Has anyone heard anything about 2011 CVO Road Glide Ultra’s front end steering and handlebars violently shaking so bad at slow speeds that it throws the rider and passenger off the bike??? It has happened to my wife and me. Here is what is going on with my bike.
June 2011 my 2011 CVO Road Glide Ultra with 6,300 miles on the bike developed a steering wobble during deceleration from around 40 to 30 mph. I took the bike to the HD dealership that has been doing all the warranty work on my bike. The mechanic adjusted the steering head bearings. Immediately after that service my bikes’ steering and handlebars started to shake at slow speeds of less than 10 mph. I took my bike back to the dealership and the mechanic torqued the steering head bearings to the tighter side. Three weeks later I took my bike back to the same dealership for the third time for the same problem. This time the mechanic replaced the handlebar riser bushing. The shaking happens only under certain road and parking lot conditions while driving less than 10 mph, such as an upslope on the road, even a small upslope, rough pavement, or uneven slanted pavement. Each time the dealership works on the bike the front end steering and handlebar shaking stops for a while but then it slowly comes back and is progressively getting worse. I should mention that I usually ride solo.
June 2012, I decided to go on our HOG chapter 8 day ride to Durango Colorado. My wife rode with me as a passenger. Two days before going on the Durango trip I had the same HD dealership install new front and rear tires and replace the rear brake pads.
Very early in the trip the front end steering shaking got much worse, developing into a very dangerous and violently shaking problem. Throughout the entire trip at slow speeds of below 10 mph or stopping, the handlebars and steering on my bike would suddenly shake violently. The violent shaking was so bad that I could not stop the handlebars from shaking, and it took every bit of my strength each time to bring the bike to a stop without falling over. It made no difference if I was riding with no passenger and empty saddlebags and empty tour pak. I have been riding motorcycles for over 30 years and I have owned other big Harley touring bikes. I have never before experienced such violent handlebar and steering shaking.
One day near the end of the trip while driving slowly and stopping at a stop sign the violent shaking was so uncontrollable that the bike was thrown to the ground, throwing myself and my wife off the bike. During my fall the side of my helmet slammed into the stop sign and I was further thrown onto the ground, landing on my head. My wife and I were each thrown more than 5 feet from the bike.
Two days later we returned home from the Durango trip. I dropped my wife at home and I took the bike right away to the HD dealership that has been servicing my bike. The service manager test drove my bike and when he returned he said, ‘there is still something wrong with the steering’. The service manager and the dealership owner told me that they can no longer work on my bike without first getting authorization from the Harley Davidson Motor Company. They asked me to write them a letter describing the problem. The service manager also gave me the 800 phone number for the customer service department for the Harley Davidson Motor Company and he told me to call them about the problem. I did.
Ever since returning home from the Durango trip my bike has been parked in the garage. I am not riding it because it is very scary not knowing if the handlebars will suddenly start violently shake at street or highway speeds. If it did it would definitely cause a terrible crash. This problem is so severe that I fear for my safety when riding this bike.
The Harley Davidson Motor Company is unwilling to try to fix the bike unless I sign a release of liability. I told them that I cannot sign a release of liability for a known problem that threw my wife and me off the bike. My bike is still covered under the 2 year factory warranty, and I purchased the 5 year extended warranty. Verbally the HD dealership has said that they will be buying the bike back from me. But so far they have not put anything in writing and they are dragging their feet. I am frustrated with dealing with this problem for over 1 year and I am at the point of hiring a lemon law attorney.
If you or someone you know has a 2011 CVO Road Glide Ultra or just a Road Glide Ultra that is experiencing a front end steering shaking problem at slow speeds, I would like to hear about it. Thank you for reading this far.