I have been wondering on how to check (or if it even needs to be checked) the alignment of the motor to the wheels. I understand that the rubber mounted motor in my 05 RK Classic can move and effect the cornering at speed. In fact I'm ready for that wobble whenever I go into a corner and I'm going over say 60-65 mph.Now the True-Track device is supposed to take care of this problem and when I can afford one I'll get one. Now in the mean time because it seems like an interesting thing to do, I'd like to learn how to check the alignment of the wheels and drive train. A google search came up with the following directions..

"When aligning a rubber mounted drive train, I start by insuring the rear axle and swingarm shaft are exactly the "Same Distance" apart on both sides of the motorcycle. Then I use two 8-ft fluorescent light bulbs for wheel alignment. I secure one on each side of the rear wheel. They run the length of the motorcycle and end up on either side of the front wheel. Using the front stabilizer link, I adjust it until the front wheel is exactly in the center of the light bulbs. The rear wheel is now set to push the motorcycle in a straight line, that is until the rear fork moves in the rubber bushings. When the force moves the bushing right to left, or left to right, instead of just up and down, it causes the rear wheel to change direction. No longer is the bike rolling in a straight line."

I don't understand, if the straight edge which in this case are 2 bulbs, are up against the wheels, how does moving the front stabilizer change the the wheel alignment? I think I'm missing something here.

 

because of the swing arm mount setup. Grasshopper

 

From the front of the engine to the very back of the rear swing arm the whole thing acts as one piece. It all pivots vertically on the rear swing arm shaft and bushing setup. If you move the front of the engine to the left, the rear of the back tire goes to the right and visa versa. Be careful when you move the front of the engine in either direction as that will cause the engine/rear wheel to lean right or left. There is another adjustable link on the top of the engine under the tank.

That's a neat trick using those bulbs. I used a couple of 1X2's as straight as I could find. I think twine draped around the back of the tire and pulled tight alongside the front tire would work also. Maybe tack/tape the twine to the floor. As for the vertical alignment I just used my eyeball on the back tire with the bike standing straight up as I could get it. I had noticed that I had trouble getting the rear shock bolts to line up before I adjusted the vertical.

 

I forgot to mention something that I have noticed since correcting the vertical alignment. For a long time I have put up with the "chirping belt syndrome" when first starting out on a ride. Anytime I slowed down quickly the belt would chirp loudly until the rear pulley finally warmed up and expanded making the belt tighter. I read here where a lot of bikes do that. After adjusting the vertical link under the tank to make the rear wheel stand straight the chirp has never happened again! I am thinking there was some twisting of the belt between the front pulley and the rear pulley due to the misalignment.

Another topic I've seen here concerns the annoying problem where the rear tire is not in the middle of the back fender. I heard it was due to (see #1 below). Well, by aligning the wheels so that they track each other and having the rear tire stand straight guess what? The back tire is now in the middle of the fender!