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[yellow103]

Through the years I have heard about the so called death wobble. Well I am here to tell you it is for real.  Decided to air out the CVO two days ago, on a straight stretch, went through the gears pretty tight, when I hit 5th gear all of sudden I thought I was on a wild bull, the whole bike begin to wobble back and forth with such force, it was moving me around on the seat. I held on to the grips as tight as I could, let off the throttle, coasted for a short distance, and it came back under control. I pulled over checked everything on the bike. I was sure something had to be broken. Found nothing. Don't have much faith in the true track kit I had installed on the bike a few years back. First time this has ever happened. I have gone through the gears pretty quick more than once and never had this happen.

[donald p]

Same thing happened to me, found out the back tire was not balanced.I have not gone over 100MPH since.

[CVOSE]

It may seem an odd thing to do to you but holding the grips tighter makes the wobbling worse.
Next time when you experience a early wobble, try to relax and loosen your grip on the handlebar. You will notice that the wobble disappears.

It works on my SERK 07.

Good luck

[efrbc1]

Had similar issues with my SEEG although not as bad.  I went with the Glide Pro system which helped a lot.  Check out their website for how they to an alignment.  Mine was way off and just re-aligning the motorcycle made a difference.  My original swingarm bushings were pretty worn at 25K so anything probably would have helped but almost 20K later it's still pretty stable.  Funny thing is my '03 RK (65K) is like riding on a rail - and all stock.

Chris

[yellow103]

May have to check out the Glide pro, hate to change systems though. I have had the True Track on it since new. Never had this issue before. Making an appointment with my Indy shop to check bushings. Only have 35m on the bike. Just put her up on the rack, and checked to be sure rear wheel weights didn't come off. All well there. Guess I'll wait and see what comes out of the bushing check up.

[Mano]

Oh ya.....just like you explained it Yellow 103 only I was in 6th gear and a wild bull would have been more tame. I wish my buddy riding behind me had his Go Pro on but he did not. My buddy still talks about it since he seen it all.

An angel  was riding with me that day which was on my way to Sturgis last year.

[RayG]

We all know it's real, I had had a similar experience on my 08 SERK when it was fairly new.  I did the opposite and held the tank firmly with my legs and accelerated while loosening my grip on the bars.  I don't know which method is correct but what ever gets us out of the situation.  I later installed the True Track along with the AK-20"s and Bitubo's.  I'm a firm believer in the front end being the cause of some of the incidents especially if doing a down hill sweeper of some kind.  If the front ends sags or the bearing needs adjustment it could be a part of the solution.  Checking motor mounts and firming up the swingarm with the Glide Pro seems to work well with the older bikes.  I had to go over everything to get the confidence to try to duplicate the shakes, I  guess I'm one of the lucky ones as it has never even given the slightest hint of a wobble.  Hope you solve your problem.

[dlaws01]

I'm thinking it should be called the "Harley 'scare the chit out of ya' wobble" as this seems to happen much more often than the "death".   

[donald p]

DEATH WOBBLE like yellow 103 said, at over 100 MPH all you do is hang on as tight as possible.............

[Hog95023]

Took a sweeping turn today at 90 mph. All was good through the apex except when my right floor board scraped pavement and the wobble started pretty heavily. Wasn't any way I could hold my lane. Luckily I was nearly on the fog line when this started. Let off the throttle and loosened up on the grip got things under control pretty quick.

Glad things worked out for you.

[cahdbiker]

Hi everyone, I have had my 09 over 100MPH several times while passing 30 ft 5th wheels doing 85MPH and have not had any wobble at all. My 95 Heritage would get a little wobble at 100, but not anything enough to scare me. Maybe some of the more mechanical guys could chime in. So many different things could cause the wobble, out of balance tires, steering head bearing issues, swing arm issues, front or rear wheel that is not true, wrong air pressure etc.CAHDBIKER

[twoasone]

Don't know if this is the total issue but, I have a buddy with a shop and he has had many come to him with this problem. Check your steering bearing, most people never service this. He has had MANY that are totally dry and has put around 20-30 pumps of grease in them to just get the grease to come out of the bearing. This has helped according to the owners of the bikes. I check mine 3-4 times a season. Not saying this is the problem but seems to help. I have been @ 100 plus and never had this issue. I do realize every bike is different, that bearing needs the proper torque and grease. Ride Hard.

[2k]

Have had my '09 to 115 (on the speedo) several times. Have a 21" spooked front and on a rail, never the slightest shudder.

[efrbc1]

'09 and newer have the new frames.  Much more stable than the older ones.  All of us with the "older" bikes have learned to deal with this problem over the years.

Chris

[red ben59]

I know your bike has cast wheels. But i have seen loose spokes cause the wooble. Lots of different things can cause it, get it checked by a top notch wrench.