So I was out running around today and I had a weird experience. My rear end felt as if it was sliding away from me. I was on the freeway and figured it was just the wind because it was pretty damn windy, but even leaning against what felt like a slide it still seemed as if it was getting away from me. Once I hit town I felt it less often but it was still there even riding straight ahead. It's a feeling I've never felt before unless I was riding in some rain which it wasn't wet out. I am confused and could use some insight into what you guys think may be the culprit. Maybe just wind pushing my little sportster around or got some rear tire problems/adjustments to find. Thanks guys

 

Check your tyre pressures. During the winter months all manner of stuff can stick to the road, you may have come across something slippery, or the surface is very smooth and damp.

 

I've felt that on bikes, was low pressure in the tire. If the tire pressure is ok, I'd check:

for loose spokes if the wheel has them
Loose shock bolts
belt tension - if it's real loose, axle might be loose and sliding back and forth - which could ruin the adjusters on the end of the swingarm - could cause wheel mis-alignment, too.

If it's a radial tire, slight chance it's delaminating inside and the tire is distorting, but that should give an uneven, bumpy feeling.

Require jacking the wheel off the ground to check swingarm play:
cracked swingarm - would be at the pivot end, unusual on a sporty from what I've heard
failed swingarm bearing - very unlikely the spherical bearings in a sporty swingarm would fail. They can wear enough to get a little play, but that would sneak up on you, not just be there all at once.

Please post the culprit when you figure it out, might help someone.

 

Checked my tire pressure and my rear was under at 30-31 when it says to have 36 so Im gonna add a little to that. Belt is good. It's dark out here now so tomorrow Ill check alignment and the swing arm.

I am not very knowledgeable in mechanics, hell I'm trying to get all the info from my service manual and anywhere else to switch stock bars to apes, haha. But would a bearing be something that could happen to an 06 with 8500 miles?

I will let you guys know what I find out. Thanks everyone

 

I'll bet it was the pressure.

Had the exact same experience about three months ago. Got home, put the bike away, and in the morning checked pressure to find out that the tire had been pierced by a nail. It still had about 25 PSI in it in the morning, so I was probably running 30-32 psi when it was moving around.

It's not a "nice" feeling - hope you get it sorted quickly.

 

Shouldn't have a bearing problem at 8500, give it a ride with that higher air pressure before you get concerned about anything else. If you got the bike used, wouldn't hurt to check things like alignment anyway; if that's off a little, will wear the tire faster, too.

That age and mileage raises another concern; you could have the original tires on. Dunlops will last 8 years with low mileage easily, but the rubber will be getting hard, losing traction, and you might find hairline cracks in the sidewall rubber. If you aren't familiar with factory manufacturing dates, it'll be a 4 digit number in an oval on the sidewall.

0106 would mean first week in 2006, 2105 would be 21st week in 2005, etc.

If you have rubber valve stems, 8 years is a stretch for them, too. A lot of folks never change tires if they still have tread on them. Bought a '93 last year that had a '93 front tire on it - that's the oldest I've seen still on the road. Put a pair of 2013s on that one real quick!

 

As your bike is a rubbermount one, if the problems remain after you did all the above mentioned fixes, check your swing arm. As it is hung on the engine, the rubbers may be gone south and you may have a lot of play there.

 

Put some miles on today with even nastier wind and I am beginning to think after checking everything out its just weather. Air in the tire has made things better too. After what you say Imold it looks like I'm pickin up some tires. I wont even take a chance as my front tire does have some nasty cracks on one side and I have felt a bit of interest in the toughness of my tires too but figured hey their tires. Probably will get some calm weather time before tires arrive so ill test things again. Till then Thanks for the help. Need every bit you guys can give

Kevin

 

Another thing about those tires, if it's felt like the front tire tries following tar strips or pavement cracks, that's the tread pattern on the original tires. Avons cured that on my sporties, and I've heard many others do, too, like Metzlers and Michellins. Dunlop does have a tire series out now that has the newer sport tire tread look, haven't heard how it handles, but would bet it's better than the older design. That classic Dunlop Harley tire has been around a long time, and it's tread design has been left behind by most tire manufacturers - including Dunlop itself.

 

I understand yours may have been low pressure but I feel this once in a while and it took me a bit to figure out what it was, it is a combination of a lot of torque and a slippery road, typically on the freeway when jumping on it and switching lanes - running over the white lines on the road - the tire slips - Hell of a feeling at 70+ - I corrected the problem by not jumping on her when switching lanes