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Thoughts on highspeed wobble?

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Old 04-15-2017, 12:00 AM
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Default Thoughts on highspeed wobble?

I installed 1" lower shocks years back. scraped the boards all the time but nbd. I'm short and gimpy and it was more comfortable.
totaled and rebuilt it with a night train front end, 2" longer/taller.

loved the combo for a good, long time. still a little lower in the *** but higher upfront and cleared the boards better and just felt good to sit in/on. was likely borderline on the rake though... or so I've been told.

last year I swapped out my oem spoke wheels for a set of fat-boy solid wheels. same specs... just solid, instead of spokes. ever since... I've had a highspeed wobble around 90 in the straights and closer to 70 in the corners, so I'm not so happy.
they were weight balanced with a fresh rear tread when I got 'em on, mounted and balanced in a reputable shop. pulled the weights and tried dyna beads instead. minor improvement but still there.

wrenchin' bro of mine, who swapped out the wheels keeps putting it on my taller forks but it wasn't an issue with the oem spokes, so I'm kinda stuck without money to just throw at it, fishing for solutions.

I really like the wheels... but form follows function, not vice versa.
I was thinking about putting the rear back up to stock to try and get the rake off the edge and it would be much cheaper than a new front end.

obviously, I'm concerned about the wheels... but I trust the guy I got 'em from and he says they're new, take offs and he even made sure the bearings were good to go. They look it.

any advice?
 
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Old 04-18-2017, 02:11 PM
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wth? do I smell bad or something?
not enough posts to get some helpful idears?
 
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Old 04-18-2017, 02:39 PM
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My dads Heritage has a wobble at about 50 , he has factory spokes but upon further inspection I / Harley determined that the steering head bearings were worn out .


check your steering heads bearings. might just be more noticeable now due to a solid wheel versus a spoke? I guess anything is possible but check those neck bearings. method to do so is on youtube . they can also be adjusted to a certain point.
 
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Old 04-18-2017, 03:00 PM
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appreciate the input. recently, with the wheel swap had fresh bearings and riser bushings replaced. thanks.
 
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Old 04-18-2017, 05:32 PM
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have you had the rear checked out? my father in laws ultra had a high speed wobble and we were thinking it was the front end somewhere. had his bike mechanic look at it and one of his rear axle bearings actually came apart in 8 pieces when he pulled it out. pretty sketchy stuff!
 
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Old 04-19-2017, 12:12 AM
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rear was the one that was needing replaced and spurred the change from spoke to solid, when the opportunity presented itself. both solids were supposedly redone.

looks like I'm going to have to dig into them myself. hate to double up on work I've already paid for but the only guy I can afford and trust just did all this for me after sturgis '15 and I've been fartin' around with this handling since.

I will admit... everything felt good coming home but when I re-fabbed and re-installed my custom hard bags and really got out and got on it... that's when I noticed. I'm meticulous when it comes to my own fab work and everything measures out nice and even. idk. getting tired of chasing my tail.
 
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Old 04-21-2017, 01:05 PM
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My victory would wobble if the tire pressure was too low.
 
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Old 04-21-2017, 01:37 PM
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I'd go back and double check the easy stuff first-

Tire pressure
Tire irregularities, even new tires now and then have a defect in them
fall-away

If the dyna beads helped...maybe it is just a matter of needing some more?

Then the wheel bearings.
 
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Old 04-21-2017, 02:48 PM
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Did you change tire brands or mismatch brands? That can sometimes do it..

Edit: also, is it a true wobble or a wander?
 

Last edited by Pitbull_Dallas; 04-21-2017 at 03:24 PM.
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Old 04-21-2017, 07:55 PM
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what brand of tyres are you using? and which year was it made?
 


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