I have noticed that even though my bike rides nice and straight and is very well balanced the my top tripple tree looks like it is closer to me on the right and my left a little futher away. Man that is annoying. Does anyone know how to fix that?

 

I have notice the same thing on my Fatbob, bug's the **** out of me as well.....

Here is what I think about this issue, the only thing to try would be going threw and doing an engine and rear wheel alignment and see if that correct's the issue.......

Another annoying thing is that my gas tank sit's further to the right at the front mounting point, so not sure if this is creating an optical illusion with what I am seeing with the tree's ???????

If I get some free time this week end (meaning I like to ride more than working on the bike) I am going to go threw the hole alignment process and see if that help's...........

What are you thought's on what may be causing what we are seeing ?????

Live Free = Ride Free..........

 

I think when that taxi driver cut me off in the rain and immediately braked in my face when the light turned yellow causeing me to kiss a traffic light post with me knee and drop the bike tha it whacked my front end out of alignment. I might try moving just the bars over since they are not strait drag bars,,, that could help.

 

I personally think it's the bars. They are just mandrel bent. Also the risers are quite loose and when bolted on can be one fwd and one back and make it that way. Just out of curiosity, the last time I had mine apart and was checking the head bearings at 40K, I have some large micrometers and I measured across mine to see just how straight the bores were in the trees. I was in total amazement that they were with in .001 at the top where it went into the lower tree and down where it went into the slider. (sure hope I have my were and where(s) right? Ha)

 

I know what you mean, one thing I found on the low rider was if the cable is wire tied to the handle bar it can make it look off also. But now the switchback looks the same, still figuring that out.

 

+1 On the bars being the most likely issue, without seeing it firsthand it is just an educated guess. Would be highly unlikely that the trees are not true since you have a 49mm tube that aligns them.

 

Wow, I just found this thread and I'm glad it's not just my bike. My Fat Bob is EXACTLY like others have described here...top tree looks slightly angled right when driving straight while the bottom looks straight. I have cranked my handlebars slightly left to at least make them straight. My fuel tank is also mounted crooked and I finally realized that the rear tank mount is welded VERY crookedly and off center to the frame. It looks like some jackass did it by hand and didn't even try to line it up. In addition, my bike leans slightly to the right when on a straight, flat road. Strangely, putting weight on the right side doesn't seem to change this, so it's not just a weight/balance thing. When I put the bike on a jack under the frame and climb on, it looks perfectly straight, but on the road in order to go in a straight line, it has to lean to the right. I don't get it.

I have done every alignment and checked balance and my seating position. From the beginning this bike has just felt "off" when looking down the forks while riding. I guess there is a lot of hand welding done on these bikes and they just can't get them all perfectly straight. BUT, it basically tracks straight(wants to lean very slightly left if I let go of the bars, but that's probably just because my exhaust is lighter than stock was) so I'm realizing it doesnt REALLY matter and I just need to let it go. I'm just personally very picky about things being aligned properly, and I'll even notice a few mm difference in my arms.

Glad to know it's not just mine. I think it's interesting that it seems Fat Bobs are particularly prone to these manufacturing issues. I'd like to hear from more people on this.

 

Where is ATX? I asked because I have noticed that my bike leans to the left when I ride and have always thought it was do to the crown in the road. If you ride on the left side of the road where your located maybe its the same deal, IMO.

OP, I have the Fat Bob trees on my Street Bob, they seem to be straight however I have always thought my bars are bent, seem the right grip is a little closer then the left and when using my windshield, the left is closer to the screen then the right.

 

ATX is Austin, TX.

And the road crown has a minimal effect on my situation.

 

If the fork/triple tree is in good working order. Nothing bent.
put the bike on a jack raise it up to where the front wheel is just touching the floor. I have always called it tweaking the triple tree. Loosen the top triple tree allen bolts that are on the side of the upper triple tree. you may or may not need to loosen the lower clamps. I try it first without loosening the lower clamps. Have a buddy to straddle the front fender/wheel or place the front wheel against something that is solid. Jerk or try to move the handle bars in the direction that is needed to have them straight. It will align if nothing is wrong. Tighten the upper clamps if it aligned, if not you may need to loosen the bottom clams slightly. Don't over loosen because the forks could drop some. then do it again. It usually takes several tries to get it to align.
This has been happening forever it seems. Today's bikes are much better than they use to be but some still need a little help to get it aligned.
This has nothing to do with it pulling to the right or left.
Most cases with HD bikes is how you sit on the bike or the crown of the road.
If you sit to the right it will pull to the right, problem is most folks don't realize they do it.
I have 3 Harley s and had to realign the top triple tree on 2 of em.