Bagger wobble exposed!
Road Master
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 932
Likes: 592
From: Connecticut
@grbrown , tires bring up a whole new can of worms. I ran metzeler me-88/880s for years on my old Shovel, loved them. I have commander 2s on my sporty and love them. I'll need tires for the ultra and was looking at elite3 or commanders, but think I want a touring tire and not a sport tire. The Michelin and metzelers are sport profile. Not familiar with Avon, never ever ran them. Dunlops I never really liked, but the ones currently on the bike are pretty good.
Kind of concerned that a sports profile will give me issues on the ultra, any input on that?
Kind of concerned that a sports profile will give me issues on the ultra, any input on that?
HDF Community Team
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 6,189
Likes: 2,419
From: USA
Almost every motorcycle made uses this method, and has for decades. The swing arm is mounted to the frame, and the rear of the transmission hangs from this through bolt.
Thread Starter
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Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,898
From: Bedford UK
@grbrown , tires bring up a whole new can of worms. I ran metzeler me-88/880s for years on my old Shovel, loved them. I have commander 2s on my sporty and love them. I'll need tires for the ultra and was looking at elite3 or commanders, but think I want a touring tire and not a sport tire. The Michelin and metzelers are sport profile. Not familiar with Avon, never ever ran them. Dunlops I never really liked, but the ones currently on the bike are pretty good.
Kind of concerned that a sports profile will give me issues on the ultra, any input on that?
Kind of concerned that a sports profile will give me issues on the ultra, any input on that?
Avon is a British firm old chap, but owned these days by Cooper Tires, so the best of all worlds! Last time I spoke to a British Avon engineer he told me the US Harley market is actually their biggest, so if you buy them you will be following in well trodden footsteps. Dunlop was also British once (we have Fort Dunlop at Birmingham, their HQ during their UK heyday), but they don't admit to that these days, we have to visit Wiki for a summary of their founding history here in the UK.
Last edited by grbrown; Oct 31, 2019 at 08:18 AM.
Road Master
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,148
Likes: 157
From: Banning, CA
Michelin Commander 3
@grbrown , tires bring up a whole new can of worms. I ran metzeler me-88/880s for years on my old Shovel, loved them. I have commander 2s on my sporty and love them. I'll need tires for the ultra and was looking at elite3 or commanders, but think I want a touring tire and not a sport tire. The Michelin and metzelers are sport profile. Not familiar with Avon, never ever ran them. Dunlops I never really liked, but the ones currently on the bike are pretty good.
Kind of concerned that a sports profile will give me issues on the ultra, any input on that?
Kind of concerned that a sports profile will give me issues on the ultra, any input on that?
Road Captain
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 674
Likes: 252
From: Alberta
I'm going to look for the front true track stabilizer. I am very happy with the rear one as the ride is noticeably more stable.
Way back in the 70's my new 77 super glide fxe came with goodyear eagles. Those tires had a car tire sectional profile and wore like rocks with poor traction. After 1 season I was encouraged to get Avon Road Runners and they were way better than those goodyears. The 1978 road runners were the first tire I saw that has the modern shape. Yes tires can make a significant difference. Proper inflation is also the key to good performance and longevity.
Way back in the 70's my new 77 super glide fxe came with goodyear eagles. Those tires had a car tire sectional profile and wore like rocks with poor traction. After 1 season I was encouraged to get Avon Road Runners and they were way better than those goodyears. The 1978 road runners were the first tire I saw that has the modern shape. Yes tires can make a significant difference. Proper inflation is also the key to good performance and longevity.
Tourer
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 307
Likes: 108
That statement is highly incorrect! (Ancient multibrand mechanic here.) For examples do an image search using any brand or model you think is pivoted off the engine case and "swingarm" to see the bare swingarms. Don't mistake frame-mounted pivot locations behind the engine for using the engine casting as a pivot. HD pivots (on rubbermount big twins) use the pivot bolt (an axle really, the term axle doesn't exclusively refer to wheels) to tie the engine/transmission assembly to the swingarm to avoid throwing drive belts which separately mounted components (dancing engine vs. swingarm mounted to frame) would promptly do. A swingarm with separated pivot bearing mount ears is more flexible than one with a cross tube.
There's zero mechanical advantage to using a swingarm pivot axle to mount a swingarm on a solid-mount engine and it adds weight while greatly interfering with engine R&I (highly relevant to sport and dirt bikes) because it forces the mechanic to remove the swingarm.
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As for tires I've run Avon and Dunlop since the 1980s and get excellent results with either.
There's zero mechanical advantage to using a swingarm pivot axle to mount a swingarm on a solid-mount engine and it adds weight while greatly interfering with engine R&I (highly relevant to sport and dirt bikes) because it forces the mechanic to remove the swingarm.
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As for tires I've run Avon and Dunlop since the 1980s and get excellent results with either.
Thread Starter
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Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,898
From: Bedford UK
Way back in the 70's my new 77 super glide fxe came with goodyear eagles. Those tires had a car tire sectional profile and wore like rocks with poor traction. After 1 season I was encouraged to get Avon Road Runners and they were way better than those goodyears. The 1978 road runners were the first tire I saw that has the modern shape. Yes tires can make a significant difference. Proper inflation is also the key to good performance and longevity.
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 19,898
Likes: 8,003
From: poway
That statement is highly incorrect! (Ancient multibrand mechanic here.) For examples do an image search using any brand or model you think is pivoted off the engine case and "swingarm" to see the bare swingarms. Don't mistake frame-mounted pivot locations behind the engine for using the engine casting as a pivot. HD pivots (on rubbermount big twins) use the pivot bolt (an axle really, the term axle doesn't exclusively refer to wheels) to tie the engine/transmission assembly to the swingarm to avoid throwing drive belts which separately mounted components (dancing engine vs. swingarm mounted to frame) would promptly do. A swingarm with separated pivot bearing mount ears is more flexible than one with a cross tube.
There's zero mechanical advantage to using a swingarm pivot axle to mount a swingarm on a solid-mount engine and it adds weight while greatly interfering with engine R&I (highly relevant to sport and dirt bikes) because it forces the mechanic to remove the swingarm.
---
As for tires I've run Avon and Dunlop since the 1980s and get excellent results with either.
There's zero mechanical advantage to using a swingarm pivot axle to mount a swingarm on a solid-mount engine and it adds weight while greatly interfering with engine R&I (highly relevant to sport and dirt bikes) because it forces the mechanic to remove the swingarm.
---
As for tires I've run Avon and Dunlop since the 1980s and get excellent results with either.
Road Master
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 1,249
Likes: 565
From: Utah
Hi Trumpet, I've actually owned Harleys since the '70s, when I bought a new shovelhead and I've used mostly Avon tyres on my Harleys and Buells ever since. I have their Storm tyres on my Buell and Sportster, also the rear of my Glide and a Cobra on the front of my Glide. The Storms are definitely a 'sports touring' type and are great, while the Cobra (latest version is the Cobra Chrome) is a 'custom-touring' type. Check them out on their website. Living in the UK Mrs B and I have toured in USA and Canada, plus much of Europe on them. None better!
Avon is a British firm old chap, but owned these days by Cooper Tires, so the best of all worlds! Last time I spoke to a British Avon engineer he told me the US Harley market is actually their biggest, so if you buy them you will be following in well trodden footsteps. Dunlop was also British once (we have Fort Dunlop at Birmingham, their HQ during their UK heyday), but they don't admit to that these days, we have to visit Wiki for a summary of their founding history here in the UK.
Avon is a British firm old chap, but owned these days by Cooper Tires, so the best of all worlds! Last time I spoke to a British Avon engineer he told me the US Harley market is actually their biggest, so if you buy them you will be following in well trodden footsteps. Dunlop was also British once (we have Fort Dunlop at Birmingham, their HQ during their UK heyday), but they don't admit to that these days, we have to visit Wiki for a summary of their founding history here in the UK.
).