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02 fatboy death wobble

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Tim Skarphol

New Member
Hey all, new to this forum. Been trying to figure this problem out and no help so far on other forums. Hopefully someone here can help me figure this one out.
Got an 02 fatboy. 20k miles. I know not many for that year. But I've had this one only 3 years and haven't been able to ride last 2 due to injury. Got it at 12k.
But now to the issue. Put hardbags on it as wanted stereo system on bike. So did bags for speakers and Bluetooth amp. While at sturgis got a good deal on a tour pack. So figured I'd put that on for amp location so I would have room for luggage for future trips. We'll once I installed the tour pack I now have death wobble when I loosen my grip on handlebars or remove my hands. This occurs at any speed over 15mph.
This is only with the hardbags and tour pack on with amp in tour pack. Not much added weight. Alot less than what I had loaded on bike this year for ride to sturgis.
Thought maybe front tire was cupping as its got a few miles on it and was worn down a bit. Replaced it and still have death wobble when tour pack is on. Take tour pack off and no wobble.
So not front tire. Any other ideas to look at? Can't understand why a light tour pack would cause this as never had this issue with passengers, and passengers weigh alot more than tour pack. Yes I know tour pack sits farther back on bike but even the load I had strapped for sturgis behind sissy bar weighed at least if not more than tour pack.
Only other thing I can think of is would the rear shocks getting worn out cause a front end death wobble with the tour pack on now? I've noticed when hitting bumps in road in road construction areas lately it seems like bikes bottoming out. (Hits hard) .
I'm at a loss on what to check replace next. Had then check the neck bolt when replaced the front tire today and it's tight so not a loose steering.
Sorry to ramble on in this post. I'm just confused on this issue and getting frustrated.
Thanks for any help or thoughts on this.
 
Good description . The low speed and lightweight making a difference. My 1st thought would be to check the steering head bearing adjustment. My 2nd thought hasn't happened yet.
 
Assuming everything is properly mounted and there are no issues with the front wheel, you may want to check the steering neck bearing for grease and tightness. If you have a service manual you can perform a fall away adjustment on the steering. At 20K your bike is a candidate for these issues and you can do these yourself without having to take the bike to the shop. Good Luck!

Welcome to the forum from Gulf Coast AL
 
Do you still have the original exhaust setup ?. On a touringbike the bags ,are sitting low , getting the load as low as possible.
If so , you could consider , a crossover exhaust , or a two in one , so you can lower the position of the hardbags .
Just a thought , but it could help to stabilize your bike !
 
How much, and how HIGH is the weight at the back end?
Also, how much (if any) of that weight is behind the axle?
You have so many possibilities- ranging from inappropriate weight mounted too high or possibly too far back; a loose swinging arm; loose/worn wheel bearings; worn suspension; even tyre pressures that are way wrong. Incorrect wheel alignment also a possibility.
Check the easy stuff first- the weight and positioning of your load. Too high and rearward of the axle will make even an early ‘70s Ducati tank slap- -
 
Steering bolt was checked its tight. No play.
Has original exhaust. 2in1 down right side. Havent swapped over to true dual yet.
Only thing behind the axle for weight is tour pack and amp. Height of tourpack is bottom of pack is in line with passenger seat. My problem with thinking it's weight of tour pack is when I went and returned from sturgis had a lot more weight in same spot and higher as the tour pack now sits.
Would bad rear shocks cause this issue
As I stated I'm noticing harder bumps and what sounds like bottoming out.
Just rewired to amp and placed it back into saddlebags. Will check and see if deathwobble now with empty tour pack.
Thanks to all with their thoughts so far. Hoping I can find the issue before I replace all parts on bike.
 
Ok not sure what fixed it. But just got the tour pack back on after getting the new front tire out on. Also moved the amp back into 1 of the saddle bags and no more death wobble. Thinking had to be front tire as cant see how a less than 5lbs amp would cause the issue.
But bike still seems to have a rough ride. So next will be replacing rear shocks. As these are originals I believe so would have 20k miles on them. Hopefully that will smoothen the ride a bit. And will also be changing fork oil this winter. So hopefully will be a nice smooth ride for next season.
Thanks for all the ideas on what could be causing issue. Will have my mechanic change steering bearings when I have the ape hangers put on.
Yes I know I could probably do it. But when it comes to my bike I'd rather not take a chance of doing it wrong.
Again thanks for all the responses.
 
I wouldn't think the rear shocks would be worn out with that many miles. Have you replaced the fork fluid? Too little fluid will make a bottoming out sound too. Axle play, and wheel alignment should be checked too.
You don't want to go down from one of those wobbles.
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