[Jeff Higgins]

What a tragic story, Bob - my deepest condolences to Phil's family.

This alleged "Harley wobble" has been around for literally decades. There have been a number of lawsuits filed by grieving families, all alleging some sort of a "design defect" inherent in specific models of Harleys. As far as I know, none of those suits have ever led anywhere.

In at least a couple of cases of which I am aware, it turned out the motorcycle was loaded improperly, with far too much weight over or behind the rear wheel, leading to an inherently unstable condition. All motorcycle manufacturers, not just Harley, take great pains to caution against this dangerous condition. It can be bad enough even if the tires are properly inflated and the shocks properly aired up for the load, but throw in an under inflated tire and/or shocks and it just gets worse.

Obviously, if he had just picked it up and was on his way home, this is not the case. I only mention it because it is the foundation upon which the "Harley wobble" myth is built. And, like I say, it's been going on for decades. Even across several generations of substantially re-designed motorcycles. So, yeah, too many "experts" like to try to show they "know" something by trotting out this old myth after any such tragedy. It helps no one, of course, but that's just kind of how some folks are.

Again, sorry about your friend. His family may never know what really happened, unless, like others have said, he was experiencing some kind of medical emergency that led to the crash. About fifteen years ago an old riding buddy had a massive heart attack while riding down the freeway and crashed into the median. Autopsy said he was dead long before he crashed...