Does your bagger handle like a drunken camel in a sand storm?

[HogBag]

Great bikes the xr's my sons mate asked me what reliable dirt bike to buy. My advice was a xr Honda and he brought a yamaha 450 4stroke after two years  it needed a complet rebuild 4 grand later he traded it on a xr400 and has been happy ever since.

[Admiral Akbar]

Speaking of "Isolastic", has anyone tried the neoprene filled replacement engine links or "turnbuckles" sold by the velva ride people or V-Thunder or competition cams? Obviously using these would completely remove the metal to metal link between drivetrain and frame but would they be stiff enough to support the engine in both the vertical and lateral planes? Could these be the Holy Grail of FL smoothness? These should prove to be interesting if they don't adversely affect handling and contibute to the camel contractions.

Don't know.. have a set that I'm thinking about using on and FXR.. The material is specially formulated urethane, BTW and not neoprene.

mY road king handled badly until i spent 139.95 on a progressive stablizer.Most retail shops want 199.95 but American Classic or Eastern Performance on the web sells the kit for 139.95 to your door.Takes about a hour to install and really fixed my problem.Were ever i aim the bike in the corners or high straight away speeds the bike handles flawless and follows through with no upset..

Sounds like a good fix but the point of this thread is to do the same thing for less money. Always make sure the components you have are up to date and in good condition before spending money on some after market fix.

Great bikes the xr's my sons mate asked me what reliable dirt bike to buy. My advice was a xr Honda and he brought a yamaha 450 4stroke after two years  it needed a complet rebuild 4 grand later he traded it on a xr400 and has been happy ever since.

Newer bikes don't last but they handle better and are much lighter.. XR400s are pretty much bullet proof if you take care of them,,

Max

[DrSpencer]

Can the new frame (2009-2011) Touring bikes benefit from using a Glide Pro, etc., or is this mod only useful for earlier year models?
Thanks

[HogBag]

Can the new frame (2009-2011) Touring bikes benefit from using a Glide Pro, etc., or is this mod only useful for earlier year models?
Thanks

Interesting question. 
Does the new 09 up chassis have the same donuts as the pre 08 bikes.

[Admiral Akbar]

Nope they are different.. Glidepro has a prototype version of donuts for 09 up bikes. Not sure if it's been released yet.

Max

[oldguy]

I talked to Jake the other day and ordered the setup for my 09. He said they are trickling in and I should get mine next week. I also have the true track on, probably leave it on when I get the glide pro. Can't hurt.

[HogBag]

Does your 09 handle like a drunken camel. True track and glidepro ?

[oldguy]

Does your 09 handle like a drunken camel. True track and glidepro ?

Actually, I didn't have a reason for putting it on...it's just that if there is a way to make my bike handle better and be safer, I want it. You never know what you didn't have until you get it!

[HogBag]

Its better to be safe than sorry
I went the same way with my 07 bike. Progressive brace, Progressive heavy fork springs, Progressive 416 air shocks with 50 psi, Made a huge difference and turned my bike from a mid speed cruiser to a high speed mile eater.

[HarleyFranco]

Ok, I finally got around to changing the right side donut, it was more worn than the left side, over .040 difference between the old and the new.'

Frank

[HogBag]

Frank
How many miles on the donuts ( bike)

[HarleyFranco]

Over 130k on the bike now.  Problem started when the dealer installed a new transmission under warranty, not sure why they wouldn't have replaced the donuts then.  I'll know better how the bike handles tomorrow when I ride to work.  But with just the one donut it helped alot.

Frank

[HarleyFranco]

Ok, after 140 miles the ride was noticably improved.  Bike wasn't dancing on the concrete grooves like before.  When I would ride 2 up never had a problem but now one up feels like 2 up.  Nice and solid.  Still need a little more adjusting in the steering head bearings though.
But overall much better ride.

Frank

[77S-Glide]

welp i tried the "MaxMod" today and my shim measured right at .037. the FLHX has well over 40k on it and it was wallowing pretty good (scary) when pushed hard in curves. didn't really notice a problem in town or under about 50-60mph but over that it would undulate pretty good. it seems to have improved it in the 50-70% range but i believe i also have an issue with the steering head bearings needing adjusted and the rear E-3 tire is pretty squared off and nearing the end of it's life. i guess what surprised me most was the vibration....or lack there of. one would think tightening up the bushings would cause an increase in vibrations but mine did the exact opposite. not to any great degree but the vibrations are noticibly less. like Max said..."So Easy a Caveman Can Do It", the cost was ZERO and it took a total of about 30-45 min!!! any time you can improve a Harley for ZERO cost it's  blessing. "Thanks Max"!!!  anyway, just wanted to report on my experience.
Dick

[coastie56]

Second the Thank You to Max. Really am able to enjoy the ride more  now that the bike handles like it did new. Jungleman also changed out the doughnuts and says his EGlide handles the rain grooves in Detroit better also.

[Admiral Akbar]

You guys are welcome.. Also don't underestimate the ill handling caused by a bad tire for sure.. On may favorite test sweeper, the road king danced real well at 80 when the Michelin was down to the wear bar.. Installed a Pirelli Night dragon and at 90 the was saying, "Hey I still got plenty more ground clearance"     Like that tire.. The e3?  IMO not as good as the Michelin or the Pirelli but I really need to try a set Pirelli on the EGC.. Look forward to when Michelin starts making Commanders again.. 

Max

[DrSpencer]

.

[boooby1744]

I've always liked their stuff:
     www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=9275]http://www.[url=http://www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=9275]www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=9275[/url]

[Admiral Akbar]

You link is broken..

http://www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=9275

While ii couple help with front end stiffness, this statement is a bit of an exaggeration..

The Custom Cycle Engineering FLH Touring model billet aluminium top triple tree will improve the handling of pre-2009 models by 100 percent, and that of post-2009 models by 20-30 percent, in my estimation.

Making sure that the fork caps on the stockers are tight probably does about the same.. 

Max

[DrSpencer]

Will any of these mods benefit a 2011 Touring bike, or are they primarily for 2008 and older?
Thanks

[Admiral Akbar]

It definitely a possibility.. I've talked to at least 3 different people with 09 or later that said they had the wobble.. All have them had been to the dealer more than once with the problem.. On the later bikes there are 2 sets of donuts to deal with and unfortunately no way to adjust the front motor mount if the alignment is off.

Jake at glide-pro was busy working on his fix of 09-ups and talkin' to dealers when I picked up my 07..

Max

[DrSpencer]

It definitely a possibility.. I've talked to at least 3 different people with 09 or later that said they had the wobble.. All have them had been to the dealer more than once with the problem.. On the later bikes there are 2 sets of donuts to deal with and unfortunately no way to adjust the front motor mount if the alignment is off.

Jake at glide-pro was busy working on his fix of 09-ups and talkin' to dealers when I picked up my 07..

Max

My 2011 Street Glide doesn't seem as sure-footed in 75-80 MPH sweepers as it does in all other riding conditions. In high speed corners, it gives a very slight, uneasy, wobbling feeling.

Would this be considered 'Bagger Wobble', or is that condition much more obvious.

Thanks

[HogBag]

The early bagger wobble is more like a death wobble with out the tank slapper effect. Its very scary the first time it happens because its normally mid way through a high speed sweeper at 70 + mph. Its not uncontrollable but very intimidating to say the least. The first time it happened to me I stopped the bike thinking I had a flat back tyre or a busted frame.     

[DrSpencer]

The early bagger wobble is more like a death wobble with out the tank slapper effect. Its very scary the first time it happens because its normally mid way through a high speed sweeper at 70 + mph. Its not uncontrollable but very intimidating to say the least. The first time it happened to me I stopped the bike thinking I had a flat back tyre or a busted frame.   

That doesn't describe my 2011 Street Glide, at all.

With regard to my slight wobble/shimmy, am I simply experiencing normal HD performance from my bike in 75-80 MPH sweepers?

Thanks

[Admiral Akbar]

That doesn't describe my 2011 Street Glide, at all.

Well I wouldn't rule it out.. At 70 or higher is the basis for this discussion.. There are different levels from a nice little rumba to a full out Tahitian Dance.. All bikes will do it to some extent.. When things are shaken enough that your Tassels start are falling off, you got problems..

Max