Speed wobble on my bagger
Sean
on my favorite rum -- but meanwhile help yourselves to whatever's
in the cabinet.
This morning I got impatient stuck behind two slow trucks (ungood),
and when the slightly faster one pulled ahead I went blasting
around it (even more ungood) until I must have been doing nearly
80 as I watched both of them dwindle to dots in my mirrors;
that's when I noticed that I'd reached the sweeper leading
to the bridge and I was going a little bit (well maybe more
than a little bit) too fast, and just as I'm countersteering
like mad to lean into the curve I reach some "waves" in the road
(this is in a boggy area where some stretches of asphalt have
sunk more than others, the effect being like long shallow
waves at sea) and suddenly my front end starts to wobble.
I start breaking, but soon I'm drifting onto the shoulder,
with scattered marble-sized (and spherical shaped) gravel,
so I couldn't lean all that much.
Oh shee-it, I'm gonna crash, but I kept breaking (gently) and I
finally got her under control just as I reached the white line 3"
from the grass. Whew, that was a close one, I thought and when I told
my bike wrench later on he said the FLH's have an inherent high-speed
instability in the back wheel (he called it "rear steering");
the fix being some kind of bracket that bolts to the frame
and the tranny; either that or slow the fuck down, he told me.
Sean_Q_
'99 FLHTCUI <-- still in 1 piece, thankfully
'04 V-twin 250 that looks like a Harley from a distance
Wakko
> Oh shee-it, I'm gonna crash, but I kept breaking (gently) and I
> finally got her under control just as I reached the white line 3"
> from the grass. Whew, that was a close one, I thought and when I told
> my bike wrench later on he said the FLH's have an inherent high-speed
> instability in the back wheel (he called it "rear steering");
> the fix being some kind of bracket that bolts to the frame
> and the tranny; either that or slow the fuck down, he told me.
Did he happen to name that bracket? TrueTrack or some other? Did he say that
the instability in the back wheel was due to the rubber compressing in the
swingarm?
Same thing happend to me on the Ultra Chicken in Mexico earlier this year,
but instead of "waves" it was regularly spaced highway reflectors.
Have a drink. Everyone have a drink. Drink, dammit!
--
"Wakko" NTXNS TOMKAT SENS PHS BS#257
'06 FLHTCUSE "Ultra Chicken"
'03 FLSTSI - "BlingBling" (under reconstruction)
Snag
news:4nukajF...@individual.net...
. Usually airing my back tire up helps (slow leak , and I haven't been able
to find it ) . Oh , and mine's from the days before rubber mounts ...
Old Crow has found a brass/bronze bushing (but they're pricey !) that
replaces the rubber part in the swing arm , supposed to help with this
situation . We'll see how they work as soon as I figger out the specs and
turn him some on the lathe .
--
Snag aka OSG #1
'76 FLH "Bag Lady"
BS132 SENS NEWT
"A hand shift is a manly shift ."
<shamelessly stolen >
none to one to reply
AH#70
Honestly, this has happened to me on every motorcycle I've ever owned
when going into long sweepers at high speeds. 'Bout the only solution
I've found is to run higher pressures in the rear.
Once you get that far over on a tire, the pressure is no longer pushing
upward on the rim holding the form or the tire intact. You're on
nothing but sidewall at that angle and the wallowing you're
experiencing is the steel belts flexing, absorbing some of the shock
from irregularities in the road.
Now, I've heard that these can turn into dreaded tank slappers, and it
sounds like you may have experienced a bit of that, but you weren't
doing 108, fully loaded, uphill, so, ehhh, I tend to doubt it.
Shirley, another round for the house nonetheless - all this high-speed
wallowing in the corners talk has got me a bit edgy this morning.
Ken
HSB#07 WOLF#13 BS#92 AH#70 SENS
The whole world's gone mad.
dual45s
"AH#70" <ksch...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1159362481.4...@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
It hasn't happened to every bike I've owned but it has to a bunch of them. I
too either partially or completely "fix" the problem by going to the max
recommended tire pressure. I'll trade off a little harsher ride for
stability anytime. I don't even wait to see if it is going to happen now. I
just pump the rear tire up to max when I get it and get accustomed to that
being the "standard" ride characteristic.
--
Wayne
AH52
The road goes on forever
LaJolla
>my bike wrench later on he said the FLH's have an inherent high-speed
>instability in the back wheel (he called it "rear steering");
>the fix being some kind of bracket that bolts to the frame
>and the tranny; either that or slow the fuck down, he told me.
Did he mention to keep your eyes on the road ahead and not on the
trucks that you just passed? Suspension inconsistencies aside, it
sounds a tad like rider error to me. A bagger is a bagger is a
bagger. If you try to make it a sport bike, it'll get ugly.
By the way, I've been there, so I know of what I speak.
--
Curly LaJolla AH#117 BS#107 Curly#1 KOTC#5
93 FLHS Bark-O-Glide
"Smooth as a Stratoliner"
Sean
> On Wed, 27 Sep 2006 04:38:23 GMT, Sean <no....@no.spam> wrote:
> Suspension inconsistencies aside, it
> sounds a tad like rider error to me. A bagger is a bagger is a
> bagger. If you try to make it a sport bike, it'll get ugly.
I already let on that my driving was a bit aggressive -- any faster
and I'd have been over the edge tumbling ass over teakettle
into the rhubarb. However, a well designed bike shouldn't start
wobbling just because I lean into a curve (the boards weren't
even scraping -- it wasn't like those pix that kept showing up
recently of a guy on a RK laying it down in a shower of sparks).
Sean_Q_
'99 FLHTCUI
'04 Virago 250 (The Little Wannabe Harley That Could)
Tattooed Goddess
> Have a drink. Everyone have a drink. Drink, dammit!
>
I dunno about brackets, butt I'll take a Mimosa. Since it's only 11am
here right now, that oughta hit the spot. Thanks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Goddess...at work. Who's got some gum? <g>
Roger M
Snag wrote:
I'm not trying to start shit but where is the rubber on a '76 swing arm? My '81
and my buds '76 had Timkens (set #2 iirr) in the swing arm pivot. My old Shovel
used to do wallow/wobble thing and I had heard that it was because of the small
frame tubes flexing from all the weight of the drivetrain. Don't know for sure
but it scared the crap out of me.
Roger
Roger M
Sean wrote:
I thought you said the road was wavy? Harley reworked the ass of their
baggers with a bigger swing arm and stuff. I'm not sure of the exact
year they did it but I've ridden both and the biggest thing I can see
that they did was make the ride much worse.
Roger
TL Mitchell
>>Harley reworked the ass of their baggers with a bigger swing arm and
>>stuff. I'm not sure of the exact year they did it but I've ridden both and
>>the biggest thing I can see
that they did was make the ride much worse. <<
They increased the rear axle and got rid of the front air suspension on the
batwings in '02, wider rear tire, beefier swingarm and axle cam setup in
'04. Same setup on the '05s which IMO wasn't much better than my '00.
***However***, IMO, they found the right combo in '06 when they went to the
traditional dual cartridge setup on the front forks. The '07 doesn't do any
of the squirrely shit the other two did. YMMV.
112
Preacher
> that's when I noticed that I'd reached the sweeper leading
> to the bridge and I was going a little bit (well maybe more
> than a little bit) too fast,
Let me guess........ it was a right-hand sweeper, right?
I'm starting to see that as a trend. Everyone I know gets the wobbles
in *right* hand sweepers. A well known guy in here, Joe Mamma (Dave
Zeidler) was killed when his bike went into a death wobble... in a
RIGHT hand sweeper! Okay, it didn't help that he hit the left side
guard rail on the highway, but it was the wobble that put him there.
Preacher - AH #89
Preacher
> I thought you said the road was wavy? Harley reworked the ass of their
> baggers with a bigger swing arm and stuff. I'm not sure of the exact
> year they did it
In 2000 they went to a 1" front axle and in 2004 they went to the 1"
rear axle. As TL points out, in '02 they changed it a little, too.
Preacher - AH #89
Big Piper
So when wuz ridin' "sleeper" behind DP when he and Fins were
haulin'-ass up over Beartooth pass, it wuz good I let them get a ways
ahead of me? Just checkin'.
BigPiper
BS#246
pigdog
>
> Oh shee-it, I'm gonna crash, but I kept breaking (gently) and I
> finally got her under control just as I reached the white line 3"
> from the grass. Whew, that was a close one, I thought and when I told
> my bike wrench later on he said the FLH's have an inherent high-speed
> instability in the back wheel (he called it "rear steering");
> the fix being some kind of bracket that bolts to the frame
> and the tranny; either that or slow the fuck down, he told me.
>
> Sean_Q_
You mean this? http://www.bikernet.com/garage/truetrack.asp
or maybe this? http://www.stableright.com/index.htm
Snag
"Roger M" <rma...@adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:451AAA3C...@adelphia.net...
I'm thinking most of the wallow/wobble on mine is from incorrect pressure in
my tires . I suspect a porous casting on my rear wheel , this is the second
tire in a row I've had inflation problems . Another cause I've been told
about is an imbalance in the spring rates front to rear . I think part of it
is also frame flex as you said ...
Chilly
Sorry mang, the two times I've experienced a wobble on my 04 FLHT they were
both left hand sweepers. On one, the road was crappy, on the other, the
road was perfectly smooth. Both times I was going ~80. Don't know about
tire pressure.
That second one spoilt an otherwise gorgeous sunset ...
--
Chilly BS#226
Big Piper
Chilly wrote:
(snip)
>
> That second one spoilt an otherwise gorgeous sunset ...
>
>
> --
> Chilly BS#226
And perhaps a pair of otherwise pristine drawers!
BigPiper
Chilly
> Chilly wrote:
> (snip)
>>
>> That second one spoilt an otherwise gorgeous sunset ...
>
> And perhaps a pair of otherwise pristine drawers!
Heh, The second time was heading north on I65 in downtown Louisville, KY.,
just before the bridge going into Ohio. When I got off the bike, the seat
had a definate pucker in the vinyl.
--
Chilly
BS#226
Roger M
Snag wrote:
I don't know what it was but it slowed me down in the turns permanently on my
old bike.
Roger
bob blanchard
I've experienced that wobble on my 99FXR, my 2004 Ultra, and,
coincidentally, just today on my 2006 Ultra.
And it's always just as Sean described: a sweeping turn at 80 usually
over a bridge (or where there's just a couple of ridges in the
pavement). At 75 it doesn't happen. Heading straight at 80 it doesn't
happen.
Heavy fork oil in the FXR helped. I was hoping that it wouldn't occur
in the 2006 but it did.
Hey TL! Can I borrow your 2007?
Banker
TL (at work)
> Hey TL! Can I borrow your 2007?
Only if you stay in front of me <sfsf>
112
Old Crow
wrote:
> I shoulda been clearer . The bushing is for Old Crow's '82 Road Glide .
>I'm thinking most of the wallow/wobble on mine is from incorrect pressure in
>my tires . I suspect a porous casting on my rear wheel , this is the second
>tire in a row I've had inflation problems . Another cause I've been told
>about is an imbalance in the spring rates front to rear . I think part of it
>is also frame flex as you said ...
Tour Glide.<g>.
When I was looking for a new front wheel for the FLT, I discovered
that the early cast wheels were not rated for tubeless use. As far as
I can tell there is no difference in the construction and I've been
running mine tubeless with no problem, even though they aren't rated
for it. I was told the only difference was that Harley didn't test
the tube wheels for porosity. Guess you got a porous one, so I'll
pour us one...in a few weeks.
--
Old Crow
'82 FLTC-P "Miss Pearl"
'74 XLH chopper(gone but not forgotten)
BS#133, SENS, TOMKAT, MAMBM
"There's only 1 RE"
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
AH#70
My 06 did the rear end shuffle on 91n coming through Hartford CT. last
spring. We were running about 82 at the time.
There's a section of road here on my daily commute that's got the
perfect radius for getting my bike to do this at around 75-80. I've
been purposely putting the bike into this wallow on an almost daily
basis trying to see how I can best deal with the situation.
I found putting my weight forward and counter-steering in a more
aggressive cafe-racer stance fixes the problem without sacrificing
speed. Short of that, *gradually* decreasing speed tends to work well
too. Worst thing to do is to decrease speed rapidly or touch the
brakes. It doesn't really make the wobble worse, just tends to mess up
your lean angle and screws your position up in the corner too much.
Of course, the standard disclaimers apply here. ;-)
Bob La Londe
> I shoulda been clearer . The bushing is for Old Crow's '82 Road Glide .
> I'm thinking most of the wallow/wobble on mine is from incorrect pressure
> in my tires . I suspect a porous casting on my rear wheel , this is the
> second tire in a row I've had inflation problems . Another cause I've been
> told about is an imbalance in the spring rates front to rear . I think
> part of it is also frame flex as you said ...
>
Ah, I was gonna comment earlier that my old E-Glide handled best with max
presure in the air shocks front and rear, and max pressure in the tires.
Then I read all those comments about rubber bushings (which I never heard of
before) and decided to wait and see what others said.
--
Bob La Londe
Fishing Arizona & The Colorado River
Fishing Forums & Contests
http://www.YumaBassMan.com
bob blanchard
>
> I found putting my weight forward and counter-steering in a more
> aggressive cafe-racer stance fixes the problem without sacrificing
> speed. Short of that, *gradually* decreasing speed tends to work well
> too. Worst thing to do is to decrease speed rapidly or touch the
> brakes. It doesn't really make the wobble worse, just tends to mess up
> your lean angle and screws your position up in the corner too much.
Eggzactly what I try to do also. And I find that it works.
>
> Of course, the standard disclaimers apply here. ;-)
Yeah right.
Banker
Sean
> Let me guess........ it was a right-hand sweeper, right?
No, a curve to the left, starting up a rise to the bridge.
Sean_Q_
Odinn
> On Wed, 27 Sep 2006 04:38:23 GMT, Sean <no....@no.spam> wrote:
>
>> around it (even more ungood) until I must have been doing nearly
>> 80 as I watched both of them dwindle to dots in my mirrors;
>> that's when I noticed that I'd reached the sweeper leading
>> to the bridge and I was going a little bit (well maybe more
>> than a little bit) too fast, and just as I'm countersteering
>> like mad to lean into the curve I reach some "waves" in the road
>> (this is in a boggy area where some stretches of asphalt have
>> sunk more than others, the effect being like long shallow
>> waves at sea) and suddenly my front end starts to wobble.
>
> and their fine engineers.
>
> or do a google search on wobble - Harley you will see they do not
> wobble
>
> or ASK RE
>
> <g>
>
Mine wobbled when I had 36 PSI or less in the rear, but with 38-40 PSI
in the rear, it doesn't wobble.
--
Odinn
RCOS #7 SENS BS #154
Odinn
> at or above 80 mph, I solved the wobble issue in aug '02
I have a new wobble issue with my ankle, and it's related to the bike :)
Well, I'm out of here for the remainder of the week, have to pick up my
sister from the airport in a couple of hours and then I'm off to
Mississippi to handle the final funeral arrangements for my mom who's
funeral is on Wed.
Kestrel
>I'm off to
>Mississippi to handle the final funeral arrangements for my mom who's
>funeral is on Wed.
Sorry to hear of your moms passing bud. My and Joannes deapest
sympathies.
Jimbo #63 The Calamari riding Asshole (tm)
Remove my motorcycle to reply