My question on the upper strut mount is how unsafe would it be or how much would if affect handling to run ride with it disabled/unhooked?

I ask that because i have been slowly 1 by 1 finding ,fixing & eliminating multiple things/items that are rattling & buzzing in the faring on my 09 flhtcu thats been happening since i bought it with 9,700 miles and recently bought a new strut for the front upper strut mount on the motor that mounts between frame and front cyl which reduced some of the last noises/buzzing thats been going on which was good. (not talking front tire moaning/howling i recently posted here.

Also found the adjustable poor design vents on the lowers to be buzzing & rattling at times & removed the adjustable vents themselves leaving the main lowers still on the bike which was a considerable improvement / reduction in rattling/ buzzing vibration noise too which was good.

So i am at the end of all i can find that could be transferring vibration etc to front of bike making what sounds & feels at times & certain rpm to be a pretty heavy metal on metal engine vibration like a bad motor mount which local HD shop checked under ESP and said was ok /not bad like i thought could be the case . (Still think that just maybe the HD shop missed a bad motor mount )possibly was maybe the case.

So today i removed the strut from front mount between engine and frame and took a conservative 20 min ride not pushing the bike handling & speed wise with mount disabled and realized removing the strut from the mount isolating /removing x-amount of motor vibration from transferring to the frame reduced the metallic feeling and sounding vibration i was feeling thru the bars by approx 60% .

Getting the 60% reduction was great but am now concerned about the possible issues (esp safety/handling) i could have riding the bike with the front upper strut mount removed / disabled and am looking for feedback on that.

When i test rode the bike without the strut mount the movement of the motor @ idle seems approx the same as with the mount hooked up as did vibration from motor at 55-60mph cruise speed thru the bike in general (not counting the vibes from the bars & faring that was reduced 60% ) seemed approx the same along with handling riding conservatively seeming to be approx the same too as riding with the strut mount hooked up & or unhooked,didnt seem to matter much in those aspects of riding.

This is my 1st bike with a front upper engine to frame strut mount and was wondering what its true function & or design intent is on my 09 FLHTC along with what the safety aspect is & or if there is a detrimental affect when it comes to handling if i was to leave the upper strut mount disabled/removed from the bike to retain the much smoother more comfortable / enjoyable ride without the strut mount epsecially on longer ride & or trips & riding 2up @ highway speed? (sometimes 70-72mph cruise speed but more often 55-65mph cruise speeds)

Thanks....Scott

 

IMO its not a good idea to run with it off.

 

riding without the top strut makes the motor mounts take all the load from cornering, and they move - that lets the swing arm and back tire tilt or wobble. you have done exactly the opposite of what those under tranny stabilizer bars do to keep the two wheels aligned.

how loud is your noise? could it be fixed by the newly discovered rockout rocker arm sleeves?

 

Your engine, trans, swingarm and rear wheel are a single assembly, which is only mounted at three points in the frame, of which that is one. It is critical to the safety of your bike! Don't disconnect or remove it. Read the opening post of my bagger wobble thread for a better explanation.

 

I didn’t see where you have replaced the front motor mount, if you haven’ with a bike that old and that many miles I would.
Also inside the faring by the speakers are braces that tend to break. HD came out with a new design that is much better and will reduce vibrations in the faring.
One other thing that you could look into is a Dyno tune.

 

no way would I ride without that mount on.

have you replaced the riser bushings?

 

You have never had experienced the wobble or you would of not even considered this. I agree on a dyno tune smoothed my bike out to where girlfriend can't tell that I'm doing 80 unless looking at speedo. It wasn't that far off either. After that's when I decided it was time to hit 100 it was still pulling so took it to 102 then the death wobble starts. So I'll be adding the 3rd brace to mine. Maybe upgrading more after that if it still feels like marshmallow ride after that. After that it's what it feels like now, I notice how unstable it really is. Mine is alot older than han yours but don't take a chance.

 

Unless I missed it, I don't see what you are riding. 09 and newer have the engine mounted a bit better in the frames than the older bikes but I would be terrified to go any faster than I would want to fall on the ground and skid to a stop. If that upper link rattles, something is wrong. It should not rattle if properly mounted on both ends and you setting yourself up for that bucking bronco to throw you off at an unexpected time. Work on fixing the rattle in the link but don't remove it. The upper link on my son's '11 Road Glide Ultra rattled and it was tightened under warranty. The maintenance writeup was: chased threads, tightened mounting bolt. No rattle since. If the exhaust system rattled, would you remove that also? How about if it was brakes, speedometer, fender, headlight, license plate, foot boards? What is the bare essential bike to you? Why did you buy one with "too much stuff" on it?

 

There is a reason why the MoCo put that mount there. Put it back.

 

You are referring to the mount at the top front cylinder?

that was added starting in 2009 ( corrected below...2008 !)

Previous rubbermount models have the mount to the tranny/swingarm/frame rear section pivot, front lower motor mount and the upper mount between the heads.
This method started with the shovelhead FLT and continued through the Evo and Twincams...35 years!

coming into 2009 the new frame and other ways to harness the increasing power of a stock HD motor ( over the 45 HP shovel)


as pointed out about, mounting the drivetrain into the frame keeps the wheels and the machine all going in the same direction.

You could need some adjustment of the mounts, but I wouldn't remove a mounting point



Mike