After having new rear rubber installed by the local dealer, I noticed an alarming wobble when blasting through a sweeping turn. Dealer initially told me they'd replace the wheel at no charge. The service manager got involved and now my service writer is telling me that all Road Kings and Softtails have a history of wearing out the rear wheels. I find that hard to believe after only 21k miles and 5 years! I mean, I rarely jump 20 buses with my hog so there's little chance I damaged the wheel to this extent.

Anybody know anything about this? I've never heard of this and I suspect it's a lot of crap to justify making me pay for a wheel the dealership totalled!

 

That is BS! They probably damaged the wheel on the machine that removes the tire. Inspect your original wheel for physical damage and if so I'd raise cane till they replace it !

 

Well now.....I have been ridding for 35 years and the last 10 years on a softtail before buying my SG and I have never worn a wheel out yet.
I agree something happened to your wheel, but they caused it, and most likely with the tire mounting machine. It could also be a bad tire, balance, or improper install.

And you may have experienced the Bagger Wobble that is talked about on this forum a lot.

 

My favorite part was when he told me the "age" of the wheel was a contributing factor!!! What a pile...

 

You never said what kind of bike you have, agree with above or they may have left a spacer out or it was assembled wrong.

 

I ride an '03 RoadKing Classic. Since they're hitting me up for a $625 replacement wheel, I don't think it's a spacer. But, it could be, if they're really crooks...

 

Bearing failed but not my wheels If the dealer is replacing the wheel for free then he knows they bent it ,Tire machines are only as good as the person using them

 

What part of your wheel "failed"?

 

Sounds like complete utter BS, but not surprising coming from the source. As for a wheel giving out, Ive never heard of it. The balancing of the tire may be an issue, however Ive ran tires both balanced and not and never noticed a difference. I would check the bearings, and wheel spacing. The spacing should be evident in that the rotor would possibly not align with the caliper. If you had a bearing problem then you should be able, with the bike in the air, to feel some movement with the wheel. I would look very heavily at the front motor mount as they seem to give out over time with oil contaminating them during oil changes. Make sure to look at the underside as this is where a separation of the rubber will more than likely be. I know from personal experience that a bad front motor mount will cause these things to wobble uncontrollably during hard cornering.

 

Ive been rideing all kinds of scooters for the past 28 years and a wore out wheel is a first for me. Sounds like they know they are at fault and don't want to anti up to fix their mess. Make them prove the wheel is bad and that they didn't do it.