A better description might help. You're not cornering hard on freeways, so what does "handle better" on the freeway mean on a cruiser? What does it do differently?
Alright guys, I was really trying to avoid going through all this, but since you asked for it, there's no short answer... Buckle up.
This is my second Roadstar. [R*] They're very big and very heavy. First was a 1600 and my current is a 1700. Both weighed close to 900lbs without a rider and both were rock solid on the freeway. It was like riding a horse; you could move around in the saddle, shift your weight around on the flooboards, and nothing would disturb the bike. It would track perfectly straight on the free way; you cold practically let go of the bars at 70mph. Both had upgraded rear shock with a remotely adjustable preload and the 1600 had Progressive fork springs while the 1700 has RaceTech springs and Gold Valve Emulators.
I used to hang with sport bikes in the twisties all the time. And the twistier the better. I cant tell you how many times someone on a sport bike has come up to me at a rest stop to tell me they'd never seen anyone ride a Harley like that before. That's when I'd tell them it's a Yamaha.
That is up until two years ago, when I took a trip up to Oregon. [I've already posted much of this crap on other threads, so my apologies in advance for those of you who are reading any of this for the second or third time...]
Before the trip I had a new rear tire mounted at Cycle Salvage in Hayward. I also asked them to replace the valve stems with billet 90° stems. They'd installed rubber mounted 90° stems last time and they'd flex every time I'd check my tire pressure or put air in. So I made a point it make sure they had the billet stems the day before. The next day and dropped off my wheel and new tire, went and had lunch, then picked it up about an hour later. I paid up, and as I was about to leave, when I noticed they'd forgotten to replace the stem, and since it meant removing the tire all over again, I didn't have time to wait around, so I left and hoped for the best.
Fast forward to two weeks later in Oregon. I'm 50 miles east of the nearest town in the eastern Oregon dessert and it's 105°. It's after 5PM, and I still have 45 miles to get to my destination, where I'm meeting up with about a dozen other riders, and that's when my rear goes flat. Turns out it was the valve stem. With no cell service I had no choice but to leave the bike and hitch a ride.
The next morning I call AAA and call the nearest dealer, 75 mile away in Bend OR. They said if I can get the bike to them by 4PM, they can mount a new tire, and I can ride back to my destination the same afternoon. Which would have been fine, but the tow truck driver didn't arrive until a quarter to 4PM and there was no way to get the bike and get to the dealer in time. The next day was Saturday, and since they were the only towing company within 75 miles with only one driver on the weekends, they said they couldn't come back to get me the next day. So with much protesting on my part, I had no choice but to let the guy get my bike on his own, and he promised to drop it off at the dealership first thing the next morning when they opened. This just meant I had to find a way get to Bend, 75 miles away, the next day. Fortunately one of our group had towed their bike, and another in our group needed a new rectifier, so the two of us drove into Bend the next day in one of the memeber's truck.
When we arrived, the tow truck driver was no where to be found. He finally showed up around 2PM, and had tied down the bike so tight, that the forks and rear swing arm had both bottomed out. I later noticed, after he'd left of course, that he'd also scratched both my front and rear fender as well as clearly dropped the bike, bent my tourpak mount, and one of my highway pegs. But that was the least of my problems, because the mechanic could get my rear axle out to mount the new tire. So he called me over.
The two of us, along with the guy who'd come with me, spent the next 45 mins removing the axle.
Remember the guy who'd mounted my new rear tire and forgot to install a new valve stem, causing the flat? Well he'd also forgot to reinstall the internal wheel spacer, which BENT the rear axle, fried my wheel bearings and friction welded the alignment adjuster to the axle. So I was stuck for a week while the dealer had to special order all the needed parts. In the mean time, I'd planned to replace my front tire after returning from the trip, so I went ahead and had them mount a new front tire as well. At the recommendation of others I switched to Metzler 888s and and had the dealer install the 90° billet valve stems while they were at it.
A week later I get the bike, but not before the tech test rides it and tells me the steering head bearings were WAY too loose. They were fine on the way up to OR. when I was *cruising* at 95 and the bike was rock solid. Now it was so loose it was seriously unnerving. But I was so eager to get the hell out of there, and get back home, that I borrowed some tools and tightened the steering head bearings myself and headed out.
As soon as I got out on the highway and hit 50 MPH, the bike was squirming all over the place, so I pulled over an checked the tire pressure. Both were a little high, so I let some air out and got back on the road. It was a *little* better, I cold ride at about 55 MPH, but no faster. So I limped along, pulling over to the right to let everyone pass as they came up behind me. I figured it was oils on the new tire and things would get better as I put on more miles.
After a 100 miles, I could safely get up to 60 MPH. After 200, 65MPH. After 500 miles I could ride at 75 MPH, but really had to pay close attention, as the bike was still somewhat squirmy. Like riding on ice.
I made it back home, [I wont even tell you about getting caught in the Camp Fire just outside of Redding.] The bike handled better than when I'd left Bend, OR, but it still wasn't like it was before the trip. So a few months later I replaced the front wheel bearings, because they were making noise when I turned, but that didn't help with the handling. Six months after that I rebuilt my forks and installed the RaceTech springs and Gold Valve emulators. It helped some, but I've never liked the feeling of the RTs. I followed all their specifications when setting up the forks, but they were overly harsh over square bumps yet would dive too much under braking. But that's neither hear nor there, I've made lots of changes to the RT set up since then, and while it's better, it's still not as good as the Progressive springs where. Anyway, I'm getting off track here...
Now here's the weird part. Initially I was convinced my handling issues were due to the Metzlers. After a year, the rear started to de-laminate, so I went back to Shinko 777 HDs, which I'd been using for years and really loved for their sticky compound. [It's what I have now] But as soon as I mounted the new rear Shinko, the bike was every bit as squirrely over 55 MPH, as it was when I left Bend, OR. Over time, it too improved some... But only some.
I've since replaced my steering head bearings, because, they were shot thanks to the tow truck driver. I've even replaced my swing arm bearings and had my rear shock rebuilt. And yes, I've aligned the rear wheel as well. I'm on my second brand new set of Shinkos, front and rear, since this all started.
Every time I replaced something, it got a little better, but it's STILL "nervous" above 70 MPH. It feels fine below that, but once the speed gets high enough, it gets nervous. Which brings us to Friday.
I'm at the end of my rope here. So I'm willing to try anything. So I remove my fork lowers, just to see, and sure enough, it helped some. So now I can get up to 75 without feeling too nervous, but I know the lowers are not the cause, because I had them on when I left for OR and was cruising at 90.
But then I started hitting some bumps and the rear was starting to pogo. This was most likely due to a slow leak in the rear shock. When I had it rebuilt, the guy who did it added a Shrader valve to the shock body to recharge it after the rebuild. But when I mounted it for the first time after the rebuild, it felt WAY under dampened. Turns out it had lost all pressure. So I bought a shock pump and pumped it back up.
So back to Friday... I'm on 980 in Lafayette, and the bike is pogoing so much I get off the freeway and decide to stick to the back roads. I head out Reliez Valley road, which takes you to Bear Creek, near the San Pablo Reservoir. Near the reservoir, the road opens up to high speed sweepers. As soon as I pick up speed, the rear end starts moving around on me, it's so bad it feels like my rear is going flat, so I pulled over and checked the air pressure, but the tires were fine.
So now I'm having to baby it and keep it below 50 MPH until I get to San Pablo Dam Road, where I could head toward Orinda an take the back roads up and over to Grizzly Peak, because I was too afraid to get on the freeway and ride through the Caldacot Tunnel with the way it was handling.
The back road is a very twisty steep road through residential neighborhoods. As I get half way up the mountain, the bike is starting to feel better, more responsive and less squirmy.
By the time I made it to Grizzly Peak, it felt like my old bike again. By the time I get down the hill, behind the Claremont Country Club, the bike just feels SO good, so solid, and so responsive I decided to get back on the freeway and see how it handles. I rode up Claremont Ave and got back on 24 West. I get up to speed and the bike feels good now. No squirming.
I rode all the way back home to Alameda, hitting 80 along the way, and it felt good, almost like it used to before all this started. So what gives???
P.S. You'll be glad to know that's the last time I tell this story...
