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1skull2many · ‎08-20-2005

Has anyone out there encountered a wobble in the front end at 70 mph. I have a 2005 Road King Classic and suddenly I have this problem. I've checked spolkes, air pressure and balance. I have read something about a class action suit because a police officer died because of this I don't want to end up like that. Any suggestions out there

mountain_motorsports · ‎08-20-2005

Its still under warranty trailer it to your HD dealer and have them fix it....

1skull2many · ‎08-20-2005

Yea that's what I intend to do but I was trying to to see if there was anyone out there that might of had the same problem.

mountain_motorsports · ‎08-20-2005

I read something about it but I can't find the thread. I thnk it had something to do with alignment...Try goggling HD recalls or class action laws suits...

1skull2many · ‎08-20-2005

Looked at recalls didn't find any for that problem, also saw the law suit and it said somethig about front to rear wheel alignment. I have 3500 miles on it and all of a sudden it started they call it tank slapping, baffled!!!!!!!

dodogas · ‎08-20-2005

I can remember a particular time pre Road King of a rider complaining of similar on an E-Glide.

Someone with a similar one suggested making sure the bearing locknut to tighten or set the bearing play (on steering stem)should be checked and adjusted. They said it being loose can cause the problem. Also any accessories you have added ie, trunk crash bar lowers or wings, excessive saddlebag or trunk weight, wings added to windshield, 600 pound love of your life on the back!!.. can all be contributing factors..

tires that are WORN too..

trident_t150 · ‎08-20-2005

Motorcycle Consumer News was one of the first to detect Twin Cam Harleys coming from the factory, with wheels not tracking in the same line. Over a period of time, it was determined that the "turnbuckles" weren't correctly tightened, causing the mis-alignment, and a "fix" was published, also in MCNews. This was several years ago.

I also remember reading about the motor officer who was killed from a tank slapper.

trident_t150 · ‎08-20-2005

http://www.cyborgcycles.com/tooldrv.html

trident_t150 · ‎08-20-2005

If you search these archives, going back at least three years, you might be able to find those articles.

http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/article_index.asp

gearhead_to_the_max · ‎08-20-2005

Campy had the service contract with the local Sheriff's dept. before his shop burned. ALL of their bikes had a tracking problem from the factory. Rear tire was out of line with the front by 3/4"-1" and had to have spacers machined to correct it. The selling dealer wouldn't do anything about it.

trident_t150 · ‎08-20-2005

Lots of hits on google doing "harley wobble"

http://www.motorcycle-accidents.com/pages/high_speed_wobble.html

trident_t150 · ‎08-20-2005

http://starbulletin.com/2002/10/31/news/story13.html

this one is from Hawaii

trident_t150 · ‎08-20-2005

That search also came up with this....

Arthur Davidson of the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Corporation died and went to heaven. At the gates, St. Peter told Arthur, "Since you've been such a good man and your motorcycles have changed the world, your reward is that you can hang out with anyone you want in Heaven."
Arthur thought about it for a minute and then said, "I want to hang out with God."

St. Peter took Arthur to the Throne Room, and introduced him to God.

Arthur then asked God, "Hey, aren't you the inventor of woman?"

God said, "Ah, yes."

"Well," said Arthur, "professional to professional, you have some major design flaws in your invention.

1. There's too much inconsistency in the front-end protrusion.
2. It chatters constantly at high speeds.
3. Most of the rear ends are too soft and wobble too much.
4. The intake is placed way too close to the exhaust. And finally,
5. The maintenance costs are outrageous."

"Hmm, you may have some good points there," replied God, "hold on." God went to his Celestial super computer, typed in a few words and waited for the results. The computer printed out a slip of paper and God read it quickly.

"Well, it may be true that my invention is flawed," God said to Arthur, "but according to these market survey numbers, more men are riding my invention than yours."

trident_t150 · ‎08-20-2005

Okay, this letter to the editor is from May 2004

http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/letters/LettersA05.pdf

and mentions the previous articles on the 'wobble' as a place to start searching the archives.

wydeglyde · ‎09-07-2005

I hadn't experienced this wobble on my RoadGlide for the first 5000 miles of riding.

On the 3 Flags run I had the opportunity to twist the throttle a little harder to make some miles. Several times I cruised along at 85 mph with no hands and the bike was stable as a rock.

However

When getting into sweepers and tighter turns at 70-80 mph I was surprised by a wobble I hadn't experienced since just before I put the fork brace on my 82 GL. The first time it shocked me and I immediately slowed down. I was never out of control. It seemed worse on a right turn than a left turn. Within a couple of turns I remembered something I read about a claim that this was a result of rider input. On the next turn when the wobble started I eased off the upper bar and the wobble stopped. I tried this on both directions and confirmed to myself that the wobble was at least amplified by the rider. I suspect that as the rider feels a pucker in his nether regions, he grips the bars tighter which causes more movement one arm fighting the other. As I said, as soon as I eased up my grip the wobble stopped. The rake on these bikes is quite steep in order to provide easier steering at slower speeds. At high speeds the front end lightens and movements on the bar are exaggerated.