The "weave" is nothing new in the world of driving scoots or cages. The result of frame/chassis/suspension flex. These scoots display very little of it unless driven well outside of their design envelope. Just because my RKC can do 115mph doesn't mean I should do it on a decreasing radius turn with uneven pavement and tar snakes. Ive driven scoots/convertible cages all my life and have witnessed cowl shake and chassis/frame/suspension flex so intense body panel edges would chip paint and new bushings would tear. These scoots, driven as the cruisers they are, are excellent. If you want high speed/power and handling buy a 'Busa, more of both than most could handle well. Push a cruiser to its limits and it will remind you of what those limits are.

OK...Flame suit on..

 

Yes, if the handlebars oscillate, that is a wobble, and it may or may not be the result of the wallow the multitude of similar braces are touted to cure. My '07 FLHRC wallows occasionally, but I expect it. Hell, I expect it more than it does it. The damn thing handles nearly as nimbly as my '83 V45 Interceptor did, near as I can recall.

It ain't broke, so I ain't fixin' it. To all those who've experienced it, I say check your tire pressures, your shocks/forks, and your steering heads / swingarm bushings first. $300 goes a long way in those areas and if they need addressing, they need addressing first.

 

Thanks Marsh! I didn't want a bagger at the cost of which it came. Dad said he loved my Luxe so much he bought one for himself. He bought it with the intent to give it to my sister knowing his days were short. Here is a link to the last ride we made cross country last year. We didn't make the anniversary trip I was hoping for but I had an idea last year we weren't going to.

http://imperialgunnercorps.netfirms....ad_trip_07.htm (bottom of page)

 

T Rat,

Thanks for sharing the pics and video.......it is great you got that ride in with your Dad! Sorry for your loss.

Now if I can just get my son motivated enough to afford his own scoot! We did have a similar trip in TX with my wife, daughter and son-in-law. Those trips are worth every $$/minute spent!

 

Pretty convincing article.

 

One other thing to check is the tire. A girlfriend had one (FLHTC stock tire) that was a manufacture defect and at higher speeds "that" bike was dangerous. Mechanic did not believe her as she was a newer rider and put it off for a couple of months until she convinced another mechanic to take it for a ride up on the highway (they tend to test ride them around the block at city speeds). He came back with a bit of a ghostly look as he had really wound it up, not believing her, and taken a corner and the tire on a curve apparently rolled over and changed his tune. Changed out the tire after checking out a few other things and now she has been all over the US and Canada not a single problem with the bike loaded or not.

Harley defect ahh I don't know either, lots of causes.

As for riding like it was designed to be run...huh. My FLHTC is as nimble as a cat on the straights or in town. Now I have the wheels properly tracked it handles corners no problem. More than I can put it over, as I knock up the floor boards. It will drop in an emergency and pop up with ease. Very enjoyable ride on the curves and around here there are more than a few. I don't ride like an idiot kid but I do like to ride it. It won't outride a sport bike but does surprise a few.

ABS brakes I don't know about them either. Straight line stopping no slide okay but what if you want to put the bike sideways and monkey jump or drop it.

If it can't handle a curve what happens in an emergency situation or on a road where a corner suddenly comes up, or critter or a guy in azzless chaps suddenly jumps out from a Starbucks? Regardless of nahsayers or whatever, if your bike does not ride properly or you are not comfortable with it you need to find that comfort by taking a riders course or courses on that bike and / or figure out what is wrong before it slaps you. I hate to say it but some of that dog walking across the road is rider error. I would think that all that extra weight and placement of baggage would really add extra factor into the cornering ability and Gravity vs Speed. Interesting to see a study done on it.

Sorry about your dad, lost mine 10 years ago this year and miss the fishing buddy.

 

Regardless of what we call it, that explains why it happens. Went for a ride Saturday up the valley on freeway most of the time. There are several underpasses on this stretch of Hwy 99, and all on them have crappy pavement. Asphalt in various condition leading to a concrete section at the botton, then back to asphalt. Bumps, ridges, holes - you name it. Prior trips were always an adventure, as some of these are in curves and traffic is always 75-85 mph. Never felt like I was close to going down before, but did have numerous times when the bike changed headings on it's own. This time (first time up there since the Bagger Brace install) the bike was like it was on rails. No lateral instability whatsoever.

 

Nothing I'd describe as a wobble but sometimes, once in a while, while riding aggressively in a turn, the back end feels like it just hit something slick. Just a momentary event but it's almost as if the rear tire gets on a hot tar snake and wants to kick out from under me. Is it the opinion of the group that this is just a signal from the suspension that I've reached the limit? Not something necessarily wrong with the bike but more a signal to watch out? If so, can any one describe what it is that is actually happening out back when this occurs? Thanks

 

Pita, you are correct.
I just spoke to the dealer few days back and she was telling me how super stable the 09 models are but I wondered how stable can it get? My 08 RKC handles like a dream. I take some serious curves with it and really lay the bike low and i never experienced any weave or flex or whatever it is called.

 

To me all this is bs,it's like heated clothing,it was all stupid to me untill I tried it ,now in the winter I won't be without it,same thing with the brace deal, if you haven't tried one,you don't know what you are talking about.