out, I will be running back to the Dunlop's.
Search YouTube and you will find all the problems with the Commander III's especially the 130/60B-19 61H which I believe is your size in front as well.

 

Thanks for all the helpful replies.

I lowered my tire pressures yesterday morning and the vibration was vastly reduced. In short, my tires were over-inflated because I forgot that the T for temperature in the Ideal Gas Law PV=nRT is in absolute temperature units (degrees Kelvin) thanks to the Wikipedia page for "Cold Inflation Pressure". I was over-estimating the adjustment I needed to compensate for the colder temperatures of my region.

There is still some buzz in the bars on deceleration. I will likely change back to Dunlops for my next change of tires just to see if it was the Michelin's.

This is the first front tire I've had on a Touring model that has not cupped off center. I'm convinced that is caused by running 36 psi at 68F for thousands of miles in temperatures below 58F which is common for me. Obviously I over compensated for this set of tires... but it was good learning experience.

I need to monitor the front brake pulsing more to determine if it is severe enough to warrant a change.

For now I'll continue to ride.

 

Same issue with the Commander III, buzzing type of vibration in the handlebars. The vibration begins around 55 mph and continues to about 62-65. It's not really bad, but is annoying. Since I rarely ride between 55-65 other than accelerating through it, I decided to live with it for now because I like the tires otherwise and I do not believe it presents a safety issue.

Paul.