i had a bad wheel bearing, replacing it fixed it

 

Front end fall-away check. You've got loose/bad neck bearings. Can also be front wheel bearings not spaced correctly causing too much side play.

 

I've posted this before, but don't remember where. It came from an old HD mech, and he liked to use this procedure rather than the mumbo-jumbo "fall away".


Jack the front end of the bike off the ground. Tighten the adjusting nut until the front end is hard to turn. Next turn the handlebars back and forth, from stop to stop, through several cycles. Notice the front end becomes easier to turn. Back off the adjusting nut to a slightly loose fit, then tighten to about 9 ft-lbs torque. If the front end still wobbles after this (tire pressure good and tire in good condition, with no cupping, etc.) and the wobble occurs during deceleration, tighten the adjusting nut a bit more.

If you get a shimmy and more tightening does nothing to help, then suspect that the steering head bearings have shifted and the races are no longer parallel to the axis of the steering head. This is not unusual in HD bikes as they are relatively heavy. Modern bike head bearings tend to shift back and forth in the frame, especially on the heavier bikes, and this causes the bearings to become non-parallel. Any free play in the head bearings will compound this situation. This sets up torque forces that constantly try to correct themselves resulting in a shimmy, or head shake. The cause is not looseness; the bearings have shifted, and things ain't parallel. Pull the front end off and try to reseat the races in the frame neck.

Check the head bearings frequently IAW the service manual. Since these bearings do not move around like those on an axle, they tend to stay in one spot in relation to the race. Therefore every blow on the front end from road conditions tends to flatten the individual rollers or ***** ever so slightly. Over a period of time these flat spots can cause a condition whereby you point the forks straight ahead, and they tend to fall back onto the flat spot, causing a weave as you go down the road. If tightening the preload does nothing to correct the situation, suspect flat spots in the neck bearings.

Alpha Samuel (from MSN Harley Tech Tip Message Board)


If you loosen the pinch bolts on the lower triple clamps and then do the adjustment on the steering head this will allow an even tightening and the bearings will stay even or parallel. Reason for this the triple clamp will slide up or down the forks so nothing binds.

Note: I've been told some newer frames have cast-in races that obviously aren't adjustable.

 

Found a wobble in mine today at 80mph. Was passing some traffic and hit a couple of those raised reflectors in between lanes and it started wobbling.
Tightened the old cheeks right up!
Smooth as silk until I hit a couple of them reflectors. Just let off the throttle gradually and it straightened right out...
Only got about 500 on the clock. It's on my list for the 1000 mile service....

 

it should not wobble when you hit something that small. mine only wobbled when the deer hit me doing about 40. we both were doing 40 but only wobbled a short time

 

I had the same issue and did most all the adjustments everyone recommends but nothing helped.

I put a new tire on the front and now she is solid as a rock at all speeds.

My stealer mounts them for free if you buy the tire from them and bring in the rim.

from now on if I get wobble the first thing I will do is change the tire, it took me three months to finally cure my ride

 

I got the hi speed wobble a couple of times when I still ran a windshield.
Both times at around 80+ near a truck and cross wind.

I threw the windshield on Ebay, no more wobble but the bugs do get my attention when at 80!

If a reflector in the road prompts a wobble I would check the tire pressure.

 

Thanks Coop,
I did have the shield on and it was very windy on a causeway by the Gulf.
Never thought of that. Pressure is spot on and a new bike to boot...