Occasionally I will let go of the bars [not recommended of course] to maybe adjust helmet strap or pull gloves up tighter, etc. When I do the bike pulls to the left. Enough to make me lean way to the right to stay straight. This happened with my '08 Lowrider and now with my '10 SGC. Wondered if this happens to anybody else. Is it normal or is there some kind of alignment problem?

 

no alignment problems.
i think its cause the final drive system is centered to the left of the bike. clutch, tranny, belts. ect. pretty common i think.
much worse on a sporty.

 

With my bike and previous bikes (Soft tail, Ultra, RK), I've found that if it leans one way or the other, I usually have the bags or something else unbalanced or not loaded evenly.
Or maybe it does pull and I compensate by loading the bags to fix it...

 

I agree with the final drive. I had a metric shaft drive bike before and that pulled a ton to the shaft side

 

just put a saddle bag on the right side only and fill it up. leaning problem solved

 

My bike tracks fairly straight but I can't say I always lean left or right when in a situation like you described.

Could be how you're sitting on the bike. Could be the back tire is out of alignment. You can do a quick check of that using a tape measure. There is a small hole on either side of of your swingarm. Measure from that, to the center of the axle. It should be the same on both sides. If not, loosen then axle nut and then turn the hex bolt on the end of the swingarm to adjust it accordingly. Retorque axle nut to spec.

I would also check tire pressure. Also, look at the wear patch on the back tire. Is it centered? If not, I would definitely check rear axle alignment.

 

This is good news to me mine pulls to the left as well.I recently had my wheels off to get tires and I thought maybe I screwed something up when I put it back together.

 

This might sound a little off, but all roads have a camber to them -- For drainage purposes. Some roads will drain to the middle, some will drain to the right, some to the left. Some will drain both right and left because they have a crown in the middle. Depends on which lane you're in.

Is it possible you're experiencing this?

 

...and we can't forget the rotational force of the planet too.

Just effin with ya, Grendel.

 

Mine wil track just slightly to the left. Just a little extra push on the right foot peg keeps it straight.