Roughly what speed were you guys doing to have "speed wobbles?" I know how fast I have been on mine with no issues. Were his tires in rough shape?

 

I've had a wobble induced by wind or turbulence from trucks/buses (ordinarily overtaking and when there is significant cross wind) ... was able to ride it out once past the source of the turbulence ....

Another thing that's caused me a wobble was a rut/groove in the surface of the road .... I lightened up my grip and rolled off the throttle a little (didn't even brake) and was able to regain stability ... never ended up in the so-called 'tank slapper' ....

Above referenced wobble was above 80 MPH ....

Never had a wobble in a curve ....

Glad your friend is alright ....

Better check this theory ... full-face helmets cause speed wobble [J/K] ....

 

Wear it, don't wear it, it should be your choice.

WE THE PEOPLE is how it starts, not You The Sheeple. Freedom should not be legislated.

 

I'm glad that your friend is OK, however I have a question-about the speed wobble. I'm no frame geometry expert but certain things contribute of the speed wobble issue. Tires, how the bike is loaded, condition of the shocks. Being young and stupid, when I first began biking I packed a backpack on a sissy bar that was behind the rear wheel of a 1972 Yamaha XS2 650. While going on I-80 (1972 the bike was new) at about 70 or 80-the bike started to flex wobble and was about to throw me off. Fortunately a fellow rider on a Norton Commando 750 yelled at me not to hit the brakes. This scared the hell out of me. The load was packed to far backward of the rear axle and to high. (I was ignorant) The next thing I learned, from experience was tires. I posted this before, here, I think about the customer that came in and asked me to put a low quality used 19 inch tire off of a Triumph on a 78 Kz1000 that was pumped a little. I warned him not to put the tire on. I had him sign a waiver on the work order. I came back to work Tues. morning to find his bike, engine case ground all the way through. He came in with a cane. thank God he wore leathers, full face, gloves and boots. He told me he was accelerating somewhere past 100 and the bikes handle bars tore right out of his hands in a speed wobble on a straight smooth road. Problem was a profile mis-match. Not enough tire on the front to handle the bikes power. The 1978 Kaw z1-R was suseptible to this. I called Kawasaki and they admitted the issue but we never got anything like a service bullietin warning of these issues. My guess is Harley recommends the tires they sell for their bikes and they have the warning labels and instruction in their luggage for a reason. I've also seen people putting car tires on motorcycles because it supposedly cheaper-maybe until it causes a crash or hinders recovery from avoiding one. I'm passing this on so you can avoid these things.

 

I am glad your friend is ok. Prays said for him.

I have been in a speed wobble 3 times with my bike and yes God kept me on it. It almost through me off like a bucking bull. A guy that my friends rode with that rode bikes over 25 years was thrown from his bike. His head hit a tree and died immedicately. Both of us rode Heritage Classics.

Why the wobble happen on my 2006 and his 2004 Heritage Classic? The dealer said it was the vibration of the windshield that translated to the back tire. Stay below 75 miles an hour and it would not happen he said. I say he is part right. I think the back tire was out of balance also. Reason why I say that is because after changing that tire I never had the wobble again and I travel a lot on interstates at 80 MPH currently. If you ever get into a speed wobble just let go of the gas and ride it out DONT HIT THE BREAKS BECAUSE HITTING THE BRAKES WILL MAKE IT THROW YOU OFF! You will pop off the bike like a Pop Tart no joke.

Helmets...... I wear a helmet due to the heads I have seen cracked open at low and high speeds. Yea they break necks and all that. Most wrecks happen at low speeds and I will take my chances with a helmet verses no helmet on asphault. For those that dont wear helmets its your choice. I think you should wear a helmet but I will STAND beside you to fight any regulation that would be passed to MAKE you wear one. Government needs to take care of itself (example: balance the budget with out taxing me more, stop their crooked ways, stop trying deflect the real problem by starting more crap to stir people up) and leave us hard working people alone.

 

Paying attention to what you are doing and payer is better than a helmet.Glad your friend is ok.

 

ATGATT - all the gear all the time.

We all have different reasons why we do what we do.
I saw a guy go down without and that motivated me to put mine on. Like all violant acts something like that will stick with ya.



Hope your bud's doing better.

 

ok, lol, I guess I started something... Anyways, I'm not preaching that you should wear a helmet. I wear a little one that is hardly worth putting on, and mostly only because it's law in Canada. When I go to the states, it goes in my bag. That being said, I'll think twice before taking it off, and a few of the guys are going out to buy full-face helmets after seeing what happened. Second, as far as what causes a speed wobble... in this case, the were a few factors. Going to fast, the dip in the road, the sloppy rear end on the pre09 touring bikes, and the fact that he was leaning into a gentle turn didn't help. The bike was in great shape, not over loaded, and he was about the best rider out of all of us on the trip. What other reasons contributed to it, I don't know. And yes, they say the best thing is to hit the throttle to take the weight off the front end, and whatever you do, don't hit the brakes. I know my bike will start to get unstable at about 160km/h. Shouldn't be going that fast anyways, but I know the cause is the windshield... Try holding a piece of plastic in front of you next time a hurricane blows through... Anyways, ride safe, wear a helmet if you want, and sorry for starting a debate.

 

I could help but keep thinking of this speed wobble issue, because it happened to me, it happened to two of my customers, and now it's an issue here. I've had minor, very minor wobbling pushing into a curve with the T-bag mounted right behind me on my 07 Softail Heritage. I've also watched other bikers and the way they pack the bike, and I think about how their bikes might act, in certain situation. As previously stated the front windshield could have had an influence being it puts stress at a high point, above the center of gravity on the bike. The bigger the windshield the greater the influence. (This is one reason I like my windvest versas the stock shield-it's smaller yet keep the wind off.) Also the frame and geometrics of the bike influence this. I have a 1990 ZX-11 Ninja. The frame and geometrics on that bike are solid. It won't wobble and it's won't flex leaned over when pushed. It will ride the limit of traction. So I think when it comes to this is for you to think of some or all of the following: Limits and design of the bike, keep factory authorized tires on it, fix any loosness in the steering, keep the suspension in new condition, consider the road conditions, tire pressure, and when making modifications (adding travel trunks) consider what it will to the handling. Anytime you add weight above the center of gravity or to the rear of the rear axle line, or add something like a bigger windshield, the geometrics will effect what the bike does. I don't know if Harley has ever addressed these issue or experimented with it. I know that when I used to service Vallejo, CA. police bike, which was a KZ1000, with a bunch of stuff hung on it, it was awful and would not be a bike to chase someone with. I told the officer that rode it not to push it because of the frame flex. Hope this helps.

 

I always wear a helmet, it's my choice and think if someone chooses not to wear a helmet or to wear a helmet is their choice. Either way it's up to that person.. At highspeed you can have organ damage but if you crash at 20mph without a helmet you can die. A friend of mine died years back when he and I were 22, we were in NH and going for a short ride, he was screwing around on his dyna, popped up the front wheel and slid off the back of teh bike and smashed the back of his head and died. If he was wearing a helmet he would have lived..