I have a 07 streetglide .I was riding with some friends yesterday , a couple of guy's walked up while my bike while it was idleing and said, DANG MAN there's not a part on that bike that's not shaking. I looked down and they were right. It was like sitting on top of a huge vibrator. Saddle bags were hopping, handle bars. Windshield was wiggleing . I mean the complete bike was shaking. I looked over to a 05 Haritage and it didnt shake like that. It was hard mounted. Why do these motorcycles shake so bad ?
Has anyone else noticed this with their Harley?

 

"It was like sitting on top of a huge vibrator"

Dear FLHXXHLF,
Tell 'em to mind their own business and get back on their goldwing. Your ol lady likes the shaking, and so do you!
Abby

 

the softtail is b motor itis balanced the decker is not

 

I would say the 05 had a balanced engine, they did that on some of the Softails because of the rigid mount.

 

Thats what they do "shake, vibrate",,have'nt you ever heard the term "Milwaukee Vibrator".....I have never seen a smooth idling Harley..some shake and vibrate more than others..

 

If i'm not mistaken, Harley deliberately made the 07's shakey to give you the rumble feel of the classic bikes, then smooth out while riding. Unfortunately, harley found out a-lot of riders didn't like it so Harley decided to add extra rubber mounting to the 08's. I personally love my shaking at the stoplights. Do a search, there have been many articles/ comments regarding this subject.

 

The engine mounting for the 08's and below have been the same since forever. The 08 had a brace moved because the gas tank was so large. Other than that, the same. 09s different story.

If your bike is shaking a ton, might want to check the front engine isolation mount at the bottom. The rubber might be broken or cracked.

lp

 

Check your idle RPMs. Mine does not vibrate excessively except when idle speed dips.

 

A friend of mine has a 07 road king and his shakes like crazy. There are about 10 of us in our group that ride together on HD touring bikes and this guys 07 RK is the only one that shakes that bad. He got the 07 RK new and I bought a 07 SG at the same time and my SG didn't shake hardly any, and my 09 Ultra shakes even less.

 

The Softail models are "Counter-Balanced" motors, not "Balanced" motors. They don't vibrate much at all until you get above 65 mph, then it's just a little buzzing feeling. I'm not going into the technology of “Counter-Balanced motors” or what it does. Their reason behind this was so they could use a solid motor mount system (instead of a rubber motor mount system) so they could have a smaller sleeker looking softail frame.

IP is right "the engine mounting for the 08's and below have been the same since forever. The 08 had a brace moved because the gas tank was so large. Other than that, the same. 09s different story".

The Touring bikes will shake bad at idle, but smooth out going down the rode. I don't have a clue how they do that.

If your bud's shake more than other Touring bikes at idle or while riding, he probably has a loose or broken motor mount.

Harley let's the bikes shake on purpose, because it a Harley tradition. It's a bullsh$t reason, but that’s why they do it. They could put the Counter-Balanced motor in all their models and still use the rubber motor mounts and they would have a great smooth ride. But they won't because it tradition, to shake.