Great read and well illustrated Matt. Think I'll check mine just for practice.

 

Thanks Matt! Couldn't you just use the digital inclinometer to set the bike level, then move it down to the rotor?

 

If one were so. . .inclined. Crack myself up. .

 

Hey, great write up. I was just doing some research on the subject as my machine seems to be off a bit.

 

From what I understand, that may be normal. The wheels are not always in line. They can be off-set, depending on how the bike it designed.

This being said, they DO have to be on the same plane or the bike will have issues in how it handles.

Here is the link to the Glide Pro video. It's the 7th video down, 'part 1'. It's a good video on the subject.

 

After getting the vertical alignment correct, what's the measurement of the stabilizer length from bolt center to bolt center? I'm curious because I have alignment problems on my Dyna. Looking at the stabilizer on my bike, It seems there's far too much threads showing. I cant take that the adjustment is correct from the factory. A general measurement should give us an idea if things are at least in the ballpark.

 

Not sure. Mine was correct from the factory as are most everyone else's unless it is bent somehow. Not hard to do the checks. What might be correct for me may not be for another bike.

 

I've been wanting to check vertical alignment for awhile, but I just couldn't get my head around it... The mechanics seemed simple enough, but I didn't understand what level plane was used to measure against. mattVA's write up really made this clear. I ordered both digital tools from Amazon yesterday.

Thanks!!!

 

On my 08 Super Glide, I can visibly see that my bike is out of alignment. I have a VT mount on the way. I really cant get too serious about adjusting things with a bad fwd mount. I wasn't really concerned about alignment until I installed better shocks on the bike. I had to install the right side shock first, then compress the suspension a little to line up the lower mount bolt on the left shock. Checking vertical on the front rotor with the bike on a jack, I was able to get a 0 degree reading using my iPhone the rear belt pulley read -2 degrees. Yes, I do realize that the iPhone app isn't as precise as an inclinometer. The misalignment could be anywhere between -2.5 and -1.5 degrees. I do have an angle finder in the shed somewhere but I think the accuracy would be about equal.
Waiting for the new mount just gives me more time to think of ways to iron out the problem.

 

Good write up!