I recently had new Michelin Commanders fitted to my 2004 Road King. I notice that the new tyres have a somewhat more rounded profile than the old Metzeler Marathons had; I suspect the Metzelers had done a few miles. The current tyres have now done approx 300km

Anyways, what I have noticed most is that when getting up to speeds over 100km/h the bike seems a little skittish & when you really hammer it at around 140km/h I get a little bit of a weave now and again. Nothing too dramatic, just a bit annoying & everso mildly unnerving.

On the plus side, the bike does tip into corners a little more easily than it used to on the old rubber.

Is this just because of the more rounded profile on the new tyres & it will likely settle in a bit more as they wear down or, is it possible that someone screwed up the alignment or something when the wheels went back on??

Just curious as the bike has gone from extremely stable at speed to a little nervous at speed & I'm not sure I like the feeling all that much.

Thanks in advance for any comment or advice

Did you replace with the same aspect tyre, eg 65 or 60?

She's done 85,000km of which I've done about 7000km since I purchased her.

I have no idea what fork mods may have been done; I suspect none since the rear shocks are standard OEM.

She is due a service in about 1000km, what weight fork oil would you recommend trying?

Thanks to you both Pauly & China,

As I mentioned, I'm due a service shortly (not thru a dealer either) so, might get headstem bearing replaced & at the very least, change the fork oil. I had thought about going with a set of progressive fork springs; relatively inexpensive option, any thoughts?

I went this route on a K100RS Beemer a number of years ago & was very impressed at the improvement; I agree, the front fork springs are probably a little tired by now...

Running 38 - 40Psi in the rear & 36-38Psi in the front; I intend to experiment a little within that range (it was what the tyre fitter & michelin recommend).

I know the Metzelers ran stupid high pressures but, I don't believe these do.

Also playing around with rear shock air pressures; I reset it to 5Psi the other day; may yet try it with zero. I weigh 100kegs..... 

Okay, time for a bit of an update & to seek further guidance if possible..

Discussed my issues with my local mechanic yesterday & bike went in today for a checkover. Mechanic took the bike for a run; he agrees the bike is not as stable as it should be & it just doesn't feel right. Now, bear in mind here with what I say next, that they fitted me in to do these checks with a busy workshop & they didn't charge me for their time.

So, put it up on a jack, checked rear wheel bearing, swing arm bearing rear engine mount, front engine mount, front wheel bearing, steering head bearing & fork spring static sag.

The result of this thorough check was that the front engine mount is shagged however, he doesn't believe that this is the cause of the handling issues. Minor, minor contributor perhaps but, not causing the issues we are experiencing. Next thing we do is bounce the rear end around, there is a knocking sound... something is definitely loose but, in the short time he had left he wasn't able to diagnose what is knocking or loose. His major suspicion is stuffed rear shock or shock mount (i.e. bushing, I think).

The upshot is, it's booked in next week to have the front engine mount replaced & for them to have another long look at the back end to figure out if something is loose or whether there is something wrong with the rear shock(s). They are the original showa air shocks, they've got 85,000km on them. They feel fine, soak up bumps, aren't real bouncy & don't seem to make any strange noises when riding along but, when we bounce those suckers static, there is a very loud & strange knocking sound somewhere down the back end.

Any thoughts, is there anything else that would indicate stuffed rear shocks that perhaps I have noticed but, not realised the symptom/cause?

Thanks again in advance for any input

Sounds like the bike shop are actually doing the right thing .

G'day Outcast
I'm going through the same problem on my Electraglide, had new Dunlops fitted at you know where and some weird handling issues since.
Same tyres that I've always run.
Taking it to Prong to see what he finds ?
Be interesting to see what comes up with yours?

Know what you mean, wallowing around aint much fun!
Hope it's a simple fix for you once you have checked all the alignment.

Today the bike was in at the workshop for a service, replacement front motor mount & a search for any other loose bits that might be causing problems..

A few things were discovered & fixed as follows:

Front Wheel - spacers were installed on the wrong sides which was causing my front brakes to bind. I assume it probably screwed with the alignment of the front wheel in relation to the rear? If this is the case, I assume that this probably wasn't helping my handling exactly? Don't know when this occurred, could have been when the new front tyre was fitted & the wheel refitted to the bike I guess?

Front Motor Mount - well & truly stuffed, huge split in it, replaced with a new one. Again, I presume this probably wasn't helping.

Swing Arm bracket - Mechanic discovered that lower bolt on the RHS bracket was loose. I presume this might have been permitting some sideways movement in the swing arm mount. Not enough to cause major, major issues but, perhaps just enough to upset the handling a bit.

So, upshot was I took the bike for a short blast after picking it up & first impression is that it is in fact handling better. Too early to say it's all sorted but, hoping to get out for a longer blast tomorrow & back up onto the tablelands & range road where I really have noticed the edginess in the handling.

Fingers crossed, now all sorted... I am contemplating some kind of brace for the back end but, the price is a little scary & I have been spending waaaaaay to much sorting out little problems on this bike... kinda over spending money right now " border="0" src="/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/_default/emoticons/smile.gif" />

I fitted a TrueTrack to my FLHT and made a world of difference, Mr lizzard has done a decent home made version in the past, might pay to ask him?
I'll be taking this bike in to get the same things looked at in Aug as it will be up for sale and I wanna pass it on all sorted.
I'm guessing Steve at WL did your tyres for you, perhaps they have an apprentice working on the job that's not putting things back together in the right order?
A steering damper might be worth looking at?
Sounds like your on your way to getting it sorted Outcast !

Took it for a run up the range the other day; seems significantly better in the handling department...

Not really sure who was responsible for putting the wheel spacers on the wrong side; I know it wasn't me coz I don't take the friggin wheel off... No-ones gonna admit doing it so, I'll just let it go I guess...

I'm considering the True Track or Progressive link option.... not sure which way to go.. There is also the Glide Pro swing arm upgrade option... Interested in hearing which way people have gone & what they have experienced.... I may also consider the steering damper... Sol, pardon my ignorance but, who is Mr Lizzard?

Will ride it for a few months & see whether I think it is cured or just improved over what it had recently become... it's certainly not skittish like it was before going into the workshop but, it's hard to tell if it's back where it was before I thought it became skittish... if ya get what I mean..

I was guessing you took the bike to Prong to get it sorted at Cairns Performance Motorcycles, Jim Lizzard is the other bloke who works there.
My true track worked great but it does bottom out on some speed humps and it does bolt through the sump plate so you have to watch that!

Just out of interest Outcast what groups do you ride with?

Good one, probably met you on a run before..ex 3RAR meself.

Gday fellas, thought I might add my two bobs worth to this one..... I agree with china in that the bike tends to jump to either left or right depending on the apex of the bump or pothole you hit! though this is my second set of commander two's and like how it tips into corners easier, and rolls better in the parking lot or doing 3 point turns in the confined space of the home garage.... bear in mind that these tyres don't have the same larger footprint that dunlops do, ie a much smaller piece of rubber on the road so tend to be a bit more skittish ..... and I agree that they can make the rider feel the same..... keep your tyre pressures correct too!

Thanks for that Canetoad,

The bike's handling has improved since being gone over in the work shop but, there is a mysterious knocking sound from the right rear of the bike (when bounced up and down whilst stopped) & it feels a bit mushy when going round right handers at any speed.. kinda that flat tyre feeling except the tyre ain't flat & you don't get it in left handers. I don't notice any knocking sound when I'm motoring around nor do I particularly notice poor suspension performance when going over bumps but, I have a sneaking suspicion that new rear shocks might be in order.

I'm tossing up whether I can afford progressive fork springs, progressive air adjustable shocks & the progressive touring link to tighten her up all round..

Hi Outcast,

Just a thought regarding the rear shocks, I was talking to a bloke who took off his OEM rear airshocks and fitted OEM progressive spring shocks and said he had cut his hard cornering wobbles down and had improved his handling immensely, I would think getting some aftermarket good quality rear shocks would make a great improvement over OEM ones too!

So, the latest on dealing with my handling issues; my mechanic took the bike for another ride & came back shaking his head. Got out a ruler, straightened the front wheel & measured from outside of each hand grip to centre of tank. Lo & behold, the left side is in by 3cm over the right side. His thoughts, the bike has been dropped at some point in its life & bent the handle bars. They checked everything else that might have been damaged in a crash & all is good; just the handlebars.

Anyways, they comment that the bent handlebars just might be throwing me out a little on positioning myself on the bike which, could be adding to the odd feeling in the bike.

Long story short, today they put on 12" apes for me & the bike is transformed. Better, more relaxed riding position, better control through the handlebars (particularly at low speed - car park type work) & the bike just feels so, so, so much better in every way... Who would have thought that just bent handlebars could stuff with the handling so much.

I went for a blast this afternoon & I am back in love with this bike after tearing my hair out for the past few months... Bonus, the bike looks real good with the apes as well; will post pics soon

Nice outcome