Well, I traded my Victory Cross Country for an 09 Street Glide. It seemed like a great deal at the time and I think it still could be... but i have some concerns

At all speeds Im getting a vibration? or what i could describe as a bumpy feeling in the front end that increases with speed and felt pretty heavily on decel. I've been reading about the steering head bearing adjustment and the fall away test, im going to conduct that this weekend but if i do any tear down what else should i look for? motor mounts may be the culprit?

The bike has 12" apes on it but they have quite a bit of movement to them. They return back to the starting point each time but its definitely not supposed to have that much movement. Am i right in assuming that the bushings are likely the culprit? Again, while torn down anything else i should look for? different areas to pay special attention to?

and finally... for now... I filled up the tank after making the deal on my way home and parked the bike. The next morning i got on it, pulled out of the drive and felt wetness on my inner leg... looked down at the tank and saw gasoline running down it. I went back home, cleaned it up and started looking for the source. It appears to have come from somewhere around the console. I noticed a lot on the left side, assumingly from being parked but also just a little bit on the right. Where do i even begin on that?

Im not too familiar with the SG, its my first Harley touring, and my first Harley was a Breakout under warranty so id be lieing to even pretend to know much about it. Are these things i should bother with or am I better off bringing it to a tech in my area to take care of and get back to riding?

Thanks for any and all help

 

Sounds like you may have a wheel bearing going. A loose head bearing would be more like a shimmy on deceleration. If it were me, I'd address both though.

When they installed the apes it sounds like they didn't change the riser bushings. Go get the poly bushings from the dealer. By adding apes they added leverage that the stock rubber bushings can't support.

The fuel issue could be one of two things, a bad gas cap seal, or the fuel pump housing seal. It's pretty easy to pull the console off and check.

 

With any bike you should never fill it to the top and immediately park it. Every bike I've ever owned would do that if it was overfilled and left on its side stand.

 

100% on all counts.

Adding; in additional to the fuel tank console gasket you may also require new screws - they have little nylon-like seals and are one-use.

 

Agree entirely. The reason is simply that the gas is stored at the filling station underground, where it is much cooler than above ground. As the gas warms up it expands, hence causing that 'leak'. It will also do that while on a trip if, say, you refuel and then decide to take a break for ten minutes. You may well see your bike p1ssing itself before your very eyes - partly due to warmer ambient, but also the heat from the engine warming up your new cool gas.

The mess your bike made suggests to me that the overflow pipe on it is missing or dislodged, as the surplus fuel should have ended up on the floor under the bike, not on the tank and your leg. As Desertwndrr points out it is easy to remove your console, but check the overflow pipe first. You can see what to expect on-line here.

 

It was full but I rode a good 30-40 miles before it was parked from the gas station. I definitely wouldnt say it was overfilled by any stretch especially after the ride back from the gas station. Ill keep it in mind for the future though.

 

Much appreciated. I'd just rather have everything i can done at once to avoid more issues later on. Ill get to work on what you noted and update once thats fixed.

I did suspect that the rubber bushings would likely be the issue, and still hoping thats the only issue, would there really be anything else that would allow any flexion when it comes to the bars then or is that really the only point?

 

The poly bushings should take care of bar flex. Tighten everything as per your FSM, which you should before you lay a wrench on it. Use Loctite 242 blue on the fasteners. Big difference.

 

could be a tire that flat spotted from sitting causing vibration? check fuel line connections aswell for the fuel leak, my disconnect hose oring caused mine to do that.

 

That was my initial thought too actually. I examined it pretty thoroughly and cant see any signs of it. Plus the guy i traded my Vic to told me that he replaced the tire when he bought the bike in January (with 29k now at 31k) and tire does look damn near brand new.