I have to admit I am probably gripping harder when going faster and around traffic due to being new to riding on the street.

-I'll look into the jar dine exhaust as well as a dyna or sportster exhaust. I really like this exhaust. Anyone have any idea where it came from? It just says its a custom exhaust. [url]http://www.650motorcycles.com/MarkRollins.html/url]

Thanks for the reply! I'll definitely be practicing being more relaxed.

actually, it does.
on the sort of steel grate you'ere talking about the bike will shimmy, no matter what, but he's not riding on a metal grate, he's riding on pavement
\a two wheeled vehicle balanced by pitting steering angle against lean: if you put the bike upright and let it go, it'll fall over
if you push it,and it has decent steering characteristics, it'll start to fall over, and the front wheel, of it's own accord, will steer in the direction of the lean, causing the bike to come back upright, and start to flop over the other way: the faster the vehicle moves,and the more stability-centric it's front wheel rake and trail are the faster this cycle is, and at anything above a walk you don't even feel it
when you grip the bars harder, you interfere with this dynamic, and actually destabilize the bike by preventing this effect
this is why little kids on bikes start out tense and wobbly, and as they get better, become relaxed and stable

I read it and understand HOW you meant it.
No matter how hard you grip, it's Gonna wiggle.

I experienced that wind thing on the Moonshine Lunch Run last spring.  We were coming back through the flat parts of Ill. and Indiana....and there was a big cross wind. We were actually riding down the road and leaning over into the wind a pretty steep lean to the right.  Every now and then a big gust of wind would hit hard from the side - it was so hard my helmet wanted to spin my head....and the bike would instantly lean hard into the wind all on it's own and just keep going straight.  That really surprised me.  The other weird thing was when you were leaning hard to the right side into the wind....then came up to a left hand corner while the bike was leaning right????  Once again the bike acted normal if you didn't think about it and just rode like normal.

Be aware, riding, compensating for a cross wind, encounter something that Blocks that wind and suddenly, you're in trouble. And I was nearly blown off the road when I was hit by a cross wind when I was passing an 18 wheeler. Soon as I cleared his front end, wham.. I was so close to the edge I couldn't steer left to fall right... 70+ MPH, Gravel, not good..

Oh,you GOTTA compensate,, just be aware of anything that is gonna block the wind off or expose you to the cross wind suddenly. Like, you're running along laid over, cuz the wind is howling across the road,,and you're gonna cross a bridge with some substantial side rails that will cut the wind off of you by Half, you could turn,, you can crash.. because you Were in a "turn", fighting the wind.. cut the wind off,, you're following, right?
Am I making sense to anyone?