I have an 06 Dyna WG. Don't have a lot of tire options on this model. I read that the Metzeler 880 Marathon was the best. I put one on the rear. Went for a New Years Day ride with a few hundred other bikes and scarred the **** out of everybody that got next to me! At about 70 mph the back end started to rapidly sway back and forth. They told me the back end of the bike was moving back and forth as much as 18". At 80 and 90,.....well, let's just say it was a ride I'll remember, the adrellnlin was really flowing!

What could have caused this! This bike has alwasys been very stable in turns at any speed. I came home and started doing some on-line research. The Metzeler is an 880 Marathon 170/60R 17 radial tire. I have a Dunlop D 401 F MH90-21 on the front, I think it is a bias tire. I have read that you should not mix a radial with a bias. I can't imagine this small difference could cause such a radical high speed wobble. I read on the Dunlop site that you should never use a tube on a radial tire. I have spoke wheels and have been told that I must use a tube. The tube we used was a heavy duty michelin tube. The shop that mounted and ballanced the tire said the tube was used a lot for off-road tires but would work fine. It was the proper size. I checked the tire pressure and it was good in both tires. Could an out of ballance tire cause a large high speed wobble. Could a small difference in my tightening of the wheel nut make that big of a problem? I did not touch the alignment screws at the back of the swing arm. I put new pads in. They do rub slightly when I spin the wheel. My belt feels a little tighter than I remember it. I raised it up on the jack and ran it in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. The tire, wheel, and sprocet look ok.

I'm not sure how to proceed. Because I pulled the wheel and then took a tire to a shop to mount up, it's all on me to solve this problem. Next time I'm just going to bite the bullet and take it to the dealer. Rear wheels a little tricky. Too much can go wrong.

I would appeciate any advice I can can get on what to check. I'm not sure how to check the alignment. I measured with a tape and the distance is the same.

 

Thank you very much.

 

What about your spokes??? Are they solid (None Broken), or all tight?

And balance, are you sure it is correct?

 

Not sure about the spokes. The bike rode smooth before I took the wheel off. To check the balance I would have to take the wheel off and take it to the shop that mounted it. It is hard to believe that a slight balancing problem could cause what I experienced.

 

always had Metzelers ,never had any problems,i can cruise in 100 mph on the freeway ,personally i think its the best tyre you can have,take it back to the shop ,and tell you need it rebalanced

 

Balancing won't cause that. A balancing issue will set up vibration not wobble. It has to be either the rim is not true or the tire wasn't remounted on the bike properly. Did you leave out a spacer or not use the belt tighteners equally on both sides or possibly not tighten the axle nut and put the keeper in?

 

Thanks, I hate pulling the wheel off again just to check the balance but I suspect the same thing. I'm trying to find out how to check my rear wheel alignment.

 

Thanks, I do need to check the book on the spacers and washers. I'm not sure I got them all back in the right places. I'm also trying to find out how to check the rear wheel alignment. I did not touch the alignment screws at the rear of the swing arm.

 

Was the tire installed in the right direction?

 

You said you checked the tire pressure. You do know that the Metz requires more air than the Dunflops? Love my Metz and have never had that problem. I used Metz, Avon, and Dunflops. Did I mention that I love my Metz? Less squirrely than any of the others. Did I mention that I love the Metz?

Here is a link to wheel alignment.

http://www.motorcyclemetal.com/downl...e%20Simple.pdf