Bagger wobble solved!
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 2,916
Likes: 31
From: earth
Maybe I missed it, but don't see in this thread how you folks are coming up with the alternate bearing numbers - do the companies mentioned know what you need?
Refurbishing my old Tour Glide this winter, and swing arm is on the list, but it doesn't have spherical bearings anyway. I replaced the spherical bearings in my 04 sportster this past summer, were so tight with the wheel and shock off, had to push the swing arm down. Bearings were lined with crud; cleaned off, looked ok, but had noticeable side play. Couldn't find aftermarket replacements, so got the German made ones from Harley, and they had almost as much side play as the old ones. Bike handles fine, but if I could find a tighter replacement, would put them on next tire change.
Dry spherical bearings with no seal seems to be a poor choice in such an exposed area. I covered up the exposed sides with red tacky grease, but that won't keep crud out forever. I've used spherical bearings with seals in aircraft; it can be done.
Refurbishing my old Tour Glide this winter, and swing arm is on the list, but it doesn't have spherical bearings anyway. I replaced the spherical bearings in my 04 sportster this past summer, were so tight with the wheel and shock off, had to push the swing arm down. Bearings were lined with crud; cleaned off, looked ok, but had noticeable side play. Couldn't find aftermarket replacements, so got the German made ones from Harley, and they had almost as much side play as the old ones. Bike handles fine, but if I could find a tighter replacement, would put them on next tire change.
Dry spherical bearings with no seal seems to be a poor choice in such an exposed area. I covered up the exposed sides with red tacky grease, but that won't keep crud out forever. I've used spherical bearings with seals in aircraft; it can be done.
5th Gear
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
From: Alberta
All great info, and this is no doubt one of the causes for bagger wobble, but I would wonder if it is the holy grail. I was on a tour for a week on a new 14 Ultra and it had the wobble. Perhaps it is an installation issue with the bearings, if the depth is critical, but I had also heard people reporting some success with adjusting the bearing preload in the steering head bearings. Just saying, the 2014 that I was on would have had basically zero wear on the swingarm bearings and it wobbled real good once you initiated it.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 6,532
Likes: 132
From: SoCal
This is getting funny, everybody "upgrading" bearings, LOL. If you read the op's post he says to check to see if you have play, if you don't, the bearings are not contributing to any instability.
HDF Community Team
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 6,186
Likes: 2,412
From: USA
Just finished pulling my 04 Road King swing arm assembly off chasing similar wheel play. About 1/8" deflection at the axle, with sharp clanks at the ends of the play. I was expecting worn bearings, but wanted to check before I ordered parts.
What I found was the bearing inserts (PN 48489-02) to be loose on the shaft, presumably worn. The bearings themselves were stiff and effectively frozen with dried grease. The swing arm was rotating on the inserts, not the bearings.
Cleaned the bearings, and they feel fine. ~$6 for replacement bearing inserts, and I should be good to go. Not saying it will be this way for everyone, but it's worth checking things before you order replacement parts.
What I found was the bearing inserts (PN 48489-02) to be loose on the shaft, presumably worn. The bearings themselves were stiff and effectively frozen with dried grease. The swing arm was rotating on the inserts, not the bearings.
Cleaned the bearings, and they feel fine. ~$6 for replacement bearing inserts, and I should be good to go. Not saying it will be this way for everyone, but it's worth checking things before you order replacement parts.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 27,096
Likes: 4,673
From: Frozelandia, Minnysota
Just finished pulling my 04 Road King swing arm assembly off chasing similar wheel play. About 1/8" deflection at the axle, with sharp clanks at the ends of the play. I was expecting worn bearings, but wanted to check before I ordered parts.
What I found was the bearing inserts (PN 48489-02) to be loose on the shaft, presumably worn. The bearings themselves were stiff and effectively frozen with dried grease. The swing arm was rotating on the inserts, not the bearings.
Cleaned the bearings, and they feel fine. ~$6 for replacement bearing inserts, and I should be good to go. Not saying it will be this way for everyone, but it's worth checking things before you order replacement parts.
What I found was the bearing inserts (PN 48489-02) to be loose on the shaft, presumably worn. The bearings themselves were stiff and effectively frozen with dried grease. The swing arm was rotating on the inserts, not the bearings.
Cleaned the bearings, and they feel fine. ~$6 for replacement bearing inserts, and I should be good to go. Not saying it will be this way for everyone, but it's worth checking things before you order replacement parts.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,044
Likes: 145
From: Lawrenceville,GA/Rome,Italy
If you call Aroura they can provide you a distributor contact close to you, I try to spend local whenever I can. Bearing, Belt and Chain, Motion Industries in Phoenix is where I ordered them. I strongly recommend the Sta-Bo bushings to anyone, they work, If you still have a wobble after installing them, you likely have some other problem that a "third link" will just mask or not fix. I'm not going to claim you can remove your existing "third link" device after installing new swing arm bearings and Sta-Bo bushings, but I didn't feel I needed one. Its been several years since I installed the Sta-Bo bushings and now the rear is starting to feel a little squirrelly , I suspect the spherical bearings, and theses will probably work great.
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2010
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From: earth
Fabrik8r,as per your advice,I had the Sta-Bo installed on my '06 Ultra but I kept the Progressive brace that I had previously installed.I've never experienced the infamous "wobble" but I did the upgrade anyway as a sort of prevention.Do you think that the two (Sta-Bo & brace) could cause any unwanted effect or it's just overkill?Thanks and happy new year.
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Joined: Mar 2010
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From: Washington