Hi there

A good mate recently bought a 2008 Electra Glide Ultra Classic with about 20,000k's on the clock. the bike has been extremely well looked after. He has been riding for years and is very experienced but doesn't have a great deal of mechanical experience so he bounced the question off me and I decided to post it here.

Amongst the all the accessories fitted it has a True-Track system as well, which from what I've read is supposed to address the issue below.

 

A couple of times going through corners at 90kmh+ he's experienced the bike wobbling and it's cutting down his confidence in the bike. Tyres are 80% inflated correctly. Rear suspension is inflated to 25psi and as I said (I haven't looked under the bike myself yet) it has the true-track system installed. On a recent trip to Adelaide on a wet straight stretch of road its started to wobble (which worries me)... He did mention that one time with a pillion on the back and riding off a footpath while going over the kerb the bike bottomed out pretty severely but that's all he can think of.

I had a 2009 Electra Glide which was stable as a rock on straights, corners, left, right, slow fast so I've never experienced the problem.

Anyone else with a bagger been through this dilemma and sorted it out?

Cheers

 

 

This bike is pre the new frames that were on 09 models so do not handle like the late model bikes. Seems very exsessive to have 25psi in the rear shocks without knowing his weight or what he is carrying as we did USA AND Canada on FULLY loaded ultras with rider and pax and never went over 20psi without bottoming out. To much air in the rear shock will alter the stance of the bike putting more weight on the front end reducing the trail making it more nervous to steer. Tell him to drop the pressure down to 12-15psi with the same load on the same bend and see what he thinks

Hi there

 

True that, but I think he's around 110 -15 kg's and had luggage if that's any sort of a guide.

 

Cheers

Tell him to dump all the baggage weight, lower the shock pressure to what was mentioned and have a run. What did you use to determine the 25psi in the shock in the first instance?

 Recently my wife and I traveled over in the States on my 08 Ultra, with the saddlebags full and the topbox and a small bag occy strapped to the packrack on the topbox. We had a full load 2 up. The bloke at Dream machines of Texas (Big Will)) recommended 18-20 lbs in the shocks using the little HD. hand pump. And apart from a few very rough roads it was spot on.

Hi there

 

So far so good. Apart from the rear suspension units being dropped from 25psi to 15 psi I noticed the rear drive belt had about an inch of deflection at a number of spots around the belt. Adjusted it to the correct tension and I'm wondering if that could contribute to the "wobble" he was experiencing??

 

Cheers

If he still experiences any wobble , apparently worn swing arm bushes can contribute to a wallowing rear end , it has been mentioned here abouts before and included possible fixes , including using cut down car bushes too ?

Conmore - Have you sold your Ultra?

When I had my 2008 Street Glide I never had any wobbles but I also ran 35psi - 40 psi in the rear shocks and kept the tyres at the correct inflation. Scotti's post is worth exploring - I think Falcon bushes fit easily?

My current ride is a 2012 Street Glide and I run the same shock pressure and recommended tyre pressures and all is good with no wobbles so far (up to 170km/h)

I had the same problem with my 2010 Streety on a trip to Brisvegas, I had the topbox attached and she was packed to the gills.... It happened passing two road train at very high speed

(110k could be 17 too) and it frightened the crap out of me.....I even bought a True track from US, now gathering dust, but never put it on as I found out that the new frames had solved the original problem...

After much research, I determined that it was due to the overloading of the panniers and the topbox.

As the topbox is behind the rear axle, and with the wind diverting over my head by my 8 inch windvest windscreen and hitting the topbox, the wind dynamics of the bike were askew....

I have since been faster on straits and sweeping bends with absolutely no problems and it's like she is on rails.....

Hope this helps....j

Suggest that he adjusts the steering neck bearings to a fall away of 1 1/2 or 2 turns of the front forks while the bike is off the ground. This service is usually done at the 40k service but it's not unreasonable to need be done earlier.

I just set mine at the 40k service and the handling improved immensely.

Bagger wobble is a current topic in the North American HD forum (touring bike section) started by "porschemann" a race car designer. Jack up your bike so the weight is off the rear wheel and wiggle your back wheel (belt off is best). Most times it is actually the swing arm bearings and bushings are worn. Hd puts in cheap ones and as a result wear out quickly, thus freeplay is amplified over the length of the swing arm. Replace them with Aurora Bearings ( Illinois U.S.A) part #GE25ET-2RS which is a double sealed Teflon lined bearing designed for race cars and has about a 30,000 lb stress factor. Combine this with Sta-Bo- lizer polyurethane bushing inserts and your "bagger wobble" should be solved and the bike becomes well "planted" This thread covers all models that this bearing fits and I highly recommend you read it. This is only a very small readers digest version of it but I will be doing a pre-emptive strike and changing them this winter!