I just got done putting new forks on my Wide Glide. I pulled the caps, dumped the fluid, pulled the spacers, springs and dampers out and replaced them with my old dampers, 2 year old RaceTech springs and Gold Valves, new spacers and SE Heavy oil.

Now when I hit the front brake (brake is on the left fork leg) the bars turn right. Obviously this is bad. I could even tell in the garage just pushing the bike and grabbing some brake.

What could I have done wrong that would cause this?

 

Did you get the same amount of oil in each fork? Example 22oz in one and 21oz in the other.

 

Quit pulling on the brake lever and try squeezing it instead.

 

I was pretty sure that I had the same fluid level in each tube. I measured them with a homemade dipstick while off the bike (no springs, spacers, collapsed forks) and both bottles of fluid had similar amounts of fluid remaining when I was done.

Good point. I'm not physically pulling on the bar while grabbing some brake. I've tried holding the bars in the same position while applying brake which results in the bike leaning right (acts as if I'm pressing on the right grip as in initiating a turn to the right).

 

Just a wild guess, but could it be an alignment problem? Is the tire in the center of the forks? Something loose that would allow the right side tube to move laterally thus causing the right movement? Just food for thought.

Mike

 

When ya figure out what the fix is let us know.

 

I like this answer.
Ron

 

Good points Mike. Well, I know the engine alignment is off but it had been for a while. I intend to address that next week before I bolt on the TrueTrack links.

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.

I'll definitely double check the wheel mounting hardware to make sure nothing is loose.

 

I'd say that the spacer you made might be the culprit if it was not doing this before. Just my humble opinion, or maybe the new front end is not straight.

 

Thanks for chiming in. I'm not sure how the left (brake) side wheel spacer could cause the bars to twist or turn by applying the brake. And no, it wasn't doing this last year with the old forks.

What do you mean by the front end not being straight? Are you talking top tree in relation to bottom tree? Or a fork bent?