My 07 DX has a problem. 40mph...take hands off of handlebars....front end starts to shake. No, not at 30...no, not at 50 plus? I took the bike into stealer and the guy behind the desk told me Harley is aware of the problem and said their answer is that you are NOT supposed to ride a Harley with NO hands. I walked out of stealer pissed. Went back next day and asked for service mgr. After 30 min (when he finished his sack lunch...I could see him through the blinds in his office)...the mgr. came out and gave me the same bs. He did agree to take the bike into the back room and have the steering head bearings tightened. I rode the bike out of the dealership and the bike proceeded to do the same thing. I don't believe they did a fk'n thing as I saw NO evidence of ANYTHING being removed. Needless to say I have NO respect for Brighton Harley Davidson in Brighton Michigan. Any ideas fellas? Wheel is straight ...air pressure is correct...??????? Anyone else experience this?
2007 Harley-Davidson DX Wobble at 40mph: Steering Head Bearing Issue?
RicoSuave
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My 07 DX has a problem. 40mph...take hands off of handlebars....front end starts to shake. No, not at 30...no, not at 50 plus? I took the bike into stealer and the guy behind the desk told me Harley is aware of the problem and said their answer is that you are NOT supposed to ride a Harley with NO hands. I walked out of stealer pissed. Went back next day and asked for service mgr. After 30 min (when he finished his sack lunch...I could see him through the blinds in his office)...the mgr. came out and gave me the same bs. He did agree to take the bike into the back room and have the steering head bearings tightened. I rode the bike out of the dealership and the bike proceeded to do the same thing. I don't believe they did a fk'n thing as I saw NO evidence of ANYTHING being removed. Needless to say I have NO respect for Brighton Harley Davidson in Brighton Michigan. Any ideas fellas? Wheel is straight ...air pressure is correct...??????? Anyone else experience this?
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How bad does it shake? Can you feel it when you cruise at 40 with your hands on the bar? I can't say that I've had this problem. I've taken my hands off the bars at 40 quite a few times and haven't experience any sort of shaking.
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The shake is VERY noticeable. I don't think it's going to cause the bike to go out of control...but it is quite noticeable. As soon as I grab the bars, even with one hand it stops. I don' think it's a BIG safety issue, but i have never owned a motorcycle that exhibited this problem.Dark_HD_07 said:
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That's very strange. Considering it only happens at 40mph. The only thing I can come up with is that something is wrong with the tire itself. Other than that, something has to be out of alignment or is not torqued properly. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.RicoSuave said:
Worse case scenario, you can bring it up to Wild Boar HD in Hudsonville. Its about a 2 hour drive, but they are by far much more VRod friendly.
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It shouldn't do that. It sounds like the fall away isn't adjusted correctly or one of your brake rotors is slightly warped.
A warped rotor will cause the pad to scuff every revolution, since it's unlikely both rotors are warped the same the out of sync rubbing will set up a harmonic that can cause a shake in the bars when no pressure is applied.
Do you have ANY pulsating in the brakes when you apply light pressure to them? IF you do then that's at least part of your problem. However, proper fall away will usually dampen that out.
Tire balance is another possibility.
A warped rotor will cause the pad to scuff every revolution, since it's unlikely both rotors are warped the same the out of sync rubbing will set up a harmonic that can cause a shake in the bars when no pressure is applied.
Do you have ANY pulsating in the brakes when you apply light pressure to them? IF you do then that's at least part of your problem. However, proper fall away will usually dampen that out.
Tire balance is another possibility.
Rico,RicoSuave said:
Just order up a Universal Steering Stabilizer from Cycle Gear USA,and your Steering Head wobble will be a Thing of the Past:deal: ! They have a few different mounting systems to choose from,but they will make your bike Much more stable with or without your hands on the Bars:kaz: !
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I had the same problem and at the same speed (the dealer said the samething to me) what it ended up being was the front end adjustment. It was checked and adjusted. Now the headshake is gone and rides great!
I hope this helps you.
I hope this helps you.
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Rico,, I had the same issue at 40mph.. Take hands off, the front end shakes... Do you have a Dunlap tire... At 1500 miles, Mine was already cupping.. Dealer replaced at no charge.. At 7000 mi. still smooth as silk.
A stabilizer will mask the symptom, but not solve the route cause of the problem. Assuming all is balanced and true, there should be little to no wobble, vibration, etc.RicoSuave said:
As has been suggested here, check the axial run out of the rotors, preferably at an outside area, where no pad deposit is.
Proper fall away adjustment indirectly provides the required level of dampening, so make sure it is correct.
Check axial run out of the rim, and confirm that front wheel bearing is tight.
I recall a thread here in regard to the front end "clunk" that many have experienced. I believe the culprit was improper assembly, that reqired a knowledgable technician to diagnose and repair and not just crank down on upper bearing.
Clearly proper tire inflation and balance should also be checked.
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40 mph is the first speed that you can feel a tire out of balance or a bad tire will really show up. Harmonics can make it go away at other speeds. I suggest you have them check the balance before they get carried away. Might just be a really bad quality tire.
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A follow up on my wobble problem. Ended up being a BAD front Dunlop. Tire was deformed. Dealer ended up putting new Dunlop on for me under warranty.....drives perfect now. I printed all of your responses and took them into my dealer for them to read. Thanks all for your help. If they couldn't fix it I WAS going to let you have it Stomp, but not for 8k....I was gonna give you a great deal at 3k....oh well! Oh btw....the BIG KAHUNA nailed this one!
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