Get rid of the Rubber!

Energy One

spadesluck

Active Member
Ever since getting back from my stint in Afghanistan my bike just has not rode right. At certain speeds the bike had a severe shake/vibration. It would shake so bad it seemed it was trying to buck my tank off the bike. It has been driving me nuts for awhile. I looked over the whole front end, checked for loose bolts, checked for loose handlebars, tried tightening the stem bolt. Nothing seemed to work.

Well my last resort, I went ahead and just replaced the rubber handlebar bushings with some polyurethane ones (theory would tell us these would ride harder). All I can say now is WOW :whoop:. The bike is a dream to ride again with no more shakes and smoother that the day I bought her. The old rubber ones did not look bad but apparently they where.

If you have similar problems its worth a try. For $16 shipped from Ebay why not? :up:
 

Th3InfamousI

Administrator
Staff member
Ever since getting back from my stint in Afghanistan my bike just has not rode right. At certain speeds the bike had a severe shake/vibration. It would shake so bad it seemed it was trying to buck my tank off the bike. It has been driving me nuts for awhile. I looked over the whole front end, checked for loose bolts, checked for loose handlebars, tried tightening the stem bolt. Nothing seemed to work.

Well my last resort, I went ahead and just replaced the rubber handlebar bushings with some polyurethane ones (theory would tell us these would ride harder). All I can say now is WOW :whoop:. The bike is a dream to ride again with no more shakes and smoother that the day I bought her. The old rubber ones did not look bad but apparently they where.

If you have similar problems its worth a try. For $16 shipped from Ebay why not? :up:
got a link for the bushings? I am curious might replace these when I redo the seals on my forks.:2thumbs:
 

spadesluck

Active Member
I got them from outlawcycleproducts on Ebay but they do not seem to have on listed at the moment. If you just do a search for Harley polyurethane riser bushings you will get many choinces.
 

spadesluck

Active Member
Just regular harley handlebar bushing is all you need to look for. They are either rubber, polyurethane, and I have seen some solid ones.
 

erldawg

Guru
Did u verify the upper motor mount is tight? If my memory serves me right I thought a loose on would cause vibration issues
 

Husker-Wolf

Active Member
Do these things come in different sizes? I ordered Drag Specialties
DS-290573 and they are smaller in diameter by about a 1/2" than what's in mine currently.
 

GKC

Member
Do these things come in different sizes? I ordered Drag Specialties
DS-290573 and they are smaller in diameter by about a 1/2" than what's in mine currently.
The ones I got from Biker's Dream have this information on the package. I have an '08 Mutt:

Arlen Ness
Part # DS-290571
Poly Riser Bushing Kit 84-11 HD
Vendor Part # 08-005

I replaced mine this weekend. The old ones were 4 years old and looked ok. It did make a noticeable reduction in mirror shake and took some vibration out of the grips. Manual called for 65 ft./lbs. torque on the bolts and a dab of blue threadlocker.
 

SCOTTx88

Active Member
Did mine tonight, WOW!! What a difference, my handlebars even sit higher, didnt realize how tweaked the factory rubber ones were. Definitely recommend it.
 

Viking

Biker
Super good info, I got cramps in my hand today and my iPhone holder broke off due to the vibrations....Let's see if this works...
 
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