Hi all,

I ask this question because I originally complained to the HD Dealer that my front end was not straight - as in, when riding in a straight line and look at the risers, everything looks like it is pointing to the right.  if I let go of the bars, the bike instantly pulls left.

I rode my mates 08 fatty (mines 2010) and his rides dead straight when I let go.

Comments??
 

If any bike don't run true and straight, i would check why.

a few reasons i can think of, but as your bike is not that old, i would first check everything is lined up do an alinement check also check rear axle,wheel lined up with front wheel

have a 2007 Street Bob and mine has always pulled to the left.... less so now since they (Frasers) fitted a nut to the top engine stabiliser mount (likely never had one from factory). Still think it has something to do with engine alignment, especially on a Dyna.

I'd go for road camber and primary weight plus the thingies spinning in the primary causing centrifical forces.

here is my original post... pic is pretty poor but you will get the idea...

www.hdforums.com.au/Default.aspx

Ok heres is some advice from someone who knows nothin about what he is talkin about

My bike runs dead straight without my hands on the bars for a longggg time, and I dont think my massive counter weight has anything to do with that. Also while riding my front end appears twisted slightly to the point where someone mentioned that one handlebar appears higher than the other??

 Road camber? Bandits front tyre wore so badly on one side he had to replace it and yet the other side was perfect. We ride the same roads and my tyre has not worn in the same pattern. This implies a problem in the bikes geometry, most likely the rear tyre not aligned?? So I dont go with road camber being a problem so much. Riding style may come into it to some degree but not enough to wear as Bandits did.

The best (simplest) way of checkin a bikes geometry that I have heard of (and i am sure I could be wrong) is 2 long fluoro tubes tied to the rear tyre with big Postie elastic bands. If ur front tyre doesnt measure the same either side of the fluoros while ur bars are straight (measure from ends of bars to a central point like seat bolt, centre of frame etc) then somethin is out of line. If it doesnt line up use the coathanger wire trick to measure the rear axle to a central point to ensure the rear axle is centred and try again.

Any other ideas greatly appreciated Dont forget that I am a chippy and know jack shit about bikes, but I am poor so I dont go to the shop too much

Above advice is all good, once you're sure that engine mounts and stabilizers are OK, and the rear wheel is in line with the frame, you could check the front end/forks alignment and height.

Set up on level ground, (as you would have to check the rear end alignment) and lift the front end by jacking the front of the frame just enough to take the weight off the front wheel, but not off the ground.

In that position you can check the front wheel alignment to the frame, and the steering head/bars.

If it's out, loosen the triple tree bolts just enough to be able to move the forks, and align the bars to the front wheel,

(If your eye is good enough to see that it's out, then it's good enough to align it)

Now comes the important bit, before you re-tension the triple tree bolts, make sure that the forks are set in the trees exactly at the same height. If you reckon your eye isn't good enough, use a depth gauge from the top tree to the top of the forks. If the forks are out of whack here, then the front wheel is held on an angle to one or the other side.

The angles inside the forks, between the front axle and the triple trees should be square and form a rectangle, not scew-if and form a parallelogram.

Get the picture, if the front wheel is leaning to one side because the axle is held at different lengths on each side, the bike tends to steer that way and tires can wear on the leaning side as well.

Hope that helps.