I never had a wobble in my 99 FLHRCI but it felt kinda squishy at speed. I got a steal of a deal on an 07 swing arm ($25) so I decided to upgrade my frame. I swapped the swingarm out, bored the trans for the 3/4" pivot shaft and installed new rear isolators. Now instead of the rubber cleve block bushings I have spherical bearings. Also installed an el cheapo ebay bought 3rd link that mounts from the oil pan to the side car mount thats on the frame. This thing is on a rail now! Major difference. I get some more vibration because of the extra link and new hard rubber mounts but im ok with it. It smooths out at highway speeds anyhow.

 

I have made my older models wobble as well as my '09 with the new frame.
It just took a Hard Ride in the curves to make it show. I scrape the running Boards in curves. My '09 took much more to make the wobble show.

If you just ride easy, you will never see the "Harley Wobble". But if you ride hard in curves, you will find the rear wheel seems to move different from the frame. If you have the newer frame, it just will take more to show.

 

Brother Coolerman, one of my brothers who crashed was a Lieutenant, Paramedic, on an engine Co, was on his way to North Carolina, when the wobble happened to him, went to the on coming lane and was struck headon.
Another firefighter who was riding with him, added him, used his comb as an airway and saved his life. He suffered head injures and is partially paralyzed, living in a nursing home. Brother to Brother, I'm just calling it at the kitchen table.
It's been 6 years now, at the time we didn't understand what the wobble was, but now we are more educated and understand what the issues at hand are.
Be safe my brother.

Dave

 

All rubber-mount touring bikes have rubber mounts! That is the rear wheel and swingarm are mounted on the rear of the trans, which with the engine is rubber mounted in the frame. Rubber-mount Sportsters and all Buells use the same system, with one exception: they have a rear stabilizer. For reasons we can only guess at, Harley has never seen fit to install one on the one range of their bikes that would most benefit from one.

I have rubber-mount Sportster and Buell and they handle fine. I had a Dyna that I fitted a True-Track kit to and also have one on my Glide. The transformation is quite something to experience. The bikes both handle tighter and steer more precisely, even at slow speeds, as well as in those fast sweepers.

IMHO the TT kit supplies what the factory should be fitting as stock, even on the latest touring models. They still have rubber mounts that are not properly stabilized against sideways movement when under load.

 

Dave I'm not saying they dont happen. Ive had it happen on more than one occasion but it was always because I was pusing it to the limit. A wobble at 25mph is caused by a failed part or a flat tire. Sorry to hear about your friend. Sometimes life sucks for no apparent reason.

 

Wow. I'm hearing great points of view on both sides of this debate. Thank you all so far for your input. I do not ride hard as the phrase goes. I am a lazy rider. I do highway speeds sure, but not 90 or over. I did feel this bike was a little "squishier" than my Honda was but I figured it was because of all the touring equipment it had on it so I've learned to look past it. I have never experienced the full on wobble as I saw in that video though. That's scary stuff!! I may just go with a brace for my own personal peace of mind. I hear you all about how it'll shake more at idle. That's cool with me. I like that. Kinda gives a bad assness to it. Like sittin in a bad *** hot rod at an intersection and the whole thing just rumbles the pavement at idle. Hmm so very interesting reading so far. I am sorry for those that have experienced accidents, or know a friend that did. Never cool to hear about that. I think that's why I may go with a brace of some sort. Even though it hasn't happened to me, I'd like to know my chances are slimmer. Ride safe all and thanks again. Keep em coming though. Thread doesn't have to be a closed subject yet.

 

I never experienced the wobble on my 02 and I'm pretty aggressive. So I conclude a rider has to be very aggressive to feel it. That being said, my 09 frame is much more stable than my 02, expecially on rain groves and is well worth the upgrade.

Beary

 

My 07 absolutely has the wobble, a true track was a definate improvement but didn't completely solve the problem. It only shows during very aggressive cornering and some riders may never ride hard enough to experience it

 

I have a 2005 Electra Glide, with 40,000 miles. Sometimes I ride aggressive, sometimes I don't. I had the wobble but didn't know what it was, I just thought that was the way the bike handled. I put a Bagger Brace on at about 20,000 miles and noticed a big difference. In my opinion, for the money and the ease of install, it is worth the price. If for nothing else, peace of mind.