I'd like to chime in here to which seems to be a common problem but everyone seems to have different culprit. Hopefully someone who reads this with the same problem will get closer to the right diagnosis after my experience.

I've had the wobbles in the 40-45 mph range now since I was on the road last month, and this is the chronology of events:

-Got the '05 Springer Classic at 11k miles in June
-Planned an 8000 mile road trip in early July
-Hit the mother of all potholes soon after
-squealing in rear wheel
-took it in for the 10k service, new front tire in Mid-July + the rear wheel noise (assumed it was bearing)
-did service and turned out the noise was the belt too tight (from pothole?)
-Left for trip...

-2000 miles into trip WOBBLES begin around 45 mph
-2500 miles in it gets wicked at 70 mph
-Yellowstone Harley takes me in on the spot and spends an hour tightening spokes, said my Chicago dealer should've tightened them in the 10k maintenance, said the rear spokes were incredibly loose and they thought were never tightened, and one rear spoke was dangerously loose.
-Wobble is cured at high speed, still exists around 40-45 mph

-Dealt with it for another 6000 miles
-Got home, time for new rear tire and a Wobble diagnosis
-Dealer insists they can't do anything until a new front is installed too
-2 new tires on, plus fallback test, spoke tightening, balancing, and rockers/springer tightening
-Still wobbles at 40! Even sharper and more defined now.

Their bottom line assessment? Start thinking about a new rim for the rear for this reason:
The one spoke that was going south on me was able to be tightened, however for them to relace or replace the one spoke, it would be more economical to just get a new rear wheel instead of invest in the labor to take the existing one apart and monkey with it.

So my theory is this: If what they say is true could the original pothole from before the big trip have hurt the wheel in the rear to the point where it just never was right again?
If so why did I get almost 2000 miles into the trip before it was showing up? DId it just take that long for the loose spoke to wear even worse?

And finally: seeing as these wheels can get up to around $600+ each, wouldn't the best way to see if it's the rear rim would be to put another compatible wheel/tire on there and see if the wobble goes away?

Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated, I don't mind addressing the problem if I know what it outta be, but when it starts to approach a hunt and peck with no endgame, it'll bankrupt me trying to solve this crap!

thanks in advance...

 

You can tighten spokes but until you have the wheel off and TRUED, the wheel could be all out of round, not to mention impossible to balance properly.

Go back to the first thing to touch the ground after the tire. If that isn't it, work yourself up the latter of things.