I would jack up the front and start wiggling stuff. If nothing is loose it could be a wheel bearing.

 

Wow, this is a weird one, I could see the front wheel shifting from side to side if the spacers were not right, while going down the road but sitting in the garage rolling back and forth?? I agree with others on this one, go back to square one piece by piece till you find the bad boy.

 

Another thought (now my head is hurting, two thoughts in two days), make sure the front wheel is aligned with the rear, I think that is what the previous post was refering too. Could be that the alignment is off at the trees causing the wheel to be slightly on the left or leaning to the right which may/may not cause the wheel to want to turn right when brake is applied. I think of it like applying the brake while wheel is turned, or leaning to the right. Just another 2 cents (up to 4 now). BTW, Happy Easter to everyonel.

Mike

 

Just get rid of the front brake... The wheel looks cleaner without it anyway....pretend you have an old shovel chopper...

I think your spacer has the front wheel out of line with the rear and now the bike wants to turn a corner. Remember a motorcycle is like 2 gyroscpoes that track together. The slightest offet will start a turn which is why countersteering works so well.

 

Mtnlvr, Yo stated...
"I did have to machine one outside wheel spacer shorter by .125" (right side). This centered the wheel between the forks within .040" as measured from the brake mount to the rib section (spoke) of the mag. The wheel with spacers fits nicely between the legs as well. No spreading or squeezing of the forks to get the wheel in position."

But did you check to see if the brake disk is centered in the caliper?

 

Are your pinch bolts tight?
Ron

 

Hi,
I just read this post and am trying to think of the cause of your pulling issue. 2 things come to mind. 1 you stated you had the front end apart and reassembled it. Now you have an issue. You have changed the tracking of the bike by machining the shim to move the wheel, I would check this out very well, you alao said you were going to install a true track device, so Im inclined to think you had a tracking issue before you started and now have made it worse.
Secondly as far as the violant turning of the bars, are you sure you have the fork tube pinch bolts securely tightened and the cap nuts? This may explain some of the turning while you apply the brakes. Without seeing it I would be concentrating on the tracking.
It stands to reason if it didnt do it before and now it does after working on it, it is something you did. Keep us posted on what you find. Good luck.

 

I just got back home from Easter travels. I hope everyone had a good Easter. The weather was great around here, mid to upper 50's, but I had to take my sick dog with me so no riding for me.

Thanks everyone for your input on this. Gotta love this place!

I'm not sure how I could adjust this unless my front wheel is not supposed to be centered in the fork. Aren't some models actually built with the rear wheel offset from the front?

That sounds like something dagumpmeister would say!

Would I really experience the gyroscopic effect just pushing the bike in my garage though?

My caliper floats so it will center on the rotor wherever the rotor is (within reason).

I'll double check the pinch bolts. My tree setup is a little different than stock. It doesn't have pinch clamps, its got some hidden cam type pinch component.

The tracking issues that I've experienced in the past were different. They were experienced on high speed sweepers with dips in the road (back end would get a washy feeling) and leaving a 90 deg corner while goosing it (rear end slide feeling). This issue is purely braking with the front regardless of speed.

I totally agree with this. I did not have this issue last year. Now that I've installed new forks and motor mounts (may have left that out earlier) I have this issue.

While applying the front brake, regardless of vehicle speed, the bars turn right. The bike will track straight while braking as long as I let the bars trun where they want. The harder I squeeze the brake, the more the bars turn. It's difficult to see where the flex is occurring.

For some reason, I believe it's in the fork assemblies. Does anyone know for sure what would happen if the oil level were different between the two? Or the preload? Or if I set the Gold Valves differently? Or if the dampers weren't fully seated down to the bottom of the slider?

I'll start with making sure the trees are holding the tubes securely, and then making sure the fluid is equal. I'll also get the engine aligned (vertical alignment).

Thanks again for all the ideas here. I'd like to get this fixed before the flood run this Saturday.

 

After reading your last post I am now inclined to think your problem has stemmed from the replacement of your motor mounts. I say this thinking a Dyna chassis is the same as a touring frame, if not I apologize for throwing more of my $.02 in.
I have been reading up in my service manual on the mm replacements, and it is quite critical on the adjustment as it does align the rear wheel with the front, and in order to move the tracking from one side to the other And the camber of the wheel, you adjust the motor mounts. All of them. (Just a thought, but your rear axle is adjusted evenly right?)
Although you more than likely put the new mounts in the exact position of the old ones, they may be off due to the difference in tolerances between a worn mount and a new one.
I was told a cheap way to check your alignment is to stand the bike up straight and set 2 8" flourescent light tubes on both sides of the front and rear tires, then measure the difference in off sets or the space between the skinnier frt tire on both sides and compare.

 

Also check your stearing head bearings , wheel bearings all mounts and bolts.If this does not sort it get a profesional in, you could be in for an accident here, good luck