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[fxdjerry]

Would anyone be so kind as to post the latetest fix for high speed front end wobble? I'm thinking steering damper if it's available. At 80-90mph with a load on (the bike not me) and no passenger. The handle bars are a flyin back and forth to and fro. The only sloution I have currenly is to back the throttle down. This is not really acceptable. I had these so called king o the highway configurations before and they all moved a bit. Nothing like this baby does tho. I had to laugh when it happened coming home from NY this weekend. Just amazed at what a bad highway bike I bought.The motor runs like a clock and pulls like hell all the way to speed then the piss poor handling starts . What a bummer! Must be some kind of federal speed regulation device that has not been announced by the MOCO. Because no one there will ever admit to any other kind of Bullsh*t going on. End of rant will wait for help. Thanks.

[VAZHOG]

Have your motor Mounts checked, First

[need4speed]

Mine does the same thing. I took it back in to my dealer and told them to give me a call when its fixed. it has been 3 weeks.

[VaEagle]

Hi fxdjerry,
There has been alot of discussion about this both in this section and the earlier model Electra Glide section.
Some say try the cheap fixes first and double check your tire pressures and shock pressure.
Then also try removing the lower fairing tinted wings because of possible wind buffeting.
I have noticed a difference by switching to the Freedom Wings and leaving them open.(Much cooler and less buffeting.)
Some have said to remove your lowers because of buffeting too. Some have added a chrome wind deflector that was on evo touring bikes between the forks under the tripple trees and they claim it stops buffeting too.(It may make a twin cam run hotter though?)
Then like other post have said check your motor mounts and after all of the above if you still have a problem some have used a TruTrack or Ride Str8 or other device to add stability to the drivetrain and in turn prevent the oscillation.Some swear by those devices others didn't find them much help.

[RJ749]

SEUC up to 110 today.  I had the vents open the Freedom Wings closed and not load.  Had the load to and from CC and never over 100, but had no wobble with under 2,000 miles on the bike.

I can force it to get the wobble like anyone by inputting a bit of it with the handlebars, but I guess I'll start to ride a bit slower for fear of a tank slapper incident. Wouldn't probably been going that fast but I had a 350Z up my A$$ and the guy the truck in front of me had no interest in pulling over so he just kept speeding up and I maintained my distance as he did.

At around 100 mph like most they decide they don't want a ticket and pull over.  Of course this was after he had the Z up his ass cause I passed him just south of 90 and just let it roll.  I don't think he thought a Harley could go that fast.  [smiley=huepfenjump3.gif]

Felt pretty solid at speed though.

[Mike103]

Would anyone be so kind as to post the latetest fix for high speed front end wobble? I'm thinking steering damper if it's available. At 80-90mph with a load on (the bike not me) and no passenger. The handle bars are a flyin back and forth to and fro. The only sloution I have currenly is to back the throttle down. This is not really acceptable. I had these so called king o the highway configurations before and they all moved a bit. Nothing like this baby does tho. I had to laugh when it happened coming home from NY this weekend. Just amazed at what a bad highway bike I bought.The motor runs like a clock and pulls like hell all the way to speed then the piss poor handling starts . What a bummer! Must be some kind of federal speed regulation device that has not been announced by the MOCO. Because no one there will ever admit to any other kind of Bullsh*t going on. End of rant will wait for help. Thanks.

I had the problem when the bike was brand new too at lower speeds and in turns.  Changed tires to Avon Venoms, installed Ridestr8, Freedom Wings.  Problem seemed to be solved.  Just got back from a trip out West and on Rt. 50 in Nevada and my buddy with a goldwing wicked it up to 110.  I hit about 105 to 110 and had a wobble that drained the color from my face, among other things.  It is a good road, so no fault there.  Got home and discovered a broken front motor mount.  Getting that fixed next week.  Maybe this will solve it, but if this has something to do with the '06 front forks (which I understand is the only thing different from earlier bikes which don't seem to have the problem), why don't new non-CVO bikes to have the same problem?  

[VaEagle]

Hi Mike103,
This wobble has been around on previous years and on standard bikes. I am willing to bet it is noticed more here because most have the 103 motor and travel faster than many 80 and 88 riders. There probably isn't many standard bike riders here so you see only the 103 complaints. Stroker motors vibrate more too.
Portsmouth Virginia just lost their first deputy sheriff in their history and he was on a Harley and lost control on an interstate on ramp while on his way to escort a funeral.It was a single vehicle accident and State Police is trying to find out how he lost control.

[need4speed]

I also have a 2003 FLHTCI with lower leg fairings and the lower fixed wings and consistantly ride it over 110 mph and it has no wobble. Only my 2006 SEEG wobbles.
A friend of mine said it is the weight of the wheels.

[RJ749]

Hi Mike103,
Portsmouth Virginia just lost their first deputy sheriff in their history and he was on a Harley and [highlight]lost control on an interstate on ramp [/highlight]while on his way to escort a funeral.It was a single vehicle accident and State Police is trying to find out how he lost control.

I have noticed a strange feel on the interstate on ramps with a curve at speed.  It is like the front wheel is egg shaped or something.  definitely not a smooth roll out under acceleration while banking in the turn.

[Mike103]

Hi Mike103,
This wobble has been around on previous years and on standard bikes. I am willing to bet it is noticed more here because most have the 103 motor and travel faster than many 80 and 88 riders. There probably isn't many standard bike riders here so you see only the 103 complaints. Stroker motors vibrate more too.
Portsmouth Virginia just lost their first deputy sheriff in their history and he was on a Harley and lost control on an interstate on ramp while on his way to escort a funeral.It was a single vehicle accident and State Police is trying to find out how he lost control.

Hi VaEagle.  I'm sure what you say is basically correct, but it seems strange that it just doesn't seem to be an issue with the new 88 inch bikes.  I haven't seen it discused on other forums for 88 in. bikes at all.  I'll give it another try after the motor mount is fixed and if that's it, maybe the answer is that the 103 in. bikes overpower and break the suckers and the 88 in. bikes don't/can't break them.  

[fxdjerry]

Thanks for all the coments. Maybe it's like breaking the sound barrier . Drive through the wobble and it smooths out. I did all the checks you guys are talking about. I still think there is something funny going on. Just to clarify I'm not talking about a little buffetting  because below 80 the bikes acts like all the other dressers I have owned none of them were rock solid. This was a very slow strong movement that caused the bars to rotate in each direction about equal distances. I tried to add slightly more throttle to see if it increased. Had a brief moment of sanity and decided to back off little instead and ride at a speed that had less impact. Friend gave me a little jingle years back "there are bold bikers and there are old bikers but there are not a hell of a lot of old bold bikers". Think I'll just concentrate on being and old biker. Have AARP card will travel. I guess it's ok maybe it was too windy or the turbulence from the trucks had an effect.

[tattoocrazy]

Here's my two cents, plus it worked on mine.

Forget about the "Willie Wings" and "Freedom Wings"  the freedom wings are great for more air flow but have no effect on handling.  Other posts have talked about windshield height???  I've had an Ultra and Roadglide before having My FLHTCUSE and they both handled better than the FLHTCUSE.  The problem has been solved on my bike, now it feels like it's on rails.  All the way up to 115 mph (Freedom wings open or closed)

Start with the easy things (if you haven't already)
Tire Pressure 38 Front 40 Rear
Shock Air Pressure 15 lbs minimum 20 is better
Have dealer do the following:
Check Motor Mounts
Check & Adjust the Alignment (lazer alignment is best)
Check & Adjust the Fall away.  

Hope this helps!

[WI George]

Here's my two cents, plus it worked on mine.

Forget about the "Willie Wings" and "Freedom Wings"  the freedom wings are great for more air flow but have no effect on handling.  Other posts have talked about windshield height???  I've had an Ultra and Roadglide before having My FLHTCUSE and they both handled better than the FLHTCUSE.  The problem has been solved on my bike, now it feels like it's on rails.  All the way up to 115 mph (Freedom wings open or closed)

Start with the easy things (if you haven't already)
Tire Pressure 38 Front 40 Rear
Shock Air Pressure 15 lbs minimum 20 is better
Have dealer do the following:
Check Motor Mounts
Check & Adjust the Alignment (lazer alignment is best)
[highlight]Check & Adjust the Fall away.[/highlight]  

Hope this helps!

What is meant by the "fall away"?

[erniezap]

What is meant by the "fall away"?

It's the test used to check the steering head (neck) bearings.  You disconnect all of the cables and wires from the handlebars, jack up the bike, hold the handlebars to left lock, then release them.  They should go across to the right, back past center to the left, then back towards the middle.  Too little movement = too tight, too much movement = too loose.

[Pana-guy]

Folks,

I totally agree with tattoocrazy with his fix to cure (potentially deadly) front end wobbles!

I have a cherry [smiley=cherry.gif] '05 SEEG with front end wobble problems for the last few months and I was positively SCARED sh_tless  [smiley=stars.gif] by the thought of a having a "tank slapper" somewhere while riding on the Turnpike or Parkway here in NJ and winding up as roadkill [smiley=skull.gif].   Forget about spending money on "ride str8 and other devices. (think of them as stabilizer bars on a car; not really necessary or needed unless steering high performance is critical) 

Last Friday I took my bike back to my dealer (a real dealer  [smiley=ons_1.gif], not a stealer! Salem County (NJ) H-D ) that I bought all my bikes from for an oil change and complained about this issue. This is what they did and believe me IT FIXED THE PROBLEM  [smiley=huepfenjump3.gif]:

1) Thoroughly checked and adjusted the "Fall Away" of the steering head
2) Repacked the steering head with grease. It was virtually bone dry. It took LOTS of grease to refill (came this way from factory? Only has 2,000 Miles...). Tech said it takes a special grease fitting to grease steering head  bearing (costs over $50 for this one fitting) and it's difficult to access hence sometimes overlooked on service by dealers.
3) Checked rear wheel alignment which was right on the money (the redesign of the real suspension swingarm and axle on FLH chassis in 2002 or 03, greatly improved the rear alignment issues)
4)Tech said to increase Tire Pressure to 38lbs on the Front even though H-D says 36LBS.

I got the bike back and all I can say I blasted the 100 miles back home from the dealer on a completely different riding bike  [smiley=thumbsup.gif]. NO MORE sloppy front end! It rides as good as my old '01 SERG that I replaced with this '05 SEEG.

I have seen lots of threads on this subject and I wonder if most of them are due to the same problem (and I have to believe originated in factory production from incorrect set up  [smiley=oops.gif] on one shift or from a particular shift operator on that work station, etc.- How about looking into this situation, Harley??  [smiley=zwtf.gif]) )

Any way, I hope this helps others with similar complaints.