Has anybody experienced that? Here are the symptoms:

If I let go of the handlebars when riding in a straight line above 40 mph on a flat smooth road, the handlebars wobble really bad to the point the bike starts zigzagging. As soon as I put my fingers back on the grips, the wobble disappears.

I recently added a fork brace to my XL1200Low and after that, I now have this wobble. Otherwise my bike is all stock.

 

Didn't have the wobble before?

Kind of ironic, cause the brace stiffens the front end. My guess is something was out of line or binding when you torqued it down.

What type of brace is it? Superbrace? RSD?

Try loosening it up, settling the suspension, make sure the wheel is straight by holding the tire between your legs and adjust the handlebars.

Then torque it down to spec.

 

Before you fitted the brace, the forks could twist a little and absorb wobbles. The brace has stiffened things up, so any wobble has nowhere to go! Front forks are far from a perfect solution to providing suspension and steering, so what you describe is not unusual - just keep your hands on the bars!

Joking aside, do as hutch suggests. Wobbles at the front can sometimes start at the back, so check tyre pressures and tread depths. If your tyres are getting low, or are under pressure, they can make any wobble worst. Also check neck bearings, as they are a further possible source. If either tyre is well worn, replace with new.

 

Why would you add a brace if there were no issues to begin with? It is a sporty not a xlfwgyz with tons of stuff on it that changes the dynamics of it.

Take the brace off and enjoy the ride.....

 

Try what hutch08 said. That's the way I installed the brace on my '02 and I had no issues at all.

 

Adjust your neck bearings/handle bar fall away according to the manual. They are prob a touch too loose and the fork brace brought that out.

 

As was previosly mentioned, a front-end wobble often originates w/a problem from the rear. After doing what Hutch and Senor Brown suggested, double check the rear-wheel alignment in the swingarm, and the alignment between the front/rear wheels. Make sure you don' thave any side-side play in the swingarm, and that your tire pressures are OK.

 

Also when you install a fork brace it's a good idea to put the bike on a jack and loosen the axle and forks in the triple tree then TQ the fork brace down and then tighten the axle and forks in the triple tree!

 

Thanks for the information and diagnosis. I might be too mechanically challenged to know how to definitely fix the issue. Anyway here's a pic of the brace. I got it from ebay.

I'll remove the brace and ride just to make sure the brace is the culprit. I am willing to take it to the shop and have them re-install it and test it. But if the wobble proves expensive to fix with the brace on, then I'm going with Odhar's recommendation.

Thanks again!