OK, so I take delivery of a new bike. I ride it for a week or so and fall in love. All of a sudden I am riding down the road and hit the rear brake a little. Immediately I feel a pulsing sensation at the rear brake pedal. The whole bike vibrates. When I let up off the rear brake the shake goes away. When I hit the front brake, no shake. I check the rotors, check for anything which might be binding, you know the drill. Fluid level is ok. Bushings are tight. I am stumped. Take it in to the dealer and let one of the guys ride it. He takes it around the building and says. Damn, something is wrong. He rolls into the shop and begins checking everything. An hour later he says "Something is damn sure wrong, but I'll be damned if I can find it". Next time the shop foreman takes it out for a ride and comes back saying there is definitely a problem. This time they give it to a different tech and he sets about to find the problem. He works on it for 4 hours and finds nothing. The shop foreman and both mechanics are stumped. They are talking and the foreman asks if either used a small mirror to check along the swingarm to see if anything might be stuck in there. Low and behold they found a bright, shiny screw that someone from the factory had dropped down from the seat area. The screw was wedged between the frame and the swingarm and when the rear brake was engaged, it vibrated something awful. I am not saying this is your problem by any means, just don't rule it out. Took all of 5 hours to find it and 10 seconds to remove it. Crazy stuff happens.

 

well today i checked everything that was suggested, but everything checked out good. The thing that puzzels me is why its so much worse with 2 up.

My dealer is closed today but tomorrow it goes back in and stays untill fixed. Hopefully this 5th time is a charm. Thanks for all the tips

 

Two things in common are engine braking and rear braking. The more weight the worse the problem. Could a bad rear tire could cause this?

 

Mine does that too, not bad as yours but quite noticable. Let us know what the solution is....

 

Update Mystery solved I hope.

Well after 5 trips to the dealer and many new parts, it turns out the primary was rubbing againist the chrome pass footboard bracket. Now this is a harley part that is the correct part for this bike. Its just a little wider. I installed these in June so I dont know why the problem didnt start to just a few weeks ago, the dealer said with things wearing the motor just must have setled or moved a little. Note Harley tech has never heard of this so I am not convinced that there is still not a problem. I still believe that something is pulling out of place under rear wheel drag. We will see.. Thanks Al

 

This is very, very alarming. Interesting, but alarming.

 

GaryGlider , here , in arlington, tx , I have an 09 road glide and when I apply rear brake , i get a hard pulsating in rear brake , Longhorn Harley in grand prairie , tx , said they replace rotor , checked everything , replace pads , bleed brake system , checked isolater in rear pulley, , check rear wheel , it is not warped , check swingarm , it is fine , , I did notice , that when I am driving , and going 30-40 , and with throttle and power up , and hit rear brake hard , it does not do it , . the bike stops fine , just pulsates like hell , only when applying rear brake hard , not locking up , the brake , just using rear brake alone to stop the bike at any speed , . Longhorn mechanic, said he found that when driving the bike , and he pulled in clutch , and kill the motor , IT DID NOT DO IT !! Ah , we have HARLEY problem with design , my friends 08 bikes do not do it all , Harley needs to find out the problem and fix it , anyone out there please contact me as soon , as possible , I can live with it , BUT IT AIN"T RIGHT , anyone can contact me at g.saia@yahoo.com or call me at 817-812-7050 , Gary Saia , Arlington , Texas , I WILL BE CALLING HARLEY DAVIDSON AND SCREAM LOUD ,

 

I think if it were me, I might get them to throw it up on the dyno and see if a few runs allowed them to see/hear whats going on a little better. Might get a quicker diagnosis.

 

Did either of you ever find out the problem?

 

Al,
Gary,

Did either of you get the rear braking problem resolved? I have the same issue with my 2011 Limited and the dealer can find nothing that would cause it so at this time I am just living with the issue.

Gary was going to call the MoCo and was curious what their response was.

Ron
2011 Limited
Houston