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Touring Bike Wobble

Monsoon

Member
I've been riding well over 20 years and just bought my first touring bike a few weeks ago. While reading some trade rags on the plane this week I see kits to prevent wobble on rubber mounted touring bikes.

Now this was the first time I ever heard of any thing like this. I saw an article on installation and 3 ads for stabilizer kits.

Is this a common problem and should I install a kit? I consider myself caught up on technology and bikes and this was the first time I've ever heard of such problem or equipment.

Any feedback would be appreciated.
 
The redesigned touring frames in '09 make all such devices unnecessary. They may have their place (at least it can't hurt) on the prior frames. Good alignment is the best preventer of handling woes like that anyway.
 
My baggers never wobbled but I have a friend in MN with a R K that he says wobbles I rode it and it needed a new front tire
 
Glider,
Did your Dyna have laced or billet wheels?

Hoop!

It had laced wheels and the spokes were tight. The problem on the Dyna was that the swing arm is mounted to the rear of the trans and not the frame. As you know the trans and engine are rubber mounted. Very poor design IMO.
 
The redesigned touring frames in '09 make all such devices unnecessary. They may have their place (at least it can't hurt) on the prior frames. Good alignment is the best preventer of handling woes like that anyway.

After reading about the redesigned frame I thought the same thing. I posted a response on the AI forum that the TWR, Progressive, Trutrack,etc worked great on pre 09 touring bikes but with the new frame it did not seem necessary. I had several (4) responses from 09 touring riders that said that the new frame while sturder was still using the swing arm as a stabilizing point and that their bikes would wobble in a high speed turn. Maybe one of the moderators could lend some expertise to this subject.
 
I had an '07 that was great, but it would do some things my '09 doesn't. There's a vast difference in my experience.

If I have too much air in the shocks it can cause a very slight head shake in a high-speed sweeper. But there's no "hing(e)iness" at the swingarm pivot. At least nothing noteworthy at all like before.
 
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I haven't had any rear wobble on either my 98RKC with laced wheels or my 09 SG cast wheels, but I haven't really gotten into it at high speed in tight turns yet on the SG. How fast are we talking about 70 80 90? what about in a straight high speed run on the highway? I did have a high speed wobble on the 98 RKC at 100, 110 from the front end, but I think it was a spoke thing.
 
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