I have an 09 with 77k and the only time it wanders either way is because of the pitch or crown of the Freeway or surface road. All it takes is a little pressure from either index finger to it straightened out.

 

I had my bike in for its 30K service. They had two different techs ride it, and claimed they couldn't identify what I was complaining about. They said the head bearing adjustment is in spec, and alignment is good. Other than increasing tire pressure, and lubed the head bearing, they didn't do anything.

But...it does seem a tad better. I ran it hard today, up to 90, and it still is not as stable as it used to be. So, I'm gong to check it out more myself.

By the way...how much resistance should there be in the steering damper?

 

So, are you saying they increased your rear tire pressures, and if so to what reading?

 

Hey Tri, I took one end of my steering damper loose and I was not able to physically push it in or pull it out of it's housing myself. I know that's not a very technical test but just saying. Not sure how it should actually be tested. Glad to hear you got a tad bit of improvement. Mike

 

Interesting...I can move mine in and out with slight resistance. Might need to further investigate this,

 

My understanding is that the steering damper is used on the trikes for the low speed wobble. Thats not to say thay it wont help for the high speed wobble also. The dampers are used on high speed and stunt motorcycles in order to help avoid the tank slapping nightmares. Now if you can move the damper in and out by hand with only slight resistance, its probably not working well. I wonder if anyone has installed and or tested an adjustable damper on a TG.

I built a trike for a friend using a sportster and while testing, a low speed wobble without a damper was evident. It would only go away a little with out the damper when the front tire pressure was increased. Another thing I found was that he had uneven amounts of fork fluid (busted seal) and once I corrected that it helped reduce the wobble also.

 

I think I might have identified the culprit. I jacked up the font end and thoroughly looked, shook, tweaked everything. I pulled the steering damper, and pulled the tid n and out, and it seemed to give good consistent resistance. Btw, it's made by Ohlin, and if it ever needs rebuilt you can send it to them for a rebuild. Anyhow, everything in the front end seemed good.

Then I pulled the rear wheels. I grabbed ahold of the pan hard on the right side and shook it. Guess what? It clunked at the joint.

So, now back to the dealer, to tell them what I discovered about the problem they could not replicate. If the service writer tells me "they all do that!", I'm going to grab him by his pony tail and bash him with his keyboard.

 

Now that was funny. Good find and hope you get the issue resolved.

 

I don't trust Harley service.......I have seen many bikes leave the shop with no oil, loose bolts and missing parts. I always have to check their work.

 

You know there are times you need to walk in with a club just to get service managers attention. instead of him thinking who is going to buy him lunch. Old Supervisor of mine always said trust but verify verify verify! Glad you found the problem. Fred