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Low speed wobble

Maybe it is a "lemon" time to think about exchange bikes. Does your state have a lemon law? You might be able to get cost of ineffective repairs as well as initial cost of bike credited to the new one.
 
dfbales said:
all items in the above posts have been done several times, by hd on there nickle and once by a mc shop with cert mechs on my nickle, I have spent over 5 thousand now on this wobble on decell. harley has replaced both tires /wheels/ break disks/ entire ft end
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If you have done all the "normal" stuff, then maybe it is time to start doing what suspension tuners do...try moving the fork stantions up about 1/2" in the triple clamps (puts more weight on front wheel) and loads front end a bit more. Check for things that are not so obvious, may fairing has loose or bent mounting, change tire pressure up several PSI and road test, also do the same out back raising pressure in 2 or 3 lbs increments to see if chassis attitude changes makes things worse or better. When you increase pressure friction patch side by side losses are lessened (may get worse).

You might want to try adding an aftermarket steering damper (classic method sportbikes use to supress troublesome deaccel oscillation at speed) and perhaps a fork brace, (eliminates the "twang" and vague wallow) that can start the wobble when turning at speed. Like I said, normally simply changing tires, varying suspension settings/chassis angle or adding corrective components to stiffen things up usually correct the problem, in more or less that order.:small3d029:
 
dfbales the whole thing sounds nuts, if they could fix it for 3,000 miles that tells me they found and adressed the issue, if it came back it has to be something they didn't do 100%, I would be very upset and on the phone to Harley's customer service every day as long as it took, I don't know much history, how long you have been down for repairs, has the problem been there since it was new? There are lemon laws to protect us from bad product, but seems like it's just one problem, it is not a rubber mount so that narrows it down a lot. It is just a machine, it can be fixed, it's not haunted, it just needs someone that knows what their doing to diagnose it and repair it right. The 05 softail is a good handling machine and does not need any extra things to make it what it should be. If you can not find a Harley Dealership that can give you satisfaction with the needed repairs then I would take it up with the manufacturer, ultimately they are reasonable to provide you with a good product and a capable dealership system to have repairs performed to your satisfaction.
 
chopper I think I will start down the road you suggested, again. Its a real long process I know, been there.
 
Just wondering,, Do the Techs that test ride your bike agree that there is a wobble issue but say they just can't get a handle on the cause?

From your original post it was not clear (to me at least) if the wobble happens only in the window From 35 mph To 30 mph or was it from around 35-30 to standstill. Really strange because at that slow a speed, a natural resonance would be unusual. And you have no issues with harmonics of that speed? ( 60-70 mph)? No issues with higher speed wobble in corners?
Are the tires and rims the size that come on the bike from the factory. I wonder if there is a chance the front tire and rear tire are no longer tracking on the same center line caused by wheel offset due to spacers/shims or lack of.
 
Heres my 2 cents worth
I'm not sure how motorcycle tires are balanced, but cant the front wheel be removed and put an a spinning machine to simulate this problem.
 
hoople, the wobble starts at 35 and ends at 30 coasting down regardless of gear that the bike is in. all wheels tires have been changed several times wheels trued, tires dym ballanced. bike alainged by hd. tightining down on fall adjustment hides problem for awhile
 
Again I said this sounds very much like the trouble I had with my CrossBones. what finally cure it was they tighten down on the steering head, (neck Bearings). Now at a stand still when I first move the bike ,cold, it is tight, once I ride a while, I guess the grease heats up, it isn't so bad.
 
Yes, I have resolved my noise issue with the front end. In my case I only experienced noise (a knock) when riding over something like Railroad tracks at slow speeds. Other than noise the bike did not experience any wobble, shimmy or pulling. Even when my neck bearings were "loose" I did not experience any wobble. The bike may have been a little more "darty" with the loose bearings but I did not experience any bike induced wobble.

This is such a selective problem:: only a 5 MPH band from 35 to 30 mph, with no wobble from 0-25 mph, no wobble from 35-100 mph, no wobble on both left & right long sweep turns at harmonic speeds (60-70 mph),,,replaced both tires and rims, & checked center line of rear tire to front tire center line.

I would be looking very closely at excessive wheel bearing end play, but I am sure by now that has been checked many times over & hopefully by different techs..
 
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