What makes a springer softail front end shake?

Question

I have a 2005 springer softail had it's 10,000 mile service done, and now my front end shakes badly once in a while. It started after I put air in the front tire. Any ideas?

Answer 1

if the springer front end is out of whack, it gets called jerry springered.... if they had it apart and have the level all mucked up it will ride and steer like a 1 handled wheel barrel

Answer 2

Check the shock (dampener) between the springs, they can go bad.

Answer 3

are you referring to 'high speed wobble' where the wheel kinda turns back and fourth ever so slightly on it's own?

if so, first i'd check to make sure my bearings are fine and everything is tight.... if everything's fine, you can try lowering the forks down a few milimeters in the tripple clamps.... this will slightly lower the rake, and make it slightly more stable...

Answer 4

!0000 mile service, now it shakes. I'd say a typical incompent HD dealer "mechanic" mis-adjusted your steering head. This happens a lot. A friend of mine took his bike back to the dealer 3 times to get them to correct this problem before he gave up and just did it himself. The moral of this story is NEVER let a dealership touch your bike.

Answer 5

You said it all when you said that you put air in the front tire.  I had a similar experience with one of my bikes.  The problem , at least for me, was the front tire.  I owned that bike for 15 years before I got it right.  Front tire pressure, wear and brand.  Pressure and wear where important items I could easily monitor.  I found that one brand of tire would start shaking after about 4000 miles of wear, especially if I had a passenger.

Keep both tires properly inflated.  You don't say how many miles you have on the front tire, but that could be part of the problem.  Changing the brand you are using can also help.  At 10,000 miles it is not likely the front end needs work, but check for any looseness in the steering head, axel and suspension linkage to eliminate them as a possible factor.

Answer 6

jrrysimm may certainly be right when he mentioned the steering head bearings.  Too loose or too tight can cause handling problems.  Also, on the springers, the little bushings on the fork itself are adjustable and need to be adjusted correctly.  Again, too loose or too tight will cause problems.  As also mentioned, check for tire wear.  A worn tire will certainly affect handling.