Not that I run high speeds that much but has anybody else had the fishtail affect after installing your fairing when you hit right at 90 to 100 mph? Wasn't there with my windshield. Like I said, I don't do it much but I was having playtime with a group of HD's on the interstate. The fishtailing kinda took the fun out of it.
z71carter
Not fish tailing, but tank slapping. It's not the rear of the bike going wacky, it's the front. Yes, I've heard several people have this happen. You adjust the fairing to try and get it centered. Some have been successful, some have not and some removed and sold the fairing
I hate to say this outloud but how about riding like you got some common sense. Slow down, enjoy the ride and let the Nurleyfegusons go on by. You will live longer. Keep it safe.
It's happened to me, too, but then sometimes it doesn't happen. But the pucker factor goes skyward when it does happen! :yikes:
After going back over things on the fairing to make sure it was level and everything was tight, I do not notice a wobble even at 120
I did check all fasteners every few days after putting it on. It was bad at first, then I leveled it then it went away.
I did check all fasteners every few days after putting it on. It was bad at first, then I leveled it then it went away.
The VTX never wobbles but it has no windshield, I have taken the Cross Country up to around 90 a couple times and yes it does start to move around a bit. It was windy both times so that did not help but between the fairing and trunk I doubt the Victory will see many triple digits rides. I will leave that to the VTX. We get lots of wind here in the winter months and even at lower speeds the Victory get pushed all over the road. But it is all good I just cracked 3000 miles on the Victory not bad for winter riding, the VTX was lucky to get 500 miles on it from Nov-Apr.
:agree: sorry I do have to agree, do you have to follow idiots? Just my .02 cents of advice, live long, ride long, ride safe
Mine starts wobbling at about 82mph indicated on straightaways, and at about 75mph indicated on turns. Was a lot more severe when my tire pressure was a bit low, but I've moved front and rear to 40psi cold, and now the wobbling is not as bad.
I guess I got lucky no wobble at any speed but I rarely get over 100 .I just straped my Woody on without even paying attention to how straight it was.Seemed pretty simple and is rock solid so I must of got lucky. Under the right circumstances any bike with a shield or fairing can get that wobble.Right speed and wind direction can give you quite the pucker factor....I used to get it on the interstate with cross winds running a Memphis shades shield.
As I said before I do NOT run high speeds often or long. I occasionally play and run it up there then back off. Fishtail was the wrong term. It is the front that's causing it to wobble. Bearings and bushings are in real good shape. I will try adjusting the fairing which needs to be done anyway and see if that helps. There was a little extra wind also. Oh yeah, I wasn't running WITH the group, I was OUTRUNNING the group. :mrgreen:
opcorn:
A few thoughts on fairings, regardless of brand- The change from a fairing isn't just the extra 20 pounds or so of weight, it's also the downforce from the surface area and a little more leverage the wind gets from the increased width of a fairing over a std shield. It acts like the front wing on dirt racer sprint car. All of this will magnify any shortcomings the bike may have, especially anything dealing with the front tire, followed by the steering head bearings and swingarm bearings. Like a truck with a full load and all the seats full will handle different than empty if it's shocks & springs are shot, it's easy to blame the passengers & gravel because it "didn't act like that empty". I start to get high-speed wobble when my Valkyrie's front tire is near the end, then when I replace it the bike's all over the road while I try and remember how a bike handles with a front tire that's actually ROUNDED where it touches the road :mrgreen:
Then there's bike design. Like it or not 100mph is fun but unwise, especially on some bikes. Skinny tires & spoked rims come to mind but there's also some big differences in design. Take a good look at the Harly FLH bikes and you'll see the forks and steering head stem are almost in a straight line compared to the triangle of ours. That brings the fairing back closer to the steering center, and these bikes also have other tweaks because of the "reverse trees". You could probably bolt a smashed Volkswagon bug to the front of a Road King and it'd handle fine, but you couldn't pay me to hit 100mph+ with a batwing on a Softail Standard. Even the windshield height makes a difference; you can get 15" shields for an Electraglide but I'm not comfy with the concept of anything taller than a 12" on our bikes and only sell 10" and lower with my fairings.
For high speed riding it's impossible to beat a frame-mounted fairing, and at the least it's nice to have a bike designed from the ground up to have a fairing, or at least a very specific mounting that takes the guesswork out of the angles.
In short, there's usually something wrong (or going wrong) with the bike that shows up more with a fairing than without, but once you get up in the 100 MPH range all bets are off IMHO, just too many variables.
Then there's bike design. Like it or not 100mph is fun but unwise, especially on some bikes. Skinny tires & spoked rims come to mind but there's also some big differences in design. Take a good look at the Harly FLH bikes and you'll see the forks and steering head stem are almost in a straight line compared to the triangle of ours. That brings the fairing back closer to the steering center, and these bikes also have other tweaks because of the "reverse trees". You could probably bolt a smashed Volkswagon bug to the front of a Road King and it'd handle fine, but you couldn't pay me to hit 100mph+ with a batwing on a Softail Standard. Even the windshield height makes a difference; you can get 15" shields for an Electraglide but I'm not comfy with the concept of anything taller than a 12" on our bikes and only sell 10" and lower with my fairings.
For high speed riding it's impossible to beat a frame-mounted fairing, and at the least it's nice to have a bike designed from the ground up to have a fairing, or at least a very specific mounting that takes the guesswork out of the angles.
In short, there's usually something wrong (or going wrong) with the bike that shows up more with a fairing than without, but once you get up in the 100 MPH range all bets are off IMHO, just too many variables.
I like to think of it as a death wobble. I was running stupidly with someone, he had a crotch rocket and we went up to an indicated 130 - 132, at least that is what the speedo showed, anyway no problems going up, but when I rolled off I got the wobble and also a pucker factor of 20 out of 10. I remember looking down when it finally settled down and seeing that I was at about 90 and thinking well with all the gear I might survive, probably not, but it was wishful thinking. Anyway, I knew I had something wrong because I have been in that territory before and never experience it, so as soon as I got home it went on the stand and I checked the steering stem bearings and as some have said here and they were set to loose. I decided to tear it down and replace them.
For my own use, not saying you should, but I tightened them a little more than spec'd in the manual because I have added a lot of weight and force with the fairing on front compared to stock. It seems to be ok, but I also have not hit that speed again. Don't know if I ever will on that bike, setup like that, was not enjoyable. I probably will on something else, but I think I will avoid it on that bike. Now that you know it is there I would definitely recommend checking, adjusting or replacing your steering stem bearings.
For my own use, not saying you should, but I tightened them a little more than spec'd in the manual because I have added a lot of weight and force with the fairing on front compared to stock. It seems to be ok, but I also have not hit that speed again. Don't know if I ever will on that bike, setup like that, was not enjoyable. I probably will on something else, but I think I will avoid it on that bike. Now that you know it is there I would definitely recommend checking, adjusting or replacing your steering stem bearings.
I'd add the Ohlins steering Stabilizer.
The dial can restrict any movement.
It's not a bad thing to have anyway - it could save face in a blow out or accident final moment.
The dial can restrict any movement.
It's not a bad thing to have anyway - it could save face in a blow out or accident final moment.
This is with a fairing. Al bikes are different as well as fairings.
Mine is a hoppe the other was a woody. The woody took only one attempt to get it right. The hoppe took 3.
The forks are the first thing that has to ve checked. Leveling them is easy. The top bridge (where the forks goes through) must belevel. That will make it much easier over all.
The bike has to be completely vertical not off center. I use a home made condor and use tie downs lightly to keep the bike level and vertical.
The top of the forks must be exactly the same on both sides. I use calipers. You have to make sure all fasteners are tight. Once this is done.
I check the level of the fairing, first at the windshield mounting screws top. I want it perfect, not a half bubble off it is centered. If it is off, loosen the mounts, Hoppe and woddy fairings use worm drive clamps so it is rather straight forward.
Once I get that leveled I can then check the alignment of the front part of the fairing for fitment and being level.
In fact this is what caught my attention when I was installing the front. I noticed the back and front of the fairing was not leveled together. This is probably the time consuming part. After starting the screws to hold the front and rear together I had to really work to get the front to match to get them level and vertical together. The windscreen pays a big part in the leveling and wobble. I had to redrill one hole in the windscreen on the left side to get it level. I had to use angles (made from wood on my fancy miter saw LOL) to get the vertical so I could check the level. Then tighten all fasteners.
Went for a ride,felt a lot more stable. After a week of check all fasteners I took it for a good ride. Tested it at 100mph. No wobble, felt solid. Before around 70 mph or a large truck would cause a wobble, and it would increase with speed.
I made a post asking for help more than once, this was around 05-06 not real sure. Hoppe was about the only thing available for the vtx at that time.
I can do it now in less than a hour.
I have add fairings that were so close from the beginning It took only one try to get it right. It was a woody fairing. By the design of the woody It just seems to fit like it should.
Hope this helps someone. It took me weeks to figure this out but it did make a large difference on my X
Steering stabilizers don't solve the problem, they only help to mask it.
Ask any Jeep owner, the ones who lift them 4-6" and higher about the 'death wobble' they experience.
I hear guys all the time saying " my Jeep has a death wobble and I want to lift it, what lift kit should I use? "
Some will come back with " don't forget to add a steering stabilizer ".
But the good advice is " fix the wobble first, once the wobble is gone then lift it and there will be no issues. "
I won't install a life on any Jeep that exhibits even the minimal amount of wobble.
Wobble means something is wrong!!!
My Wobble went away when I had New Tires put on the bike. Also, had Dyno Beads inserted in the tires for balancing and everything works like a charm.
I personally don't see how anyone can ride a bike without a Windshield. I have a Switchblade on mine and can take if off and over 60 MPH it is unacceptable so how do you guys do it without a Windshield and why would you???
I personally don't see how anyone can ride a bike without a Windshield. I have a Switchblade on mine and can take if off and over 60 MPH it is unacceptable so how do you guys do it without a Windshield and why would you???
Not meant to mask it - but to keep it from getting out of control -
Not one bike at the track shows up w/o one.
Never had the wobble on the X but on the Magna it was at 130-mph the bad thing was once it start it got worse as you slowed down until about 100-mph, talking about a scary situation.
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