Foul handling RK

[verminator]

My 97 RK seems to be handling like a pig on a skate board. I was running Dunlops but when time came to change lots of people said get Venoms.
I did and its handled crap ever since. It feels like the front end not the back and weaves and wobbles on a fast long corners. I have 15lbs of air in the front suspension and 10lbs in the rear as advised. 36lbs in the front and rear tyres. Cant feel any play in the head bearings and the wheel bearings are fine. The tyres have done about 2k miles. It seems to be getting worse. As soon as you get a leg on round a fast sweeper the front gets a pretty scary wobble on. Any ideas?

[robbiemac]

Check your spokes (if you have them) and swing arm rubbers. I assume that the wheels are aligned ok here.

[chilly]

After hrs of trying stuff on my FXR it turned out to be the headstock bearings being a tad to tight , i had adjusted them so as the handlebars flop as on my Brit bikes + no play on the bearings,still no good , then slackened them off a tad more than i thought was ok , bingo ,been alright ever since .

Thanks to Phil in Yank land for the heads up on this one .

Worked for me but maybe not your problem , worth another look tho .

Good luck

Chill

[Limey_Dave]

Front should be 38 and Rear 44.

FLHR / I / CI Road King / Classic (1994 - 2003) | Avon Tyres

[Kernow]

Originally Posted by verminator

My 97 RK seems to be handling like a pig on a skate board. I was running Dunlops but when time came to change lots of people said get Venoms.
I did and its handled crap ever since. It feels like the front end not the back and weaves and wobbles on a fast long corners. I have 15lbs of air in the front suspension and 10lbs in the rear as advised. 36lbs in the front and rear tyres. Cant feel any play in the head bearings and the wheel bearings are fine. The tyres have done about 2k miles. It seems to be getting worse. As soon as you get a leg on round a fast sweeper the front gets a pretty scary wobble on. Any ideas?

Your tyres are well under pressure. Venoms require far more than dunlops. Go onto their website put in your bike and it will tell you what it should be. I reckon at least 10psi down on the rear!

[grbrown]

Originally Posted by verminator

Any ideas?

Yup! You've got probably the best Harley tyres on the planet. We do our best to let new owners know about using higher tyre pressures.....

.....as advised above and specified by Avon themselves.

Solo I use 38F/44R; two-up and fully loaded for that trans-Continental tour 44F/50R.

[Mr B]

In your case, I'd say tyre pressures are the first thing to look at.

Brian.

[casbar]

Interesting, I've just had Avon Cobras fitted to my 07 Heritage, the indie who fitted them, told me, tyre pressure should be 32 front, 36 Rear. I've just checked the Avon site, who say 38 front, 44 Rear.

Any views which is right, guess its the Avon site

[Ming the Merciless]

Originally Posted by casbar

Any views which is right, guess its the Avon site

You've answered your own question, Rob! I use Avon recommended pressures in my Venoms and it works for me.

[Ian y]

Originally Posted by verminator

My 97 RK seems to be handling like a pig on a skate board. I was running Dunlops but when time came to change lots of people said get Venoms.
I did and its handled crap ever since. It feels like the front end not the back and weaves and wobbles on a fast long corners. I have 15lbs of air in the front suspension and 10lbs in the rear as advised. 36lbs in the front and rear tyres. Cant feel any play in the head bearings and the wheel bearings are fine. The tyres have done about 2k miles. It seems to be getting worse. As soon as you get a leg on round a fast sweeper the front gets a pretty scary wobble on. Any ideas?

I used Avon tyres for years on my Harleys and would never had a bad word said about them but I had exactly the same issues you are having on my 2004 RK about 4 years ago . I went through everything on the bike and even fitted a stabiliser and this made the situation worse . I changed the tyres for another set of Avons before going on a trip to Faro and they started to break up in the heat so imediately changed them on returning for a set of Metzlers and never looked back . The transformation was amazing especially when overtaking , cornering and crossing white lines which used to make the Avons very twitchy.
Not sure if this is relavant but I always fit my own tyres and balance the wheels and found Avons very easy to fit because the sidewalls seem to be quite flexible but the Mezlers are bastards and really are 2 man job because the sidewalls dont seem to flex at all.
I am only giving you my opinion on what happpend to me so I would start by checking everything on the bike as recomended to make sure you do not have another reason for your handling problem .