Electra Glide SEhandling

I've been thinking about buying a bagger and the Screamin Chicken FLHTC
caught my eye at a local dealer. (The price is awfully steep but that's
besides the point) I found a road test report at
http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/roadtests/seglide04/ that mentions a
handling problem:

"Though easy to manhandle at low speed and offering more cornering clearance
than any of the less luxurious maxi-twins, this SE Glide has one foul
handling trait. Cornering at speeds above about 60 mph, hitting a bump would
start a pronounced wallow that would get worse if you rolled off the
throttle, but straighten out if you stayed on the gas. (If you needed to
slow down, keeping the throttle open and riding the rear brake seemed to be
the answer.) We initially blamed in on Friedman's effusive packing, but the
bike turned out to do it even more -- but not with quite the same
magnitude -- when it was unloaded. With the right combination of corner and
bumps, it can get pretty exciting, as the long black tire mark left by the
editor in one bumpy Texas turn will testify. We suspect the culprit is
somewhere in the rubber mounting, but can't be more exact than that."

Is this a common issue with HD baggers or it a sign of a screwed up
suspension? Do you think it might be related to the "high speed wobble"
that's been debated in this newsgroup?

Thanks for any and all replies (even the smart-ass ones).

Tom Reese

"Tom Reese" <tomreese RemoveThis @comcast.net> wrote in message
news:cuadnd6bc6dgRCzdRVn-hQ@comcast.com...
 > I've been thinking about buying a bagger and the Screamin Chicken FLHTC
 > caught my eye at a local dealer. (The price is awfully steep but that's
 > besides the point) I found a road test report at
 > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/roadtests/seglide04/" target="_blank">http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/roadtests/seglide04/</a> that mentions a
 > handling problem:
 >
 > "Though easy to manhandle at low speed and offering more cornering
clearance
 > than any of the less luxurious maxi-twins, this SE Glide has one foul
 > handling trait. Cornering at speeds above about 60 mph, hitting a bump
would
 > start a pronounced wallow that would get worse if you rolled off the
 > throttle, but straighten out if you stayed on the gas. (If you needed to
 > slow down, keeping the throttle open and riding the rear brake seemed to
be
 > the answer.) We initially blamed in on Friedman's effusive packing, but
the
 > bike turned out to do it even more -- but not with quite the same
 > magnitude -- when it was unloaded. With the right combination of corner
and
 > bumps, it can get pretty exciting, as the long black tire mark left by the
 > editor in one bumpy Texas turn will testify. We suspect the culprit is
 > somewhere in the rubber mounting, but can't be more exact than that."
 >
 > Is this a common issue with HD baggers or it a sign of a screwed up
 > suspension? Do you think it might be related to the "high speed wobble"
 > that's been debated in this newsgroup?
 >
 > Thanks for any and all replies (even the smart-ass ones).
 >
 > Tom Reese
 >
 >
So tired of hearing about this shit. I'm getting pretty damn thirsty too.
My '02 bagger gets the living shit run out of it, just like it was somebody
elses, or a rental. I'm on my second right side floorboard due to laying it
WAY over in the turns, and NEVER have I experienced a wobble of any kind
except when dragging the frame, or in need of a new rear tire. Something I
can't say about my Sloptail. I regularly run at speeds above 85 for extended
periods, in traffic, big trucks, rough roads, etc. I'm not saying that a
wobble doesn't exist in certain bikes for unknown reasons, but it hasn't
happened to me or the other bagger riders that I ride with (they ride just
as hard as I). This leads me to believe that possibly the wobble is due to
several factors adding together to make a bad situation. Overloading, bad
tires, bad alignment, improper air shock adjustment for conditions,
under/over inflated tires, etc., etc., etc. Quite possibly even poor rider
skills. The only way to know for sure is to ride the damn thing, or one
like it, and see if it is accecptable to you. Do you believe everything you
read in magazines or the internet? Hit the demo rides, rent a new bagger
for the weekend, or borrow one, and then run the piss out of it. I think
you will find that they are stable as hell in all situations. YMMV but that
is my experience. Good luck.

--
Larry DOF# 29, SENS
"It can be clean, or riden, but not both in the same day."
2002 FLHTCI (stock and staying that way, mostly)
1988 FLST-C (modified & scarred)
1978 Lowrider (crashed & long gone)
2001 XL883 Hugger (Hers)<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->