Yes, there is a wobble...even after '09. That being said, if you follow the posted speed limits, and the speed recommended around curves, you will most likely never experience it.

If you like to take corners in a little more spirited fashion, our have a load on your bike (2up) you will most definitely feel it. The back half of the bike will feel as if it's spring loaded, or there is a rubber band holding it together. Not an especially good feeling. I try to keep the rpm's high in am effort to keep the bike tight. Higher rpm's also aid in slowing with a slight ease of the throttle while still keeping the bike tight.

 

I've done bumpy sweepers at 95 mph on a windy day. No wobble on my 2012. Not denying that its an issue, but if my experience is any indication, it isnt everyone. experiencing the problem

 

3 1/2 year old thread, Really???

Hell ya, its still a problem for many Harley owners, including the California Highway Patrol...


Guess the officer in the video is riding like an idiot????

See you have lots of posts... thats Great... maybe you need to ride more?

Regards

 

That's funny my 07 doesn't have the death wobble that so many complain about.

 

Thanks for posting that video. As much as I have read on this and experienced first hand it was interesting to see what my bike must look like. I know it sure does make my butt pucker.....

 

Same here. I've did the tail of the dragon with 2 heavy passengers and way over loaded on the 2002 Ultra. 2,000 mile trip at 85mph some of the time. No wobble.

My 2011 Ultra same thing, no wobble. It must be bike particular and doesn't apply to every bike. Tire balance? Tire choice? Rider error?

If it was going to wobble look at the pic of the high center and over loaded 2002 FF Ultra.

 

This "wobble" happened to me once on a Honda. It was at approx 110 MPH and was much more pronounced than what that vid shows. I thought I was a goner.
However, I have never experienced this "wobble" on any Harley Ive owned. Presently have 2011 RK.
Also, Nobody I know has experienced it. I ride 2 up with my wife and I would never want to expose her to uneeded risk.
FWIW I dont see any Official CHP jacket, helmet insignia, logo on that rider in the vid.
Does CHP still use HD?
I work at a Federal Installation / Campus that is patrolled by Federal Officers. They use late model HD touring bikes and none of them have heard of this phenomena.

 

Any way to find out how many lawsuits have been filed against HD on this issue?

 

First of all the Harley Davidson motorcycle is very heavy. Secondly, many variables from bike to bike. You can have two Road Kings side by side with one weighing 100 lbs more than the other. Changing out stock handlebars, windshields, tires, wheels, etc., all of these things have an influence somewhere. Add to that a road imperfection like a lump or depression in a higher speed curve with a rider pushing his bike, yeah, all of that might add up to a perfect storm. On the other hand there is ample evidence it can happen on a bone stock bike as well.

I believe one of the trigger events is speed, too much of it and maybe combined with too much weight. Since wobble is a reality you simply have to adjust to it once you know what initiates it. My first wobble I still recall happened in 1976 riding a Police Harley while attempting to overtake a car ahead of me. At the time i was on a right to left 35 mph curve in the roadway. Prior to assignment to motorcycle duty, I rode a Harley only once before and that was a Sportster. I owned Hondas and BSAs previously. In the middle of the curve the wobble started and I immediately knew the best option was to slow down, but before I could do that the wobble became very active and started to involve the front end as well. It was my first week on motorcycle duty and was undergoing street training before being assigned to the highly regarded CHP motorcycle academy for advanced training. I learned from the experience some limits and subsequently adjusted for it from that point on. I rode the Harley for over a year when the department made a wise choice and switched to the Kawasaki K1000 police special. Except for the comfort of 35-45mph cruising, most of us thought we died and went to heaven with the Kawasaki. It was a superior performing bike and better suited for enforcement riding. I was an aggressive rider and the Harley limited me. Very good slow speed bike however. Not to say the Kawasaki didn't have suspension issues too because if you pushed it hard enough you could bring on various wobbles, mainly the tank slapper variety, but the rear could get involved as well. Its just that it required a lot more speed to happen on the Kawasaki compared to the Harley.

No wonder the CHP rejected the Harley in the one on one trials against the competition. I believe the video test was likely pitting the Harley against the BMW at the time. Maybe a contributing factor for that particular CHP bike was the way it was set up in the first place. Again, weight and positioning of added weight, etc. These are the obvious suspects amongst some others to look at. I don't recognize the track or roadway the officer was on, it certainly didn't look like the EVOC track at the academy in Sacramento. It looked legit with the police bike and bystanders appearing to have some involvement in the proceedings. I remember Harley contesting the decision the CHP made, to me the video was like a DNA match and being a previous Harley rider I understood why they arrived at that decision. Especially when testing machines designed mainly for highway riding, big difference between daily municipal and highway enforcement riding. How many high speed off ramps, bridge ways and clover leafs the average officer will be subjected to in his daily duties? Probably a lot of them and simple math tells you in order to overtake anything you have to throttle up aggressively. So theres a great chance you will be doing that where the wobble will most likely occur, where you need the most confidence in your bike. Another reason why we liked the Kawasaki more was its incredible acceleration advantage (back then). The slowness of the Harley meant you had to travel at higher speeds over a longer distance to reach your objective. That wasn't the case on the Quack. On one particular stretch of two land divided roadway where the speed limit was 55mph, a violator passed my location at 75 to 85mph so he/she had a considerable head start. You get the picture with the Harley, but with the Kawasaki you reduced your pursuit time and distance and thus gave yourself a better safety margin. I could accelerate to over a 100mph and beyond quickly, but the Harley exhausted itself at 95mph.

I've been a sport bike rider my whole life and finally wised up and bought a Harley in late 2010. I've had a number of high performance bikes, mostly Ducatis and my current ride is a 999R. I'm making no comparison between the two obviously, but all bikes have their limits and the key is to not to go beyond them unless your properly trained to handle it.

I most certainly experienced the rear end wobble on my 03 RK several times, it was no different than the above experience I had with the Police Harley 36 years ago. In each case I was pushing the limits of the bike and I still do it to this day, but I can say it doesn't bother me and I stay within maximum perimeters I've set. However, its annoying so I went about upgrading the suspension with a frame stabilizer (t-pro I believe), new shocks (non air) and finally I hope to have Progressive Monotubes installed next week. I want all that done before the 20th since I'll be going on a 500 mile twisty road trip.

There are many cases of manufacturer glitches and/or defects through out history. The manufacturer has a responsibility in many cases to own up to them and not just figure into their profit and loss statement how much collateral damage is acceptable. I'm not saying Harley has been covering up all these years, but it does make you wonder. I think the problem is a difficult one to nail down due to the many variables from bike to bike, its not that way on sportbikes; if anything, my main concern is loosing unsprung weight, not adding to it which is common with a Harley and I've done a lot of that to my RK.

I believe the various frame stabilization devices available on the market today are excellent options. My bike has improved and I hope to improve it further. I'm no engineer, but my first inclination would be to minimize the swing arm movement and that is what some of the aftermarket devices are focusing on. It seems to me theres too much flex between major parts. All I'm hoping for is the ability to take a sweeper at higher speeds and touch my floorboards before the bike reacts by wobbling. Kind of like knowing where you are on the race track curve when your knee touches down.

 

The wobble is perfectly acceptable for 90%+ of the riders out there. In fact the great majority of guys I know riding pre 09 touring bikes are oblivious to the trait because they ride slow and easy. Why fix it if it isn't broke!