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Lovely looking machine you have there sir. Ooooh!!
Impossible to diagnose on a thread. You might chase a lot of inputs and ideas and get nowhere. Question is, what changed from stock? Rear tire size, bag extensions, any thing else?. You could try removing the bags for a run to see if they are effecting the aero dynamica at speed. That is an easy quick check and free. If everything else stock then try it with stock tire. If that doesnt help then it needs a specialist to go through. Could be many things. Wheel alignment, neck bearings, engine mounts. List too long but a specialist go could through and check everything fairly quickly. Good luck and let us know how you get on. They dont do this in stock form when new so hard to suspect the shocks.
You don't say which model of Metzeler. When you get that wobble are you solo or 2-up? Are you very light or very heavy? I'm thinking that one possibility is simply unsuitable tyre pressures. I've owned Harleys for over 40 years and throughout all that time H-D has never given good advice on tyre pressures IMHO, especially when loading the bike up.
hi Im sorry I have Metzeler Marathon tires Front 120/70/21 Rear 200/50/18 wobble happens when im solo, tour pack on or off. Starts at 80mph gets worse at 90+ spoke to dealer they are telling me it's going to happen cause i have a wider rear wheel. builder is telling me to play with air preassure
I'm inclined to go with your builder! I regard the pressures given in the owners manual as a starting point, from which to fine tune the ride quality. Our bikes are not very aerodynamic and as air pressure build up, especially on the batwing, I suspect the centre of pressure moves backwards, effectively increasing load on the rear tyre. It's worth using a good quality air pressure gauge (I have a calibrated one) to set your pressures, then try increasing say 2 psi at a time to see if the problem improves or goes away.
I'm inclined to go with your builder! I regard the pressures given in the owners manual as a starting point, from which to fine tune the ride quality. Our bikes are not very aerodynamic and as air pressure build up, especially on the batwing, I suspect the centre of pressure moves backwards, effectively increasing load on the rear tyre. It's worth using a good quality air pressure gauge (I have a calibrated one) to set your pressures, then try increasing say 2 psi at a time to see if the problem improves or goes away.
Look forward to hearing what you find!
If you mean go back to the builder and ask him whats wrong, I agree.
I have a 18 ultra limited with a 200/55/18 metzler on rear, got bike built for me vs spending 50k on a cvo. When I go faster than 90 I get a wobble on the back. It happens on straightaways. I don't know if I should change the rear back to stock 180 or change my suspension. Any recommendations?
If you can, please drop your bike off at my house for extended testing. I promise I will find the cause of the issue....eventually.
I remember a few people talking about having experienced wobble with a 200mm rear tire over on roadglide.org.
Not sure it's the same thing but thought I'd mention it.
I remember a few people talking about having experienced wobble with a 200mm rear tire over on roadglide.org.
Not sure it's the same thing but thought I'd mention it.
These things are a lot faster now, compared with just a few years ago, so using custom wheels and over-sized tyres comes with a bit more risk, especially if we want to use the extra power we now have available!
I have commented in the past on the benefits of using stabilisers on our rubber mounts and this bike looks like an ideal candidate for some True-Track products, although it is worth seeking a solution before doing that.....
If true track wants to sell their product at 30% discount, I wish they'd just price it accordingly and be done--I'm sick of trying to time my purchases to the whims of marketing suits. That said, I see alloy art pulled the same BS w/black Friday and all that nonsense, but at least they're starting at around 1/3 the cost.
The alloy art brackets do seem far less robust, but if they do the job I can't see how that'll make a difference. And if, as previously stated, Eric Buell came up with the design, then all these vendors are just copying the concept if not the specifics.
I just ordered the alloy art product and will report back once I have a chance to really get out and ride and see if I can tell a difference, which unfortunately is likely to be several months out. If it doesn't seem to work for me I will attempt to hatchet job something together myself--not like any super precise engineering is required. I'm afraid opening a box with two brackets and a turnbuckle for which I paid $400 is likely to give me an acute case of buyers' remorse regardless of the result, but results may vary for the rest of you doctors and lawyers.
So, I have some extremely un-scientific feedback re alloy art stabilizer. Early this spring I also changed wheels/tires to 21"/18" w/120/70-21 front and 180/55-18 rear, so newer tires could be mitigating some of the wobble issue I'd been experiencing last year with partially worn set. Also, I know the feel and type of corners with which I generally experienced wobble, but don't recall the exact places and am not entirely sure I could replicate it each time anyway--seems like many factors come into play including road condition, speed, radius of corner, radius of actual path around corner, tires, etc, etc...
That said, I now have around 700 miles with Alloy Art brace and I believe it is a significant improvement. I've still felt slight wobble on occasion, but it seems much less noticeable and far less frequent than previously, and my gut reaction/seat of the pants comparison would be something on the order of a 70-80% reduction of the issue when it does occur, and probably an 80-90% reduction in frequency of occurrence--again, predicated on running new tires which may certainly have impacted results.
I will continue paying specific attention and report any further findings, but initial impression is very positive given the price--I don't know if the tru track entirely eliminates the problem, or is somewhat better or any better at all, but at this point I feel the $150 for Alloy Art brace was well spent.
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