by Jan Knobbe

Does you bike have a wobble? Is it scary to ride? Make ya nervous? Can you turn in one direction better than the other? There are multiple areas on the bike to look into in order to determine how to fix this issue. One of the main reasons is because the alignment is most likely off. Harley Davison’s are known to come off the assembly line with the alignment off. It may be off just a bit, but it will get
worse over time and put wear and tear on other parts of the motorcycle. The reason they are off is because all of them are heavy on the left side of the motor. Think about it. The primary and swing arm are all one unit and where do they sit? On the left side.

Neck bearings and swing adjustments can also cause a speed wobble. More commonly know as the “death wobble”. This is due to the bearing not being tight enough allowing it to rock back and forth within the neck. All bikes 2014 and later do not have a specified torque for the neck which makes this more common. One of the issues we are finding more often is the rear axle alignment not being set
properly. With the new eccentric style axles, the parts seem to have excessive wear or to wear out completely which causes the rear wheel to be misaligned. This leads to the bike “dog walking”.

Additionally, as you put more and more miles on your bike the rear swing arm bushings will get worn. When this happens, it allows play in the swing arm in a side-to-side motion. This is more commonly felt when you hit a bump going around a turn (think about hwy 70 and hwy 61 overpass). As bearings get worn you’ll notice the rear shocks over working. This will feel like bottoming or topping out, but in actuality it could be the bearings and not the shocks. One more area to look at. Be sure to have your front forks properly serviced and aligned in order to keep your front suspension tracking properly. When the oil
breaks down it dampens at different rates and allows one shock to dampen faster than the other leading to a wobble in the front end. Misaligned forks can also have the same effect.

Next time you are out enjoying your ride, think about the above. If you are experiencing any sort of wobble, when is it happening? How, exactly does it feel? When does it happen? In the turns; at higher speeds; when you hit a bump? Make a mental note or write it down. That way when you come by to ask us to fix you bike our technicians have an understanding of what to look at. We want your riding experience to exhilarating and fun and most importantly, safe.