Topic: Front End wobble at 45-50 mph (Read 16916 times)

BADBAGG · « **on:** July 27, 2010, 09:12:42 PM »

My 09 has a bad front end wobble during deceleration. Its almost a tank slapper. Bike has 6k miles on it. Local Harley just put new front tire on, still has wobble. Anyone else have this ? any ideas ? Neck bearings ?

TN · « **Reply #1 on:** July 27, 2010, 09:22:00 PM »

Quote from: BADBAGG on July 27, 2010, 09:12:42 PM

My 09 has a bad front end wobble during deceleration. Its almost a tank slapper. Bike has 6k miles on it. Local Harley just put new front tire on, still has wobble. Anyone else have this ? any ideas ? Neck bearings ?

i guess neck bearings.

TN

Keats · « **Reply #2 on:** July 27, 2010, 09:30:23 PM »

Something is pretty serious if the wobble is at those speeds.

Usually wheel balance is what I would start with at those speeds.

Tire pressure?

cupped tire?

can you increase speed and drive out of the wobble?

BADBAGG · « **Reply #3 on:** July 27, 2010, 09:43:10 PM »

Bike does not wobble at slower speeds or higher speeds. Brand new tire less than 100 miles. Still have problem. cant be tire pressure,cupped tire or balancing. 2nd tire , same problem.

Chains · « **Reply #4 on:** July 27, 2010, 09:53:20 PM »

Bearings must be shot or loose

BADBAGG · « **Reply #5 on:** July 27, 2010, 10:50:49 PM »

shot at 6000 miles ??

grc · « **Reply #6 on:** July 28, 2010, 09:08:50 AM »

Definitely get the steering head bearings checked out. Make sure they are properly lubed, and have the fall away checked. There were numerous reports of improperly adjusted and/or loose bearings on the '09 models. There also was a specification change for the stem nut torque if I remember correctly. And yes, if the bearings have been excessively loose for 6000 miles they might be shot (bearings and/or races tend to get beaten to death when loose).

"cant be tire pressure,cupped tire or balancing. 2nd tire , same problem." What tire pressure are you running? And how does a new tire eliminate tire pressure as a possible cause? Also, since when does having a dealer install a new tire mean your wheel and tire are now automatically true and properly balanced? Do you have any idea how many bikes go back to their owner's after a tire change with the exact same wheel weights as when the bike left the factory? Don't believe me, mark each weight and take a photo before your next tire change, then take a look after. And I seem to remember a problem with more than a few wheels on SERK's with improper machining resulting in excessive runout; could happen on any wheels. My point is, these things all need to be considered and checked as part of a proper diagnostic procedure. Something is setting off the vibration. And if the head bearing preload isn't correct, the front end geometry won't effectively dampen the side to side motion. Fix the head bearing issue and you may see a big improvement, but that doesn't necessarily mean that was the root cause. Just like in medicine, you can just treat the symptoms, but it's best to find the root cause and eliminate it.

Jerry

Beemer · « **Reply #7 on:** July 28, 2010, 09:14:38 AM »

Had the same problem at about 55 and again around 35mph. Took it to the dealer and they tightened neck bearing and changed tire but still persisted. It only happened with little or no grip in the handlebars...say just with my fingertips barely touching and I could tell it would get progressively worse if let continue.

The bike had the tourpak on and when we took it off, the wobble disappeared! Dealer didn't have any ideas but I think its the overall balance of the bike with solo rider + tourpak and I sit pretty far back as well. I haven't noticed it lately and I've also switched to WO517 bars.

If you're running the tourpak, take it off and test it. There was a previous thread on here about it as well. let us know and good luck.

P.S. Dealer told me not to ride with hands off handlebars...sheesh

VANAMAL · « **Reply #8 on:** July 28, 2010, 09:56:37 AM »

HAD Same prob once. new tire - balance and had rim trued. prob went away

Rooster · « **Reply #9 on:** July 28, 2010, 10:36:34 AM »

I also had that wobble at the same speed with new tires. I suspected flaw in front tire and after having it balanced twice I asked for it to be measured and there was a small imperfection. New tire all better. Hope you get it fixed soon.

GregKhougaz · « **Reply #10 on:** July 28, 2010, 02:26:58 PM »

Ditto what Jerry said. (#6, above).

BADBAGG · « **Reply #11 on:** July 28, 2010, 07:32:15 PM »

Thanks for the input. Forgot to mention the problem started about 500 miles ago. never had the problem for the first 5500 miles. Thats why i thought it was maybe a tire issue. As i already stated , new tire did not fix it. I will take it to the stealer to check neck bearings.

Chains · « **Reply #12 on:** July 28, 2010, 11:05:26 PM »

Quote from: BADBAGG on July 27, 2010, 10:50:49 PM

shot at 6000 miles ??

Or out of adjustment and no grease

DDavidson · « **Reply #13 on:** July 29, 2010, 12:28:04 AM »

Make sure the neck bearing grease is full. Should be coming out the bottom.

Because of wobble I had mine at one HD who said it was air pressure. (I had checked day before.)

Problem persisted, took to another HD who said neck bearings needed 3 clicks, neck bearings needed lubed, and front tire was cupped.

Huge improvement.

At 10K needed more neck bearing grease until coming out bottom.

Beemer · « **Reply #14 on:** July 29, 2010, 12:19:38 PM »

Also, to mitigate cupping, run TP at max cold pressure 40 psi front and 41 rear...(I think)

Dan_Lockwood · « **Reply #15 on:** July 29, 2010, 05:11:05 PM »

I believe they call it the drop away test on the handlebars.

Put the bike up on a center lift so the front end is off the ground and there are no obstructions to it rotating from full left to full right.

On the SERG it's supposed to stop back at center in 1 or 1-1/2 flips from a release at either full left or full right. Mine took over 4 flips to stop.

If you do a search on this forum you will find a service bulletin with the information on this to be exact; my memory is not what it was last week...

I had a slight wobble and took it in and they did the adjustment under warranty.

Good luck.

Irontiger · « **Reply #16 on:** August 03, 2010, 07:36:54 PM »

Mine had identical problem at 6000 miles. Took it to dealer. They had to make an adjustment to the neck. Corrected problem. Several other RG owners I know had same problem and similar adjustment corrected. Got 8000 miles now and problem has not yet come back.

Irontiger

rascal1007 · « **Reply #17 on:** August 16, 2010, 06:49:31 PM »

Quote from: Dan_Lockwood on July 29, 2010, 05:11:05 PM

I believe they call it the drop away test on the handlebars.

Put the bike up on a center lift so the front end is off the ground and there are no obstructions to it rotating from full left to full right.

On the SERG it's supposed to stop back at center in 1 or 1-1/2 flips from a release at either full left or full right. Mine took over 4 flips to stop.

If you do a search on this forum you will find a service bulletin with the information on this to be exact; my memory is not what it was last week...

I had a slight wobble and took it in and they did the adjustment under warranty.

Good luck.

Mine went 7 !!!!!!

Dealer adjusted on warranty and I have no issues since. See the attached file.

Gettinold · « **Reply #18 on:** August 16, 2010, 09:01:54 PM »

Neck bearing loose. Just had mine adjusted, problem solved.

you could only tell when bike was decelerating around 40 mph. If you let go of the handle bars, they would wobble. Another fine quality CVO bike assembled by some moron on a Monday.

JCZ · « **Reply #19 on:** August 16, 2010, 09:33:11 PM »

Take it to the dealership and ask them to do a "fall away" check on it. You'll probably find out it's the neck bearings.

BADBAGG · « **Reply #20 on:** August 16, 2010, 10:23:57 PM »

Quote from: Gettinold on August 16, 2010, 09:01:54 PM

Neck bearing loose. Just had mine adjusted, problem solved. you could only tell when bike was decelerating around 40 mph. If you let go of the handle bars, they would wobble. Another fine quality CVO bike assembled by some moron on a Monday.

That is exactly what mine is doing.....

screem · « **Reply #21 on:** August 17, 2010, 07:41:00 AM »

My last couple baggers, including my 2000 serg have all needed neck bearing adjustments. t he service manual will tell how to do the fall away test. My serg had the bars doing a tank slapper when decell and no hands on bars. I bought the neck bearing adjustment tool that Snapon makes, made the job a breeze. I had to move the adjuster a couple of notches to get it into proper adjustment. Re-torqued the the top nut,shot full of fresh grease, now handling like it should. Someonethats when i first notic here mentioned the wooble condition with tourpak on, thats when i first noticed the wooble in my bike too. Past baggers never got the handle bars moving on decell, but instead there would be a noticible clunk in front tree when appling brakes hard at low speed.

HDDOCFL · « **Reply #22 on:** August 18, 2010, 09:51:30 AM »

I did the neck bearing adjustment myself as the dealer would have charged me as a service item. No more wobble on decel. Doc

Mac-D2121 · « **Reply #23 on:** August 19, 2010, 03:20:38 PM »

Quote from: BADBAGG on July 27, 2010, 09:12:42 PM

My 09 has a bad front end wobble during deceleration. Its almost a tank slapper. Bike has 6k miles on it. Local Harley just put new front tire on, still has wobble. Anyone else have this ? any ideas ? Neck bearings ?

I have a 2009 yellow SERG and it had 1200 miles on the clock and had to have the Neck bearings adjusted and I got stung with a bill of $385.00, I asked service manager @ Barnes Harley Davidson (Canada) whats up..he commented that this should have been caught on PDI and seeing as the bike was imported from USA they would not cover the adjustment, I can still ride down the road let go of the bars and she goes into a violent tank slapper, took the bike back to the dealer...he now informs me that Trev Deeley Imports (HD Canada) has pulled ALL the warranties on ALL bikes that were brought into Canada other than thru Deeley Imports. So if anything goes wrong with my bikle I'm F--ked! And with the quality of Harley lately I'm sure I will have problems, I love my Scoot but I have lost all the Love for the mothership!!!

rascal1007 · « **Reply #24 on:** August 19, 2010, 03:27:13 PM »

Quote from: Mac-D2121 on August 19, 2010, 03:20:38 PM

I have a 2009 yellow SERG and it had 1200 miles on the clock and had to have the Neck bearings adjusted and I got stung with a bill of $385.00, I asked service manager @ Barnes Harley Davidson (Canada) whats up..he commented that this should have been caught on PDI and seeing as the bike was imported from USA they would not cover the adjustment, I can still ride down the road let go of the bars and she goes into a violent tank slapper, took the bike back to the dealer...he now informs me that Trev Deeley Imports (HD Canada) has pulled ALL the warranties on ALL bikes that were brought into Canada other than thru Deeley Imports. So if anything goes wrong with my bikle I'm F--ked! And with the quality of Harley lately I'm sure I will have problems, I love my Scoot but I have lost all the Love for the mothership!!!

The dealer (Barnes) should stand behind their work. If they adjusted the neck bearings (and it sounds like you paid dearly for that work) then they should make it right.

I guess I got lucky; I got mine done under warranty.

Mine was a US import as well. I wanted the US model as i don't really like the rear light setup on the International model.

Gettinold · « **Reply #25 on:** August 19, 2010, 05:58:25 PM »

Quote from: rascal1007 on August 19, 2010, 03:27:13 PM

The dealer (Barnes) should stand behind their work. If they adjusted the neck bearings (and it sounds like you paid dearly for that work) then they should make it right.

I guess I got lucky; I got mine done under warranty.

Mine was a US import as well. I wanted the US model as i don't really like the rear light setup on the International model.

That's BS and tell we said so.
Old saying: What comes around goes around. Sounds like the goes around is near.
I get jacked up when I hear this kind of BS. ALL JACKED UP

Manvessel · « **Reply #26 on:** December 23, 2011, 11:59:58 PM »

Had the same situation at 35-40. Read about problem on this website, but casually took hands off bars before thinking and front end went into severe wobble. Kind of scary if your now ready for it. Heard of varying degrees of satisfaction with local HD dealers service quality and didn't want to risk life, limb and my BSR on getting this taken care of on a "good" day. Was researching a switch from HD synth to Amzoil (didn't like the fact that HD uses 20W-50 in all the sumps) and was told about an ex-HD mechanic, that decided to open his own shop, and was a big fan of Amzoil. Talked with other HD riders and heard nothing but mega cudo's about him. He did the fluid change and told me I had a 5 pass swing in the front end. Told him about the wobble and he suggested I take it to dealer and get it remedied under warranty. I told him to go ahead and do the fix (while I waited). He also checked tire pressure and balance. Hit the road and the difference in ride and control was amazing. Worth every penny of the $150 labor charge. He mentioned some other simple fixes to make the ride even more enjoyable. Will get those done @ 10K. Nice to find someone that knows what they are doing.

Cvostu · « **Reply #27 on:** December 24, 2011, 08:32:31 AM »

I agree. Glad you got that fixed.

roadtrip402003 · « **Reply #28 on:** December 25, 2011, 02:21:02 AM »

Had a wooble issue with my 01 also. Put on the cruise, take your hands barely off the bars and let the wobbling begin. I put more air pressure in the rear shocks and haven't had the problem in over a year. It seemed to be a balance issue with mine. I'm a big guy who sits back also. Just another thing to think about-good luck.

spydglide · « **Reply #29 on:** December 25, 2011, 07:33:49 AM »

Quote from: roadtrip402003 on December 25, 2011, 02:21:02 AM

Had a wooble issue with my 01 also. Put on the cruise, take your hands barely off the bars and let the wobbling begin. I put more air pressure in the rear shocks and haven't had the problem in over a year. It seemed to be a balance issue with mine. I'm a big guy who sits back also. Just another thing to think about-good luck.

Balance issue=weight issue. Without the added weight of the fairing on the roadglides, they seem to be more prone to the wobble. Esp. if more weight is on rear (tourpac, etc.). So many different causes for the same problem, but not putting enough grease and correct steering neck adjustment is at the top of the list when diagnosing this issue.

spyder

1 Orange Eagle · « **Reply #30 on:** January 12, 2012, 02:09:00 PM »

Neck bearings.

petewerner · « **Reply #31 on:** February 02, 2012, 10:04:43 AM »

I had wobble on decelaration at about 40 mph. After reading about the neck bearings, I thought mine was loose. Now millwrights and probably alot of others know that heavy grease will take up all the slop and make the bearing tolerances tighter. With that in mind, I filled the neck with grease until it came out the ends of the neck. Rode it and the wobble was gone for a couple of weeks and then started to wobble again. Took it to dealer and had them tighten them up. It is now gone for thousands of miles!! There is a grease zerk fitting on the left side of the neck and hidden by wiring.

Author Topic: Front End wobble at 45-50 mph (Read 16916 times)