So, I have heard of the "wobble", but thought that Harley had made adjustments to new touring frames to prevent this. I thought it was BS,..... but I experienced it this weekend at high speed and luckily recovered. I was making a slight left turn, when the bike started swinging side to side like a pendulum. I had no control over it. It is like a trailer that is being pulled and starts to side swipe. I did nothing out of the ordinary. I was accelerating into the turn when it happened. I did not brake, but slowed and after a several minutes, the violent swinging slowed. I thought I was done. What makes me upset is that I was did nothing technically wrong and wham... I was lucky. I didn't panick, but it is unsettling to know that I can be riding, and yes I ride hard but safely, and have the bike basicly try to buck me off. Anyone with this experience on new touring frames? My bike is a 2013 Street Glide. Any words of advice? Happy to have made it out ok, thank you brothers.

 

i wish I knew what did it i was working on a 2005 electra glide and it is wierd because with this bike it only happens at 120mph on this bike and is completely fine up to 115 and by 120 it feels like the front is getting alot of air under it. I tried to tighten the neck bearings and it did nothing but waste 2 hours of my time. hope someone has something helpful for these two baggers with the death wobble!

 

1.) most often tire pressure



the batwing fairing unloads the front end at air speeds above about 85 MPH- traction is relieved from the front tire.

I have experienced air pressure build up on the inside of very fast curves, which threw the bike out of the balance I thought I had- an aerodynamic ground effect.

I have had the front end "dance" when subjected to sudden crosswinds or wind blasts when coming up to the driver's door on big trucks while passing

I have also had the batwing hit by up-currents in canyon riding, again instability as the batwing fairing is attached to the forks, just like the handlebars


it is not sleek or streamlined.... it is a visual styling cue left over from the 60's. ( and another reason why the FLTR makes more sense)

any problems I have had twin cam or evo model bagger I would suggest a problem with me attempting to ride beyond some of the bike's limitations.


but a surprising number of riders do not check tires and pressure before leaving home, and I have seen some comical posts here reflecting that.

OP, assuming that you are doing everything right, I'd get another rider in that seat and see what they think of the ride.

oh, check shock mounts, someone had them loose last week.
the neck bearings can be checked with the fall away test as well.

you are under warranty, maybe ask the nice men what they think once they hear about your wild ride


*** I have no first hand knowledge of this, but I believe Klockwerks claims their recurve windscreen increases downforce on the front end at speed.

Mike

 

There's several possible causes, and it's not particular to Batwing bikes. The major issue is the engine moving around. Due to the way the motor, transmission, and swingarm are assembled, harmonics in the engine can cause the swingarm to yaw, creating wobble. Culprits here can be a lose or worn motor mount, and/or worn swingarm bushings. You said you have a 2013, so those sound unlikely, which leads to the secondary causes; tire pressure/wear or a loose steering head bearing. You're under warranty, so my advice would be to take it in and describe exactly what happened. Something's up if it truly was a "slight" turn.

Even if everything's fine, I've found there's still a little movement in fast (90+mph) sweepers. That's a consequence of not having a third motor mount to control movement in all 3 axes, as well as the aforementioned relationship between engine, transmission, and swingarm. It's why many other manufacturers solid-mount the motor and make it a stressed part of the frame.

 

Read my thread on bagger wobble, which explains the phenomenon. Many owners of the older bikes never experienced the infamous wobble, and the same comment applies to the later bikes. In both cases if the bike is in tip-top shape it is less likely to do it, but there are improvements that can greatly reduce the problem.

 

I fought this problem for several years. Ultimately, tires fixed mine.

 

uh yeah.

 

2004 EG and I get it at about 85-90 mph and above. Sometimes wont show up till above 95 but when it does its time to shut er down. I hate it

 

Some Harley baggers do, some don't. Sounds like you experienced a true "death wobble", usually happens taking a wide sweeper at high speed. You can try using a "true track" type device to help or ride slower through the sweepers. I got rid of a 07 SG that did it even after I installed one of those devices.
Some of the other stuff people are talking about is just a plain old front-end shake that can happen on any make bike at different speeds in different situations. That is due to mechanical problems (tire pressure, loose steering head etc). Batwing bikes have another design problem if you like to ride them like a Hayabusa like the dude talking about riding his bagger at 120 mph. The fairing is like a sail and makes the front-end lift instead of squat and think about the fairing mounted to handlebars as youre doing this...crazy. So if you like your batwing tourer, ride it for what it is. A heavyweight, touring bike designed to keep you comfy over long distances at normal speeds.

 

Yea, THAT! What is it that people buy a TOURING bike and want it to perform like a sports bike and ride it like one as well?