Think my rubber bushings is shot to hell now, only been 17 years. Going with polyurethane.
BTW, HDsay's to toss the bushing nut with a new one. Is it really necessary?

MikeyB

 

I'm the culprit who started the thread.. "Softail that leans towards the left". I mentioned in my original post that my dealer (that sold me bike) service dept. stated that it's very common (apparently so from posts..), and that I should, more or less, "live with it". I contacted another dealer who told me, it's not a big deal to take care of it.. bring it in. When I inquired about the cost, he said there wouldn't be a cost. They would make the adjustment as a courtesy.
Weather permitting, I'm riding there today.
-ZZ

 

The polyurethane bushings I have are HD replacements. I bought them at my local dealer. They cost around 60 bucks Canadian. They were really easy to install: remove the riser bolts, pull the old bushings/cups/spacer, install the new bushings in the holes, install the bolts, adjust and torque to spec. The instructions included with them are clear. I did it one side at a time, adjusting and torquing them after both sets were replaced.

It's another one of those "small change = BIG improvement" deals. The handling is MUCH better now, especially in turns and curves, and I only got a tiny bit more vibration in the grips... which I am already used to, so I no longer notice it, and I can ride all day long without any tinglies in my fingers.

Cheers!
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Very good information Clammy. I honestly did not expect this kind of resolution to a problem that I thought I would just have to live with to come out of this thread..... just goes to show.

Thanks brudda....

 

I had the crooked handlebars thing too, so I know how it must drive you nuts (it drove ME nuts! Such a small thing, but you see it whenever you're on the bike). I'm happy to be able to help resolve it.

Cheers!
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I had this problem and I tried everything you mentioned to no avail. Finally went to the dealer and bought a new set of risers..upon replacement I took the old ones and held them up side by side...clearly one of them was not like the other, resulting in the bars being off.

Yes, it bothered me that much. they're about 98% perfect now and that I can live with. Unfortunately the risers were like $105. Isn't everything $100+ at HD? [:@]

 

checkout dragspecialties. i just ordered a pair of polys for 16 bucks, and new drag bars. i have the same problem with my bars shifting to the right and my local service guy said poly bushings would fix my problem. so, that's what i ordered.

 

I just installed the polyurethane bushings. Wow, the handlebar feels like it's welded to the tree!

MikeyB

 

Uhm...is the fix the same if the bars are straight but the front end is crooked? If so I'm off to get me some poly bush!

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