I am not saying that all Dyna's don't have the problem or that the 'death wobble' is limited only to touring bikes. In my personal experience, I have not talked to anyone with a late model Dyna that has experienced this issue.
Today I talked to the owner of a motorcycle repair shop who experienced the death wobble on a 2007 Sportster. He was pushing it very hard trying to keep up with a friend on a Dyna. At around 80 mph, in a turn, the Sportster developed a severe wobble. Fortunately he was able to regain control.
It is worth noting that this Sportster has been outfitted like a bagger, with hard bags on the back and a small fairing. Sportsters have a short wheelbase with more flexible forks and a fork rake that tends to make them more susceptible to any sort of osculation really tossing the bike around.
That said, I rode a 2008 XL Sportster for over a year on some marginal road surfaces and at high speed and never experienced the death wobble. Adding a fork brace to that bike greatly improved its directional stability. Any wobble that I could attribute to that bike was the result of a very flexible, stock set of front forks that also suffered from weak fork springs. A set of progressive springs resolved that problem too. By the way, the 2007 Sportster that I referred to had progressive springs in the forks when the death wobble happened.
From that I have read about the feared death wobble, it appears to mostly be something that happens when the rider is pushing the bike very hard, usually over 75 or 80 mph and often on uneven road surfaces. Taking turns at higher speeds seems to be a common way of initiating a death wobble too. Worn motor mounts appear to be a contributor to this sort of instability too.
Fortunately there are a couple of retrofits that do appear to totally do away with the death wobble, in most cases. Not all instabilities that Harley owners experience are caused by the issue with the swing-arm/motor mounts. There are a long list of other problems that can cause wobbles too.
Worn steering head bearings, out of balance wheels, especially the front wheel, and even worn wheel bearings have been implicated in wobbles of various kinds. A lot of riders claim that the Harley Bat-Wing fairing can introduce steering oscillations and improperly installed windshields can cause problems too.
As for me, I'm narrowing down the list of steering stabilizers for my 2009 Dyna Super Glide FXD. In 53k on this bike I have never experienced anything but superb handling. Still, I think that a steering stabilizer could be an asset on harsh roads or if a tire goes flat. A lot of riders claim that a steering stabilizer take most of the vibration out of the handlebars, making for a more comfortable ride.
I'll post something here after I install the stabilizer and have a chance to put it through it paces.
Pete
Glad to hear Dyna's don't have the issue.. On youtube, you can find a few examples of someone moving part of the bike( on a stand) and the rear tire moving/ wobble. I think part of the engine is removed for this test.
Does a stabilizer reduce vibration as well?
Sent from Motorcycle.com App