Good afternoon. Need some good insight. Ive already heard from the local speculators “its probably bent”, no ****, and if the “take it to somewhere” solution was an affordable option, wouldn’t be here asking for help. I have a ‘11 Dyna Wide Glide with 49mm forks. The front wheel is 21”x3.5” and I have a Custom Cycle fork truss.
I dumped my bike after getting forced into a center divider. I wasn’t going that fast and the damage was minimal, mostly superficial. I replaced everything that was damaged, including new risers & bars. I also replaced the wheel bearing's, swingarm bushings, steering head bearings/races, and the fork bushings & seals. And lastly, I check the aligned according to the service manual.
The issue is while going straight, the bars are cocked to the right. If I let go of the bars, the bike goes straight but the bars are still crooked. Looking down from the top of the bars, I can see that the bars are ok and inline with the top triples, its the top triples that are cocked to the right. Continuing down, I can see that the lower triples are also cocked too, but only half as much, and the truss looks to be straight. The bike feels unstable around curves, like it’s starting to wobble. With an obvious issue, I’m nervous about pushing the bike to its limits. Especially after just dropping a couple grand into fixing it. I tried loosen everything and straightening it, but it returns to the same spot when I tighten everything back down.
I also noticed a 1/16” gap between the right fork and the wheel spacer when putting the front wheel back on. I was able to easily close the gap by pushing on the fork while tighting the axel clamp. Don’t know if this is related or not.
Sorry this is so long, but I can’t afford to spend money diagnosing the problem or replacing unnecessary parts and I’m hoping someone has a solution. I’m listening to any suggestions on what I should do next. Thanks.🙏🏻

 

---> its the top triples that are cocked to the right. Continuing down, I can see that the lower triples are also cocked too
---> I also noticed a 1/16” gap between the right fork and the wheel spacer
---> I can’t afford to spend money diagnosing the problem

Seems you have diagnosed the problem. Without looking at it, complete fork system is bent. Can't really tell how the frame is unless it's put in a frame jig.

 

yep sounds like you have a bent leg, you could jack the bike up and loosen the yoke (triples) bolts up and turn one leg, if its bent you will see the gap open up and close. the other way is to strip the legs and role the stanchion on a flat surface.

 

I did that and they both look straight. I was thinking the right side of the upper triple is bent up and out slightly and maybe I could try bending the end down and in a little. That way it will be totally ****ed up, forcing me to spend money I don’t have on a new front end.

 

if your yokes are bent then it would be hard to slide the stanchions up through them, if they slide in easy they can't be bent, maybe they are just out of alignment ?

 

If you can actually see the top and lower triples are out of alignment shows the front took a substantial hit.
I feel your financial situation, but find someone qualified that can verify the frame is ok before you spend money on the issue. Sorry for what you're dealing with.

 

I’m hoping someone here has a way to pinpoint exactly what’s bent without having to find ‘someone who’s qualified’. I’m pretty handy, I just need a little direction. I wouldn’t take it to the dealer, at least not the local one here. There’s got to be another way.

 

Pictures would might help.

 

Dont loosen the tripple tree pinch bolts, keep them snug but not too tight, same with the steering stem, axle and pinch bolts. Then use a heavy soft hammer to persuade the fork tubes into a parallel condition. If nothing is actually bent, it should be possible to get everything back in line and stay that way when you fully tighten the bolts.

 

It seems that my issue isn’t unique. In fact, there are numerous people who have or had the same exact issue with askew front end issues. Some were able to resolve it, some were not. The general consensus is that the problem is fork/triple tree alignment related and not the frame. So before I start beating on anything with a hammer, I’m meticulously checking the overall alignment, rebuilding the forks again, and reassemble everything, first without the truss installed and then with the truss installed, checking and measuring alignment along the way. Hopefully, I’ll get it resolved or pinpoint what’s causing the misalignment. I’m usually very careful to do things correctly when it comes to working on machinary, it’s what I do for a living. And although it’s rare for me to put something back together wrong, it’s happened. Experience and common sense tells me to take it all apart, do some more research, and then put it all back together again. One things is for sure, I trust my workmanship 10x more then anyone else’s and I’m confident enough in my ability to know that if someone else can fix it, then so can I. All I need is the know how. I’ll let you all know how it goes. In the event that everything else fails, I doubt the hammer method is something I’m going to try.