Bike sway.

[R. Lewis]

Thaught i could, cut and paste thread as a link via e-mail, but it seems they dont like e-mails, so ill send them a lovely letter with the thread attached, but i need some help with address: what goes after, 'Milwaukee wi 53208'.... is it just 'USA' or is there some other little numbers or names ?
If i get an awnser i will scan and post on a new thread under the same heading, in the near....far...further...future
Dave

Hey Dave --- All you need is ---

Name of person / company
street address / P O Box
town / state/ zip code
Good luck.

 

[the draggin]

wobbles?? If that's all you get your doing good. My 97 Ultra is absolutely dangerous at speed in curves, especially on right sweepers. Those "Jersey Barriers" get really big when this occurs. I had one of the first rubber glides back in 81 and it wasn't as bad. On my 76 Super glide there was a harmonic oscillation caused by the chain most notable on left sweepers. I hear the True Track set-up works well. There is a simpler unit out there called the TWR missing link and it comes out of Canada I believe.

 

[glider]

True Track Installation - Harley Davidson Community

For those that need it.

 

[NEWHD74FAN]

True Track Installation - Harley Davidson Community

For those that need it.

Amazing how the aftermarket came to the fore on this one! Coming from the Metric side, those bikes suffered from head shake...tail wag is unique to HD side! :newsmile020:

 

[Dublin Dave]

Your not going to have any luck. Sorry. These hazards only occur while driving outside the limits of the bike and law. If you follow all speed limits on curves you will never realize these wobbles or sways. Yes they are there, but they are no where near a hazard unless you are going faster than the posted speed limits which makes them void. If you go into a 30 MPH turn at 70 MPH you will likely have a problem as well. I am not defending HD, but this is just a fact. You will unfortunately be wasting your time IMO. Good luck brother.

Stand corrected, in Europe we have different speed limits, and it is not rare you will find yourself on a road in Ireland with a speed limit of 120 KMS with a lot of sweeping curves, some that can not be takin,on a harley at 120 kms.
There are roads that if you were to use the speed limit, you would end up in the ditch.
Beleive me, you need a degree in driving skills if you are to take a harley around Ireland on a sight seeing tour.
Try it , as you can now, since last year, Hire a harley from a company not assoiciated with HD. It would put hairs on the soles of your feet.:worthy

 

[papaseven]

I'll have to agree with Doc and Ultra on this one.
Like I said in my earlier post, big heavy bikes have a tendency to do this.
I should have been more detailed in my earlier response.
Also in my earlier post I was referring to a bike that did have a problem that was outside of what I would consider acceptable and so did the service manager when he came back white as a ghost after he duplicated the problem with him riding it. It was eventually traced to a cracked weld on the swingarm that was hidden by the powdercoat.
This was a really isolated incident and I can't stress that enough. The weld and tubing were fine. The crack was probably caused by a normal Oklahoma pothole or what none Okie's call a un-negotiable obstacle.

I have no problem taking any turn 5 or 10mph over the posted limit. It's only when I really push it that I get a tail wag. Sometimes it happens when I unload the chassis such as a dip in the road but it always settles right down.

Big difference between a little tail wag and a high speed wobble!
I've never had any Harley shake it's head. Harleys are rock steady as far as that phenomenom is concerned.

Get on a metric bike and run it up to 75mph, take your hands off the bars and slap the grip. That'll show you the difference. You'll pray for a little tail wag after you relax enough to be able to walk again.

The devices that are available will help, but if you're gonna ride baggers that can push 1200-1300lbs two up and loaded you're gonna have to put up with some little quirks that you won't experience on a 500lb bike.

I do think that unexperienced riders handle these things the wrong way.
Personally, I think the worst thing you can do is whack the throttle closed and get on the brake. When you load the front end with a bunch of weight in the middle of a turn you can run into some real problems such as washing out the front end or front tire chatter.

Harley baggers are made for one thing and that's eating up asphalt at high speed. No bike on the planet does this better!
They're not made for high speed cornering but they do that pretty well too if you know your limits.

Hell, my wife is so used to it that she says likes it.
Go Figure:s

Geno

 

[NEWHD74FAN]

I'll have to agree with Doc and Ultra on this one.
Like I said in my earlier post, big heavy bikes have a tendency to do this.
I should have been more detailed in my earlier response.
Also in my earlier post I was referring to a bike that did have a problem that was outside of what I would consider acceptable and so did the service manager when he came back white as a ghost after he duplicated the problem with him riding it. It was eventually traced to a cracked weld on the swingarm that was hidden by the powdercoat.
This was a really isolated incident and I can't stress that enough. The weld and tubing were fine. The crack was probably caused by a normal Oklahoma pothole or what none Okie's call a un-negotiable obstacle.

I have no problem taking any turn 5 or 10mph over the posted limit. It's only when I really push it that I get a tail wag. Sometimes it happens when I unload the chassis such as a dip in the road but it always settles right down.

Big difference between a little tail wag and a high speed wobble!
I've never had any Harley shake it's head. Harleys are rock steady as far as that phenomenom is concerned.

Get on a metric bike and run it up to 75mph, take your hands off the bars and slap the grip. That'll show you the difference. You'll pray for a little tail wag after you relax enough to be able to walk again.

The devices that are available will help, but if you're gonna ride baggers that can push 1200-1300lbs two up and loaded you're gonna have to put up with some little quirks that you won't experience on a 500lb bike.

I do think that unexperienced riders handle these things the wrong way.
Personally, I think the worst thing you can do is whack the throttle closed and get on the brake. When you load the front end with a bunch of weight in the middle of a turn you can run into some real problems such as washing out the front end or front tire chatter.

Harley baggers are made for one thing and that's eating up asphalt at high speed. No bike on the planet does this better!
They're not made for high speed cornering but they do that pretty well too if you know your limits.

Hell, my wife is so used to it that she says likes it.
Go Figure:s

Geno

Right on Geno, don't want your gal to get mad at you, but looking at Glider's post there are certainly a lotta fixes if you want to relieve it...when you have an urge for a "spirited ride" at 8/10th's in a sweeper! :small3d007:

 

[Dublin Dave]

So you are saying on your harley you recognize the sway or wobble at 120 KPH (75 MPH)? Or are you saying you can't take the curves at the posted speed limit anyway. I have never heard of the problem except at high speeds. (Higher than 75 mph) Just curious.

Yeah,
On the 120k mark, and sometimes a little harder, but did not want to follow through until i get the leathers on and a good dry day.The matter with the sway, and as someone posted was not such a big deal, is if you hit an oil slick or a grease patch when it is happening, what then ??
Will the bike go from underneath ye!
But dont get me wrong here guys, I love the ride on the Harley, the relaxed feel to the whole thing, but safety is safety, and with the price £££ of the parts available to rectify the problem, I would have thought that Harley Davidson as a company and all the Safety PR, would have at Least come up with something theirselfs.An affordable one at that !!:newsmile047:

 

[papaseven]

I think we're talking about two different things here. If it's doing something that makes you feel your safety is at stake and you're an experienced rider then you probably have something wrong.
Rather than try to suit up for what you feel is the inevitable crash, I would have a shop at least ride it and check it out.

The condition that we're all talking about is more annoying than anything. It's not a hazard unless your on the edge anyway and like I've stated, it's not made for that.

As far as a oil slick or grease patch is concerned, If you're in the middle of a turn and hit one the last thing you need to worry about is a little tail wag.
You can't plan for every little thing that could go wrong and if you could it wouldn't be much fun to ride would it?
Might as well ride the bus.

Oh and if you do go down on a big touring bike the chances of it sliding out from underneath ye is not a concern. Most of the time it ends up on top of ye.

Geno

Right on Geno, don't want your gal to get mad at you, but looking at Glider's post there are certainly a lotta fixes if you want to relieve it...when you have an urge for a "spirited ride" at 8/10th's in a sweeper! :small3d007:

You would have to meet her NewFan.
If it even looked like I was gonna dump it off into a sweeper at 8/10's the last thing I'll have on my mind is a spirited ride. I'll be too busy trying to keep that woman behind me from bashing my head in. I get a pretty smart slap just from sparking a floorboard now and then. :rofl:rofl:rofl

Geno

 

[NEWHD74FAN]

You would have to meet her NewFan.
If it even looked like I was gonna dump it off into a sweeper at 8/10's the last thing I'll have on my mind is a spirited ride. I'll be too busy trying to keep that woman behind me from bashing my head in. I get a pretty smart slap just from sparking a floorboard now and then. :rofl:rofl:rofl

Geno

Thanks for that flashback: My gal is from OK too, and uses that same signal technique (are they related?) the last time I heeled the bike over in a sharp left hand sweeper...felt no wobble, just a loud slap on my helmet, :small3d007: a little ringing reminder in my ears telling me that 8/10ths had been reached, live and learn!