I notice alot of bikes that the tires are not in the center of the fenders. I just noticed mine the other day and trying to figure out this. The bike rides straight and handle good no wobble with no hands. The tire is equal distance in the swing arm measured between the end and the axle. I am the original owner and I know the frame is not bent or the front forkk tube are not bent. I tried the manual and no help. Thanks
Sponsored Links
This ad is not displayed to registered members. Register your free account today and become a member on HD Forums!
You should see the Fatboys.... When they went to the 200 tire the front is way off. In fact the fork cover can and does hit the fender on one side if they are hard on the brakes and hit a bump....So yep it is normal...
your alignment could be off... another is your fender could be off.... if the alignment on your bike is off due to the way the swingarm is mounted the tire will not be center to the frame... Harley says the brake discs can be within 1 deg. of each other when measuring with a level so that 1 deg will show up as a tire that is off center/leaning one way or the other.
Also your fender may not have been centered properly within the supports and was pulled one way or the other to either strut giving the appearance of off center.
Get a good gauge level and check your discs to see if they are exactly level or not. if the level is off in the direction of your off center rear then there you go!
I did an alignment on my bike last weekend and my rear is in perfect alignment fender to tire...(I did not accept 1 deg as good enough)... I also found out that my tank rear mount is not perfect so the tank is a little off from the frame.
You start to aligning the bike#1. You can align your bike using the method I published on my web site under DIY section. Now if you wish you can move all body work o suit your needs. Your bike must drive and track properly. Your bike is made to use on the street and drive you down the road. Now proceed to get it to look the way you wish but leave the wheels alone after calibrating.
That sounds like a great idea how to check the alignment. I am going to check on this tommorow, however I checked the manual and on my swing arm I have \\;1 hole on each side of \\;my swing arm to measure for alignment.The manual says to get a piece of wire and bend it and check for equal distance on both sides of swing arm. Now mine is equal distance on both sides and the tire seems to be off when looking from the back of the bike. Now I took the belt guard off and checked to see if the belt looks aligned going from the back pulley to the front pulley and she looks good. But what i did find is that when the bike is lifted and I turned the tire backwards the belt \\; tracks to the \\;right towards the motor on the front pulley \\;after a couple of revolutions and if I go foward the belt tracks back to the middle of the front pulley and stays in the middle perfectly. Now a harley mechanic says that is normal when you go backwards they call it tracking, all belts do that. Now I never heard of this. I can use some feedback on this and maybe my alignment is off and I will check this with the string and rubber band like you illustrated. Maybe the dealers all allign the back tires just by using th swing arm methods and they might have to use other methods
[That sounds like a great idea how to check the alignment…..ard the belt tracks back to the middle of the front pulley and stays in the middle perfectly.] ANS: You are confused on alignment. Read what it is and how to do it as stated before. It is very clear.
[alignment is off and I will check this with the string and rubber band like you illustrated. Maybe…..use other methods] ANS: The tracking is from left to right situated in the frame. What you are talking about has nothing to do with this.
You are speaking about the axle between the swingarm being on an angle. The only way to change the alignment is by either changing components and making new outer wheel spacers (in your case). Did you know that many Harleys are out of alignment from the factory by an easy ¼” each way from center just on the swingarm. When I install the Penske shocks, there is no left to right play as they are on bearing in place of rubber grommets. They must be shimmed as there is no play like on yours. The shims vary in thickness up to a ¼” and from side to side. This means ½” range.
The bike rides straight and handle good no wobble with no hands.
That means your bike is in alignment and that's what's important. \\; Lots of guys with bikes that pull to one side would love to have your problem.
__________________
06 FLTRI No habla jibber jabber!
I just thought that being the tire looked off center to the fender that the belt was was telling me that the alignment was off. I did try your string method but it was difficult to do with the kickstand in my way. The string kept rolling down the tire even with tighter tension. however I did measure the distance from the disk to the swing arm front and back she was off \\; a slight amount. and i did measure the tire to the edge of the swing arm and that was off. i think your that you are right that from the factory that the they are off distance of the spacers. I guess that as long as axle is measure correctly from the pin hole in the swing arm to the center of the axle is good in my case. Now my bike is a 98 super glide and \\;the tire is wearing good . The belt tracking toward the motor and going back to the center of the \\;pulley had me all confused. I never \\;heard of this and not many people take their belt guard off to see this . \\; Any other \\;problems should I look for Thanks \\;
centering tire in fender
