I've ridden bikes with pronounced misalignment of the front and rear wheel. While the bike traveled ****-eyed or dog-tracked going down the road, I never found it to induce a wobble. Honestly, I don't see or know of any reason it would. Not saying it can't, just that at the moment, I still have yet to see a good explanation of this claim.

I've had bikes that were prone to wobble. Most of it I was able to trace to weight loading and flex of the mounts. Spindly Vetter fairing mounts, wiggly tail racks, etc. Addressing the weight loading (getting it down lower and closer to the bike) and the accessory mounting flex substantially helped. Since the wobble was a deflection of the front wheel, installing steering dampers and or tightening the steering bearings also helped.

In the case of my own RK, it was the oem play built into the rear swing arm because of the excessive clearance between the swing arm bearing inserts and the swing arm shaft. The drive belt masked this play with its tension, making it undetectable until the belt was slacked. In fact this elastic tension may well have made it worse in the turns, as the swing arm could be deflected against the belt tension, only to rebound against it as well.

I've also watched races with bikes going into death wobbles for reasons I do not know. It does seem to have an almost inherent aspect involving high speeds. Sometimes the bike and or rider recover, other times it goes into a tank slapper and ends in a crash.

 

[QUOTE=foxtrapper;12497965]



In the case of my own RK, it was the oem play built into the rear swing arm because of the excessive clearance between the swing arm bearing inserts and the swing arm shaft. The drive belt masked this play with its tension, making it undetectable until the belt was slacked. In fact this elastic tension may well have made it worse in the turns, as the swing arm could be deflected against the belt tension, only to rebound against it as well.



This right here is the problem. Not every bike will have this either. Manufacturing tolerances are probably the issue.
After everything else has been checked and even if this area seems ok and you still have the wobs, the Glide Pro setup will stop it.

 

Did you see the video I posted about Jay Leno talking a little about wheel wobble on YouTube? Its at the end of the video, about 9 minutes in. Check it out. Buy the way I'm smoke free,

 

The speed wobble with the tank slappin bars is different than what is happening on our bikes. It is more like rear steer, the *** end just starts feeling gushy and wobbly and it has only happened to me in a corner so taking your hands off the bar will cause you to crash.

Watch the CHP Video, would you let go of the bars then ?

 

 

My only experience with wobble has only been with my 07 Ultra and by high speed turns on freeways. The combination of rain grooves, bumps and slight under pressure tires made this possible. I think the newer tour frames after 2007 helped a bit. But the older models, the frame and swing arm did not like high speed curves. Just like the previous post with the video is exactly the wobble I would encounter. Once I let off the throttle and drug the rear brake a little, the wobble went away and I could power back out of it. IMHO. A respected touring bike rider I know told me that the rear air shocks are a major source of this issue. Once he swapped to progressive shocks that can be adjusted, the problem was minimized. Many of us don't always check the pressure level of the air shocks. Most times they are at zero! But then again, I could be wrong on this??????

 

Watch the video and listen, he changes gears or direction or hits a bump and that is what starts it. Not a good feeling at all. Not all bikes do it either. I will say that not a single bike I did the Glide Pro on ever had another episode of the wobs again and I need to install the setup on my current bike. It is waiting on the bench for me to do it.

 

"Slow down before the curve"


Good info and not a bad idea for a tattoo.

 

Your right, I didn't see the video and coming into a corner would be a little different. I did have this same thing happen to me about 10 years age, I was doing about 95 coming into a wide corner on my softail, and it started to wobble like your video, I let up on the throttle and didn't touch brakes at all and it went away. Very scary situation.

 

That is a great idea, who ever though of that should win the Peace Prize !! haha.

But reality shows at least me that even though you are paying attention sometimes you go in a corner a little hotter than expected, or there is a dip in the road or you need to avoid a little something in a curve.
There are so many changing variables in riding a bike and I want to have confidence that if I encounter one of them in a curve that I will not be inducing a potentially dangerous handling characteristic. The same kind of confidence when you pick up your rifle you know it is sub moa capable and always zeroed correctly and if you do your part the first shot counts.
If you never had this happen lucky you.
Like it has been stated some bikes never have this happen. I have had ones that have and my current one does not, I have tried, but I sure do not want it to happen ever.

I had a friend who said his bike was rock solid and never wiggled a bit, we switched bikes for a short time so he could feel all the suspension mods on mine and it turns out his bike was the second worse one I ever rode in regards to a wobbling. He said after the ride my bike at that time made his feel loose and squishy. We did the Glide Pro, rear shocks and front forks shortly after on his. At that time he had over 30k on his 2005 RK and never once felt the wobs but I rode it and could induce them at will. Some people ride really conservative. This dude got his first bike before he went to Vietnam and has had a bike every day since. Very experienced rider for sure. He think I am nuts on a bike.

Most of the people I have ridden with never even come close to the limits of these bikes, they never use but 70% of the bikes capabilities if that. Also even people who think they ride well actually do not really know how to handle the machine. How many riders "duck walk" their bikes in slow speed stuff, or how many of you are "foot draggers" ?? A whole bunch I bet and a whole bunch of long time "experienced" riders too. Who cares as long as you are comfortable?
I ride circles around most people and I do not consider myself good especially after riding with those who were bike cops, those guys can friggin ride !!

Unless you even come close to the machines capabilities you will likely never have the pleasure of the wobs, but for those of us who do I for one would like to do all I can to help ensure that it will not happen to me.

The wobble is real and it is some scary **** when it happens to you.