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[arcticdude]

It's most definitely because the fairing is fork mounted and not fairing mounted.  I have an Ultra (and have had an Ultra since 01), while she has an 01 SERG that we got in 03.  My previous fairing bike was a Honda that was set up just like the SERG- almost had the same size and shape of fairing.  Both the SERG and the Honda are much less affected by cross winds than the Ultra is/was.  I had the Honda in Germany for 2 yrs (military) and was able to ride at high speeds for extended periods (140mph+ for almost 2 hours on one ride).  It was never bothered by cross winds.  Crossing Texas one year with it, I rode leaned into the wind about 25-30 degrees for a long time.  But you could do it with no hands on the bars, because the fairing was only pushing on the frame, not the fork.  Why do you think Willie G. rides an ultra-cized Road Glide??

[fxdjerry]

Having not ridden my SEUC yet, 'cause it ain't here, but having ridden other bikes with fairings in the past, to include crotch rockets, Wings, and a recent road test on a BMW R1200RT up to speeds of 100MPH on both interstate and a few curvey county roads in the area (don't tell the dealer   ),....could this problem of "wandering" be related to the fact that the HD fairing is mounted to the fork and not the frame?  Plus, it's not really the most aerodynamic shape I've ever seen either...it would be interesting to see a flow test in a wind tunnel to see what happens at various speeds.  Plus, I don't think HD is known for it's state of the art suspension system, so a bunch of this stuff combined could make things get a little froggy in certain conditions, and it would be inconsistant because of all the variables metioned in the thread, seems to me..if everything else is lined up, tight, etc.  Just thinking out loud here...

IMHO I bet in quite a few cases,your assesment is dead nuts on!

[BobD]

It's most definitely because the fairing is fork mounted and not fairing mounted. [highlight]I had the Honda in Germany for 2 yrs (military) and was able to ride at high speeds for extended periods (140mph+ for almost 2 hours on one ride).  It was never bothered by cross winds.  Crossing Texas one year with it, I rode leaned into the wind about 25-30 degrees for a long time.  But you could do it with no hands on the bars[/highlight], because the fairing was only pushing on the frame, not the fork.  Why do you think Willie G. rides an ultra-cized Road Glide??

You're dead-on articdude about Willie G and others including Paul Tuttle of OCC. A lot of the "old-timers" bikers ride the Road Glide configuration - known for its stability and handling on the open road. Heck, half the Hell's Angels now ride 'um. There sure far from perfect though having ridin' one for 2 years. In some conditions, even the Road Glide is scary - grab whatever you can and hang on. The Road Glide fairing H-D redesigned in 2004 isn't nearly as stable as pre '04 Glides. I prefer the e-Glide personally.
I had my SEUC in the dealer this week for service and asked about "wobble". I haven't experienced it yet but I'm sure I will eventually. I do like to ride fast. The tech I was talking with said wobble usually is attributed to 1. aero turbulence from either a front fork air dam or wings added to the fairing, 2. low tire pressure, 3. overloaded to the rear end as in the tour-pak or heavy passenger, 4. improper alignment, 5. over-tightened neck bearings, 6. highway surface conditions such as the surface planing done on many concrete surfaces. You pick which condition you want to use. Just try and eliminate as many as possible if you're going to go fast.
Finally articdude, tell me more about riding 140+ for 2 hours straight. That's over 280 miles. I know you can't do that on the Autobahn - high speed stretches there are relatively short and Germany ain't that wide. Where were you and what were you riding that could pack that much fuel? I'd love to be able to do the same next time I'm in Europe. And that 30 degree lean with no hands - you've got kahona's articdude. Was that on a Honda too? [smiley=xyxthumbs.gif]

[magicl1]

Hmmmm.... one of those conditions was the Tour Pack... So I moved my tour pack back 2 inches... Maybe HD had a reason for mounting it where they did! [smiley=nixweiss.gif]

I do try to keep the heavy stuff balanced in the side bags.  Not sure if I can suggest to my wife that she shed a few pounds [smiley=oops.gif]
That would surely result in a slap up side the head, resulting in a "boble head" effect!

[arcticdude]

The 'bahn between Nurnberg and Stuttgart was 120 miles and almost dead straight.  I had to fill up half way.  When the peg is bouncing between 155 and 160, it sucked fuel!  But it had almost a 6 gallon tank.  So, a little over an hour there and a little over an hour back.  It was one one of those great American Monday holidays, all the herms were working, so the road was essentially empty.  The Honda was a V65 Sabre, 125hp and just shy of 600#.  It would scream.  One of the first "sport bikes".  By the time I got to Texas with it I had better than 20k miles on it (I'd been stationed in Ca for over a year), so I was pretty comfortable on it.   [smiley=huepfenjump3.gif]  Then I went overseas with it!  Only 2 things passed me the whole time I was there, one was a Porsche and he was absolutely flying.  The other was a Merkur- a FORD!!!  It took me almost 30 miles to catch him.  The needle was buried and he was running about 150mph.  Fun times!  I enjoy my bikes, what can I say??  

Oh yea, can't say it was big cahonyeas, just young, dumb and full!

[lvrider]

I also experienced wobble on my 05 SEEG.  On another post this past February, Twolanerider suggested installing a HD air dam, HD part # 58520-79TC.  I've had it installed since then, and I have not had a problem since.  Here's the link:

http://flhrsei.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?num=1138844514

[JCHAROS]

just installed ridesrt8 on my bike feels a lot better , but i only rode a short distance at about 95 this weekend i am going 650 miles to murtle beach tommarro will report back on wed

[cigarmike]

When riding 2 up on 680 coming back from Quincy run...no wobble in turns.....1up is whole different story. I guess I need to get this fixed.

[HWYMAN1]

New to CVO (still waiting on bike-black/slate)
Found this re: wobble on www.powersportnetwork.com that front end wobble may be related to deteriorating front motor mount.  May be worth checking out.

[arcticdude]

Found this re: wobble on www.powersportnetwork.com that front end wobble may be related to deteriorating front motor mount.  May be worth checking out.

Hopefully, the mounts aren't going bad as they come off the assembly line. [smiley=nervous.gif]

[magicl1]

New to CVO (still waiting on bike-black/slate)
Found this re: wobble on www.powersportnetwork.com that front end wobble may be related to deteriorating front motor mount.  May be worth checking out.

Which title did you find the reference to the wobble?

[JCHAROS]

HI REPORTING BACK AFTER A 2000 TRIP TO MRYRTLE BEACH, I INSTALLED RIDE SRT8 BEFORE I WENT UP AND STILL NO DIFFERENCE , GOT TO MYRTLE BEACH MEET A GUY BY THE NAME OF WILL SMITH WHO OWNS TRUE TRACK AND AFTER SPEAKING WITH HIM I HAD HIS TEAM REMOVE RIDE STR8 AND PUT TRUE TRACK ON, I NOTICED A BIG DIFFERENCE ON THE WAY HOME, I ADJUSED MY PRESSURE IN AIR SHOCK TO 10 INFLATED REAR TIRE TO 40 FRONT TIRE AT 36 INSTALLED TRUE TRACK AND OFF I WENT ALSO HAD REAR TIRE BALANCED AT THE DUNLAP TENT I THINK A COMBINATION OF ALL OF THESE CHANGES HAD A AFFECT ON MY BIKE , TOOK IT UP TO 110 FOR A SHORT TIME AND IT WAS SOLID, ALL UNDER WILLS DIRECTION, I AM HAPPY WILL COMES FROM AN ENGINERING BACKROUND AND I WAS PLEASED THAT HE WANTED TO HELP ME SOLVE THE PROBLEM SO THEREFORE I RECCOMED, REAR TIRE BALANCE, CORECT SHOCK PRESSURE AND TRUE TRACK HOPE THIS WILL HELP YOU LIKE IT DID ME THANKS

[magicl1]

Link for True Track?

[hd-dude]

HI REPORTING BACK AFTER A 2000 TRIP TO MRYRTLE BEACH, I INSTALLED RIDE SRT8 BEFORE I WENT UP AND STILL NO DIFFERENCE , GOT TO MYRTLE BEACH MEET A GUY BY THE NAME OF WILL SMITH WHO OWNS TRUE TRACK AND AFTER SPEAKING WITH HIM I HAD HIS TEAM REMOVE RIDE STR8 AND PUT TRUE TRACK ON, I NOTICED A BIG DIFFERENCE ON THE WAY HOME, I ADJUSED MY PRESSURE IN AIR SHOCK TO 10 INFLATED REAR TIRE TO 40 FRONT TIRE AT 36 INSTALLED TRUE TRACK AND OFF I WENT ALSO HAD REAR TIRE BALANCED AT THE DUNLAP TENT I THINK A COMBINATION OF ALL OF THESE CHANGES HAD A AFFECT ON MY BIKE , TOOK IT UP TO 110 FOR A SHORT TIME AND IT WAS SOLID, ALL UNDER WILLS DIRECTION, I AM HAPPY WILL COMES FROM AN ENGINERING BACKROUND AND I WAS PLEASED THAT HE WANTED TO HELP ME SOLVE THE PROBLEM SO THEREFORE I RECCOMED, REAR TIRE BALANCE, CORECT SHOCK PRESSURE AND TRUE TRACK HOPE THIS WILL HELP YOU LIKE IT DID ME THANKS

Glad your bike is better but I question with all the changes you made that the True-track over the Ridest8 made this difference. Both units effectively do the same thing and add a third point for drive train stability. The ridestr8 does it via the oil pan to the swing arm bracket and the True-track via the oil pan to the frame cross member. Both have there advantages and disadvantages. This has been debated here before with no real data other than the manufactures testimonies that one is better than the other. It would have been a good comparison if you only made the switch from the ridestr8 to the true-track and tried it on the same road under the same conditions.

There is a thread here that has 17 pages of discussion between the two: http://flhrsei.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?num=1123085111/0

Link for True Track?

www.true-track.com   www.ridestr8.com

[JCHAROS]

i am not knocking ridesrt8, but i am telling you that will worked with me closely on this untill i was satified he did not try to sell his product at all in fact he almost put his product on free to try and stabile the bike and worked with me as far as all the adjustments tha twere made