Hey everybody, I installed poly bushings from drag specialties on my 2003 FXD about 20k miles ago, I just recently moved up to a much taller riser, and noticed a little slop, nothing crazy, but its there. I'm trying to determine if 20k is about right for the lifespan of poly riser bushings and I just need to replace them, or if maybe it was the result of going with $10 bushings instead of a $40 set of bushings. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

 

Good chance it's more to do with your taller risers. I run 12" Lucky Dave's SD bars with their poly bushings and i still get some flex, but it's only really noticable when riding really hard. For regular road riding i never notice it. There are risers available that solve the problem, but regular tube type risers are always going to give some flex when you go tall.

 

I would be ok with that, but there's flex when turning the bars when I get on it, and I can tell it's coming from the bushings because I can see it. I would almost be convinced there were still rubber bushings in it, but I went back and was able to check my order history and I made sure they were in fact polyurethane.

 

Make sure the bolts through the bushings are really tight, and that the caps on each side are sitting properly (if your bushings have metal caps). Squeezing the bushings expands them into the tree, so if they aren't tight enough there will be more movement. I haven't tried this, but I've seen mention of trimming the center shaft just slightly, allowing the bolts to be tightened a turn or two more, creating more bushing expansion. If you really can't get them where you want them, you may need to try solid bushings.

 

I will look into that. Thanks!

 

Not to steal the thread, but, anyone have any thoughts on the difference between $10 bushings and $40+ bushings?

 

Get the clear poly bushings. $40.

Way better than the junky black plastic poly. I've tried both.

HD poly bushings. You cant go wrong. Surprisingly they are high quality which is rare for most HD aftermarket parts these days.

 

Is there a drawback to solid bushing?

 

vibration

 

My poly bushings started having some flex to them after about a year. Could be the fact that they were the Drag Specialties ones.

I switched to solid bushings recently, it does increase vibrations at idle and lower rpms but I definitely like them better.