IllustrationBAD WOBBLE IN STEERING/BEARING BETWEEN 30 AND 50 MPH. WHEN THIS IS GOING ON IN A CURVE YOU NEARLY LOOSE CONTROL IT CONVULSIVE WOBBLE GROWS. NOT HARD TO FIND NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS CONDITION EVEN ON THESE BIKES RIGHT FROM THE DEALER. *TR
2003 Honda VTX1300
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2003 Honda VTX1300 do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 35.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all VTX1300 years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 19 of 35 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Steering. Review the 12 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Suspension. Review the 11 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 5 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
0 crash reports0 fire reports0 injury reports
What owners actually said
35 reportsI OWN A 2003 HONDA VTX1300S MOTORCYCLE. THIS BIKE IS SHAFT DRIVE. WHILE RIDING THROUGH TOWN THE SWING ARM SEPARATED FROM THE REAR WHEEL DO TO THE SPOT WELDS BRAKING ON THE DRIVE SHAFT SIDE OF THE MOTORCYCLE. THIS CAUSED THE BIKE TO TWIST WILDLY DO TO THE REAR WHEEL ONLY BEING SUPPORTED ON ONE SIDE OF THE SWING ARM. THIS BIKE…
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I OWN A 2003 HONDA VTX1300S MOTORCYCLE. THIS BIKE IS SHAFT DRIVE. WHILE RIDING THROUGH TOWN THE SWING ARM SEPARATED FROM THE REAR WHEEL DO TO THE SPOT WELDS BRAKING ON THE DRIVE SHAFT SIDE OF THE MOTORCYCLE. THIS CAUSED THE BIKE TO TWIST WILDLY DO TO THE REAR WHEEL ONLY BEING SUPPORTED ON ONE SIDE OF THE SWING ARM. THIS BIKE ONLY HAS 7,200 MILES ON IT AND IS GARAGED & WELL KEPT. I WAS TRAVELING 25 MPG ON A CITY STREET AND GOT STOPPED WITHOUT ACCIDENT. IF I HAD BEEN TRAVELING AT SPEED ON A HIGHWAY OR COUNTY ROAD THERE NO DOUBT THAT I WOULD HAVE BEEN INJURED. AT THIS TIME HONDA CLAIMS NO RE-CALLS AND NO RESPONSIBILITY TO REPAIR. I HAVE NOT ABUSED THIS MOTORCYCLE AND FEEL SOMEONE IS GOING TO GET HURT IF NOT ALREADY. *TR
REAR FLANGE BEARING IN VTX 1300 CAME APART, LOOKED AT BEARING WHILE CHANGING REAR TIRE. REPLACE 2004 AND 2003 VTX S BEARING WHILE CHANGING REAR TIRE. REPLACE BEARING # 91052-KZ4-J21. *TR
I AM THE OWNER OF A 2003 HONDA VT1300S. THIS MOTORCYCLE HAS A DECELERATION "WOBBLE" AT 35-45 MPH. IT IS FELT AT THE HANDLEBARS EVEN WHILE HAVING BOTH HANDS ON THEM. MANY VTX OWNERS I KNOW HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THIS ISSUE BECAUSE IT REALLY FEELS AS IF THE STEERING HEAD WOULD COME LOOSE AT ANY POINT AND ALSO I…
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I AM THE OWNER OF A 2003 HONDA VT1300S. THIS MOTORCYCLE HAS A DECELERATION "WOBBLE" AT 35-45 MPH. IT IS FELT AT THE HANDLEBARS EVEN WHILE HAVING BOTH HANDS ON THEM. MANY VTX OWNERS I KNOW HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THIS ISSUE BECAUSE IT REALLY FEELS AS IF THE STEERING HEAD WOULD COME LOOSE AT ANY POINT AND ALSO IT'S DANGEROUS WHEN RIDING ON CERTAIN ROADS. IT ALSO SHOWS UNEVEN TIRE WEAR ON THE FRONT TIRE. *JB
2003 HONDA VTX 1`300S FRONT FROK WOBBLE AS BIKE SLOWS DOWN. THE SEVERITY CHANGES AS THE SPEED DECREASES. THE PROBLEM HAS EXISTED SINCE I PURCHASED THE BIKE WITH 9,000 MILES ON IT. IT NOW HAS 19,000 AND THE WOBBLE SHOWS NO SIGNS OF GOING AWAY. *NM
WHEN RIDDING MY MOTORCYCLE AT A SPEED OF 50 AND LETTING OFF THE GAS, AT AROUND 45 MPH I GET A WOBBLE REAL BAD FROM THE FRONT END AND IT IS REALLY DANGEROUS AROUND A TURN AND CAN CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. TALKED TO MANY HONDA OWNERS AND THEY ALL HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. AFTER CHANGING THE STEERING BEARING IT IS FIXED, THEY SAID. *NM
2003 HONDA VTX 1300R MOTORCYCLE HAS FRONT END WOBBLE AT SPEEDS BELOW APPROX. 45 MPH. *NM
VEHICLE - 2003 HONDA VTX S/R MODEL PROBLEM IS FRONT END WOBBLE AT 45-35 MPH WHEN DECELERATING. I REPLACED FRONT AND REAR TIRES AT JUST OVER 9000 MILES. BEFORE I REPLACED THE FRONT TIRE THE WOBBLE WAS GETTING WORSE. AFTER I REPLACED THE FRONT TIRE I NOTICED THAT THE WOBBLE IS GONE BUT I CAN STILL FEEL A VERY SLIGHT SIDE TO SIDE…
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VEHICLE - 2003 HONDA VTX S/R MODEL PROBLEM IS FRONT END WOBBLE AT 45-35 MPH WHEN DECELERATING. I REPLACED FRONT AND REAR TIRES AT JUST OVER 9000 MILES. BEFORE I REPLACED THE FRONT TIRE THE WOBBLE WAS GETTING WORSE. AFTER I REPLACED THE FRONT TIRE I NOTICED THAT THE WOBBLE IS GONE BUT I CAN STILL FEEL A VERY SLIGHT SIDE TO SIDE VIBRATION IN THE HANDLEBARS. *NM
THE DUNLOP TIRES ON MY MOTORCYCLE HAVE "C" SHAPED CUTS IN THEM. I AM ON MY 2ND SET OF TIRES WITH THIS DEFECT IN MY TIRE. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THE TIRED DID NOT "LAMINATE" PROPERLY. I TRIED TO RESOLVE THIS WITH DUNLOP BUT HAD NO SUCCESS AND CAN NOT AFFORD TO REPLACE THE TIRES AGAIN AS THEY ARE MAKING ME PAY FOR THE DEFECTIVE TIRES. *…
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THE DUNLOP TIRES ON MY MOTORCYCLE HAVE "C" SHAPED CUTS IN THEM. I AM ON MY 2ND SET OF TIRES WITH THIS DEFECT IN MY TIRE. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THE TIRED DID NOT "LAMINATE" PROPERLY. I TRIED TO RESOLVE THIS WITH DUNLOP BUT HAD NO SUCCESS AND CAN NOT AFFORD TO REPLACE THE TIRES AGAIN AS THEY ARE MAKING ME PAY FOR THE DEFECTIVE TIRES. *JB
THE VTX 1300 HAS A SEVERE WOBBLE ON DECELERATION FROM 45 - 40 MPH THAT REQUIRES THE RIDER TO MAINTAIN A FIRM GRIP ON THE BARS. I HAVE SPOKEN WITH 4 DIFFERENT HONDA DEALERS AND THEY ALL SAY THEY HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THIS PROBLEM. I BELONG TO A VTX RIDERS GROUP AND I HAVE RIDDEN 4 OTHER VTX 1300 AND THEY ALL HAVE THE SAME WOBBLE. I…
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THE VTX 1300 HAS A SEVERE WOBBLE ON DECELERATION FROM 45 - 40 MPH THAT REQUIRES THE RIDER TO MAINTAIN A FIRM GRIP ON THE BARS. I HAVE SPOKEN WITH 4 DIFFERENT HONDA DEALERS AND THEY ALL SAY THEY HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THIS PROBLEM. I BELONG TO A VTX RIDERS GROUP AND I HAVE RIDDEN 4 OTHER VTX 1300 AND THEY ALL HAVE THE SAME WOBBLE. I HAVE FOUND ONE RIDER THAT REPLACED THE FACTORY STEERING HEAD BALL BEARING WITH A ROLLER BEARING AND THAT CORRECTS THIS PROBLEM. I BELIEVE THE FACTORY BALL BEARING IS INADEQUATE TO SUPPORT THE WEIGHT OF THIS VEHICLE. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN APPARENT SINCE THE DAY I PURCHASED THE MOTORCYCLE ON JULY 12, 2003.
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.