IllustrationI HAVE A 2004 HONDA VTX 1300 AND WHILE DECELERATING, USUALLY BETWEEN 50 AND 30 MILES PER HOUR, THE HANDLE BARS AND FRONT END STARTS TO WOBBLE. THIS IS ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS ON A MOTORCYCLE. *TR
2004 Honda VTX1300
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2004 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
490–25K
225–50K
150–75K
075–100K
0100–150K
0150K+
52 reports with mileage · 26 unknown
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 33 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Suspension. Review the 25 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 9 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
3 crash reports0 fire reports3 injury reports
What owners actually said
78 reports2004 HONDA VTX 1300. BEARING FLANGE FAILURE ON THE REAR WHEEL. APPROX. 50,000 MILES BEFORE IT GOT REAL NOTICEABLE REAL FAST. THE BEARING FLANGE COST 249.00. CANT FIND A CROSS REFERENCE TO THE BEARING USED, SO HAD TO PURCHASE THE WHOLE FLANGE ASSY. *TR
2004 HONDA VTX 1300C. FRONT END SHAKE AND WOBBLE.THE WOBBLE IS BETWEEN 35-50 MPH. NEW TAPERED BEARINGS ARE RECOMMENDED FOR THE REPAIR. *TR
ON 2004 HONDA VTX1300C MOTORCYCLE, FRONT TIRE DEVELOPS A SEVERE SHIMMY WHEN DECELERATING FROM 40-50 MPH. HAVE REPORTED PROBLEM TO HONDA REPAIR CENTER AND TECH'S STATE THEY DO NOT KNOW CAUSE OF PROBLEM WHERE MANY FORUMS DISCUSS ISSUE IN DETAIL. *TR
I HAVE A 2004 HONDA VTX 1300C WITH 14,483 MILES ON IT. I CHECKED THE BEARINGS IN REAR WHEEL AS I WAS PUTTING A NEW TIRE ON. THE BEARINGS ARE SO BAD IT VERY HARD TO TURN THEM BY HAND. I'M 51 YEARS OLD AND PUT OVER 300,000 MILES ON BIKES. I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS IN SUCH A SHORT TIME. I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT HONDA WILL NOT C…
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I HAVE A 2004 HONDA VTX 1300C WITH 14,483 MILES ON IT. I CHECKED THE BEARINGS IN REAR WHEEL AS I WAS PUTTING A NEW TIRE ON. THE BEARINGS ARE SO BAD IT VERY HARD TO TURN THEM BY HAND. I'M 51 YEARS OLD AND PUT OVER 300,000 MILES ON BIKES. I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS IN SUCH A SHORT TIME. I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT HONDA WILL NOT CORRECT THIS PROBLEM SO I WILL TRY TO FIND BETTER BEARINGS TO REPLACE THE STOCK ONES THAT FAILED. *TR
LEAKING FUEL VALVE ON A 2004 HONDA VTX 1300. EXACT SAME DESCRIPTION AS THE 2007 MODEL YEAR. *TR
THE SPEEDOMETER IS OFF BY APPROXIMATELY 9-10% (READS FASTER THAN ACTUAL SPEED). THIS CREATES A SAFETY ISSUE WITH OTHER DRIVERS BEHIND YOU TAILGATING, PASSING YOU IN ROAD RAGE TYPE MANNERS AND CREATES AN OVERALL SAFETY ISSUE WHEN YOU ARE IMPEDING TRAFFIC AND DON'T KNOW IF YOUR DRIVING THE LEGAL SPEED LIMIT. FURTHER MORE THE ODOM…
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THE SPEEDOMETER IS OFF BY APPROXIMATELY 9-10% (READS FASTER THAN ACTUAL SPEED). THIS CREATES A SAFETY ISSUE WITH OTHER DRIVERS BEHIND YOU TAILGATING, PASSING YOU IN ROAD RAGE TYPE MANNERS AND CREATES AN OVERALL SAFETY ISSUE WHEN YOU ARE IMPEDING TRAFFIC AND DON'T KNOW IF YOUR DRIVING THE LEGAL SPEED LIMIT. FURTHER MORE THE ODOMETER READING IS FALSIFIED BECAUSE OF THIS. THIS PROBLEM IS WELL DOCUMENTED WITH ALL OWNERS OF HONDA VTX MOTORCYCLES, AFTERMARKET COMPANIES ARE MAKING MONEY PROVIDING A REPAIR SOLUTION BECAUSE THE DEALER CHOOSES TO IGNORE THAT THERE'S A PROBLEM AND TELLS THE CONSUMER THAT THE PROBLEM IS NORMAL. THE FACT THAT AN AFTERMARKET PART CALLED THE SPEEDO HEALER EXISTS SHOULD BE PROOF ENOUGH THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM. THE DEALER SHOULD PROVIDE THE FIX FOR FREE, I SHOULDN'T NEED TO RELY ON AN AFTERMARKET COMPANY TO PROVIDE ACCURACY ON AN IMPORTANT ITEM SUCH AS MY SPEEDOMETER. *TR
MY 2004 HONDA VTX 1300C HAS A BAD VIBRATION WHEN DECELERATING FROM 50 TO 40 MPH. SEVERAL TIME THIS HAS ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT DUE TO VIBRATION DURING A CURVE. ACCORDING TO MY REPAIR GUY THIS IS DUE TO A POOR DESIGN IN THE STEERING BEARING IN THE TRIPLE TREE ON THE 1300S. APPARENTLY THE BEARING USED IN THE TRIPLE TREE IS NO…
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MY 2004 HONDA VTX 1300C HAS A BAD VIBRATION WHEN DECELERATING FROM 50 TO 40 MPH. SEVERAL TIME THIS HAS ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT DUE TO VIBRATION DURING A CURVE. ACCORDING TO MY REPAIR GUY THIS IS DUE TO A POOR DESIGN IN THE STEERING BEARING IN THE TRIPLE TREE ON THE 1300S. APPARENTLY THE BEARING USED IN THE TRIPLE TREE IS NOT THE SAME ONE USED ON THE VTX1800 MODEL WHICH HE SAYS IS A GOOD ONE. *TR
I HAVE A 2004 HONDA VTX 1300CC MOTORCYCLE, WHICH HAS DEVELOPED A LARGE PROBLEM IN THE STEERING (WOBBLE). THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN NOTED BY HUNDREDS OF OWNERS THAT I HAVE SEEN ON THE WEB. I AM REPLACING THE FRONT WHEEL BEARINGS AND THE STEERING STEM BEARINGS TO AVOID BEING KILLED. THAT FAILURE OF THE NHTSA TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE WITH…
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I HAVE A 2004 HONDA VTX 1300CC MOTORCYCLE, WHICH HAS DEVELOPED A LARGE PROBLEM IN THE STEERING (WOBBLE). THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN NOTED BY HUNDREDS OF OWNERS THAT I HAVE SEEN ON THE WEB. I AM REPLACING THE FRONT WHEEL BEARINGS AND THE STEERING STEM BEARINGS TO AVOID BEING KILLED. THAT FAILURE OF THE NHTSA TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE WITH HONDA IS SICKENING. I GUESS PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE BEFORE OUR WONDERFUL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES WILL DO THEIR JOBS; MAYBE NOT EVEN THEN. *TR
HONDA VTX 1300C HAS A SERIOUS FRONT END WOBBLE THAT IMPEDES THE SAFE OPERATION OF THIS VEHICLE AT SPEEDS OF 40 MILES PER HOUR. I HAVE REPLACED TIRES AND REPLACED FORK SPRINGS/OIL. STILL FRONT END SHAKES VIOLENTLY. THIS STARTED AROUND 7,000 MILES .I'M CURRENTLY AT 20,000 AND WANTED TO REPLACE ALL PARTS BEFORE COMPLAINING. *TR
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.