speed wobble

[stu7698]

hi all i have got dyna superglide sport fxdx 1450 and when i go over a certain speed i should not be doing the front end is all over the place shaking its head and nearly giving me a tank slapper and a heart attack any ideas fron yu guys in the know would be appreciated

[Scotty]

Check the headstock nut as per manual, make sure its as tight as it should be.
Check the tyre, make sure its good all round.
Get the front of the bike off the floor and make sure the headstock bearings are OK
Make sure all fork pinch bolts are tight.
Check wheel spindle nut is tight.

Just check everything

[grbrown]

Originally Posted by Scotty

Just check everything

....including tyre pressures, both ends.

A further possibility is that as you go faster, you are gripping the bars tighter. I had handling problems on my first Harley, until I discovered ear plugs! That is not as daft as it sounds, because as the noise level increases and you get increasingly buffeted, you may be tensing your arm muscles. Ear plugs reduce noise levels hence tension. This is especially relevant if you have a very upright riding position.

[devon.john]

follow Scottys advice Ive never had a problem with speed wobble, i always fit my own tyres and have never had them balanced what tyres are you running?
there was an issue with head bearings on the streetbob last year
do a full check as scotty and GR sugested
good luck

john

[Compo48]

Had exactly the same problems on my Heritage. Turned out to be loose spokes on the rear wheel. Had them tightened a couple of times, then finally found four of the spokes broken.

Had the wheels relaced with stainless steel spokes and all seems fine now (although I've only done 700 miles since the rebuild).

So Stu, if you have spoked wheels this could be your problem. You should be able to tell just by wiggling the spokes.

Neil

[simonDyna]

Check everything the guys say.

Then....have a really good look at the rear shocks. They may be on the way out. A lot of the FXDX speed wobbles are due to its reletively high neck and rear end. The rear shocks are longer than most other harleys and they do some odd things things at speed.

When you wind it up, the rear shocks compress slightly. After they have compressed, they then obviously uncompress and throw weight onto the front which in turn throws it back to level out. It may well be that bit that starts the wobble. After the wobble starts it all goes pear shaped quickly.

This doesnt really happen on the other dynas as much simply because the back end is lower. The FXDX is the same bike, same front end but the overall geometry is different.

Have a look at the FXDX Project thread, post 13. It mentions this problem.

[Harleyrider1450]

Had the very same problem on my 2000 Glide , anything over the ton and it tried all ways to thro me off, Turned out to be incorrect front tyre presure, so a new tyre was fitted and solved the problem, one other thing i just lowered the back end by 45mm and now it handles even better. ( by the way I can say the ton cos i live in Belgium)