Thanks to IDIOT, er IDOT, and their clever method of saving petroleum based supplies and not filling in huge freakin' craters in our roads here in Illinois, not only did I narrowly escape being tossed over the handle bars, but now my beloved stead weaves and shakes worse than a 25 cent bed in a cheap roadside motel....

Night time, poor lighting in a work zone, huge freakin' hole and now one screwed up bike. Only slight relief came when I realized that I hadn't ripped the oil pan off the bottom of the cases like I feared after I slammed across this mini Grand Canyon the other night.

Bike in question is my 2006 FLHTi with OEM laced wheels. Thing tracked straight and true until this little incident.

Something is terribly bent or tweaked and it's downright scary to ride it right now. Once you hit 55+ she starts to weave and wobble fairly steadily and gets real bad if you let off the throttle. Problem is whatever is wrong isn't obvious by eyesight. Had it up on the lift last night and I can't spin the wheels fast enough to visually see any bends in the rims, forks appear to be straight, etc.

So aside from taking it to the dealer, which I would rather not do, any thoughts to identify the damaged part(s)? I have contemplated pulling the front wheel to check the axle and maybe have the local shop verify that the rim is still true- not sure if they can do this with the tire mounted? Might loosen up the triple trees one side at a time to make sure a fork leg didn't get twisted a touch. Otherwise I'm at a loss, really don't want to make an insurance claim unless the frame is bent or something crazy like that. Kinda hoping it was just the wheel, but now not so sure. UGH!

 

You got a bent front rim....I am like 99% sure of it. I would also check the rear rim to be sure. You can just remove the front wheel, and take it a a dealer or indi that knows their **** and have them do a high speed balance on it. If it cant be balanced....or takes way too much weight...its bent. Do this with both wheels/tires. You could have screwed up the tire also.

Look my GF just did the same thing with her POS Huindi or whatever the hell she drives. We took some pics of the hole....made a police report.....and believe it or not a few months later we got a check for $190.00 from PSE&G the local public service...it was them who made the hole, and failed to give warning of any type to motorists. I think you got a home run if you take it to court....or at least write a letter to the right people.

 

I don't know enough to comment on the mechanicals, but what he says is logical. However, I did want to comment on the latter part of his post, as I've heard of others doing something similar to that, especially if it's as bad as you say it is.

Your insurance company may have some words of wisdom on the subject too, even if you don't have comp, might be worth a call? Just thinking out loud...

 

+1 on the bent rim, it's also the first and cheapest place to start looking.

 

Sounds like bent rim(s) to me. Don't forget that your insurance may help in the repair under the comprehensive or collision depending on your deductible.

 

Your road reminds me of 46 on the east side of Utah. Back in July a group of 8 of us rode through there and with no warning the road almost ate us up.

 

A few years ago a friend with a BMW K1200LT did the same thing in New York. Rode the bike back to Georgia, but it was a difficult ride. Took it to a dealer & filed a claim with his insurance company (that is what they're for). The entire front end was screwed up! Cost the insurance company over $4000, but his bike was right after that.

You may have wheel, fork, or bearing damage. You pay for insurance coverage, why not use it? It won't go against you, you didn't create the pot hole.

 

In the late 1980s I was ridin my scooter through the Marine Corps Base Quantico. I was following a car and somehow, it caused a water main cover to pop out of its place in the road surface. The car flipped it out and then it hit the underside of the car which made it start spinning like coin on a table top. I counter steered to avoid it, but the iron cap seemed to follow my moves and I hit it dead on. The impact pointed the bike toward the curb which I rode up over, then across the sidewalk and then down a grass slope which ended at the top of a concrete wall and then a parking lot. I jumped the bike down into the parking lot and rode it to a stop. The triple tree was bent, front tire was blown and the rim was bent and the exhaust pipes were dented from the cap. I learned that the water main cap had come out of its place several other times and the public works division had numerous work orders on record to go out and replace it. I filed a claim against the Marine Corps because they obviously knew of the problem but didn't fix it properly. The Marine Corps paid over $1500 to fix the bike along with towing costs.
Check and see what the highway department knew about the pot hole.

 

As others have said, it sounds like wheel and possibly tire and fork damage. Start off with checking, and if needed, replacing one or both wheels and tires. If it continues to wobble and shake, then take it to a shop and have your alignment checked. If the fork is bent or twisted slightly, it will cause a wobble.

 

Too bad,but you sure aint alone when it comes to horrible roads.Riding on some of our cow paths,you want to be scaning constantly for who knows what.