After putting 18" apes on my bike I get real bad front end sway at speeds around 80 or so. Is there any way to cure this?

 

my 06 fxdbi did the same thing check rear wheel to swing arm aliment

 

Do you have a windshield installed?

 

a sway? how is your fall away? your wheels balanced? i am not sure how bars woudl cause this

 

no windshield and i never noticed it until i put the apes on it I thought that maybe I was catching more wind with my arms up higher. I don't know what you mean by fall away but at high speed the front end sways left and right until i reduce speed

 

You might be right about your new riding position. Your body makes for a pretty good sail at 80 mph. If you also had a mechanical problem it might exaggerate the sway.

 

Try a pair of ear plugs. I am not joking! A possibility, which I have experienced, is that as the noise level increases with speed, you may be tensing against the wind blast. So the sway may be because your arms are stiffening against the blast. Using ear plugs will help you relax by reducing the noise you experience, also the tension in your arms. You can get plugs from your local shooting shop, possibly bike dealer. They cost pennies.

 

I have the same thing going on after adding forward controls on my 2009 FXDC, except mine is more like a wobble. I change to a Sundowner solo seat which raised my riding position (unexpected and not liked) and it seems to make it less noticable. I have been checking into fork brace like one made by Superbrace.com . It is supposed to help, just a thought hope it helps.

 

Interesting concept - I notice a different riding experience when switching between my 3/4 and 1/2 helmets.

 

Agree 100%. Depending on riding conditions, listening to my ipod (wish I could remember the name of the earplugs) very much changes the perception of the ride.

Won't ride with them in NY (too much going on) but out west where the roads are wide open it's great.