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Yes another vibration thread but worth the read. Did a bunch of work on my wifes bike over the winter. New paint, body parts, stainless fasteners, etc. but no new motor work. First ride she says the bike has a vibration. I told her she was crazy and that I didnt do anything that would change the way it rode before the upgrades. She tells me to ride it. This bike was the smoothest Harley I had ever rode. It had a vibration through the handlebars and through the seat as if the motor mounts must have deteriorated over the winter. It was unbearable. I was getting ready to check the compensator and started to read a few vibration threads. One resonated with me and it was a rock that was stuck between the swing arm and transmission. I started looking at every pinch point between the motor and the frame that could possibly be the culprit. Then I remembered dropping a bolt that mounts the mid frame deflector and searched but couldnt find it and figured it would eventually fall out. So I simply grabbed another bolt and away I went. Well I found that bolt wedged between the rear primary cover and the frame in the area of the passenger floor board mount. Hopefully this will be beneficial for some and therefore wanted to share my experience.
Great thread. I once found a lost socket on a bike I was working on in the very same place. It was there so long it had beat a dent into the primary. Owner just thought the excess vibration was a "Harley" thing.
I just had a stainless washer drop out from my bike near the rear swing arm, I must have dropped it through the winter work and it hung in there for a few thousand kilometres.
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Another Vibration Thread. Read it
