Softail rear wheel alignment
May our Moderator Rest in Peace
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 11,386
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From: Rochester, NY
RE: Softail rear wheel alignment
ORIGINAL: jbroughton
Not so seriously, it appears in the picture that your FRONT tire is way out of alignment!
Not so seriously, it appears in the picture that your FRONT tire is way out of alignment!
I just got the optional front wheel to make it easier to move it around the garage.
The wife was afraid that if I started lift it up all the time I would have another heart attack.
She doesnt give a rats rear end about me, she just hates thehospital parking lots.
Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2004
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From:
RE: Softail rear wheel alignment
ORIGINAL: Citoriplus
I remember reading an article on that a couple of years ago. It was so simple and fool proof the whole idea has kinda stuck in my head.
They said that to get it perfect everytime, all you need is a 6 or 8 foot long floresent light tube.
They are perfectly straight and if youtouch it to two points on the side of the tire about 12 to 14 inches apart at one end with the rest going forward it will lay on the floor beside the front tire. Measure it on both sides and its easy to see if the wheel is true to the front tire and if not its very easy to move one side or the other of the axle forwardget it exactly perpendicular to the bikes axis.
With the light tube being as long as it is, even veryminormissalignments areeasy to see and correct for.
One thing, the bike should be standing up straight like on a lift table or jack to make measureing easier and more accurate.
I remember reading an article on that a couple of years ago. It was so simple and fool proof the whole idea has kinda stuck in my head.
They said that to get it perfect everytime, all you need is a 6 or 8 foot long floresent light tube.
They are perfectly straight and if youtouch it to two points on the side of the tire about 12 to 14 inches apart at one end with the rest going forward it will lay on the floor beside the front tire. Measure it on both sides and its easy to see if the wheel is true to the front tire and if not its very easy to move one side or the other of the axle forwardget it exactly perpendicular to the bikes axis.
With the light tube being as long as it is, even veryminormissalignments areeasy to see and correct for.
One thing, the bike should be standing up straight like on a lift table or jack to make measureing easier and more accurate.
Do not follow owners manual i did and the bike pulled to the left. the stealership aligned it and it pulled to the left. I aligned it to the belt and it runes straight as an arrow.
David
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 7,934
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From: Bloomfield, NM
RE: Softail rear wheel alignment
May our Moderator Rest in Peace
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 11,386
Likes: 35
From: Rochester, NY
RE: Softail rear wheel alignment
ORIGINAL: billnourse
Here is some info that might help.
Here is some info that might help.
Bill,
I like that idea but unlike the Dyna's we don't have thefactory holes in the swing arm so its not as precise as I like things.
It would be real nice if you had access to a lathe so you could chuck the pivot bolt in and drill a small dimple in the center to use as a reference point. But without that the only usable hole I can find is the passenger foot peg holes.
So I did a little experiment and used a zip tie and some electrical wire I had laying around, a coat hanger or length of piano wire would do as well.
Instead of holding the wireto the pivot bolt like the one you made. I bent the wire around the passenger peg mount like this.
Islid thezip tie to the center of the axle on the left side like you did.
And checked it by moving itover to the right sideto see if it was the same or at least close and came up with this.
As you can see they are identical. Now my bike is only 8 months old with just under2000 miles on it, its never been apart.
So judging from my little experimenntyou would have to conclude that the passenger peg mounts have exactlythe same relationship to the axle on both sides makingit possible to at leastuse them toball park the axle alignment. Its also easier to do because you don't need two hands to hold the wire in place. Anyone couldeasily hold it under tension with one hand while using a wrench on the adjuster. Even ifthe peg mounts have been removed for solo riding, the holes are still there for you to use.
One thing I did notice is that you need to be careful of "where" you hook the wire over the peg mount. If you have it up against the swing arm on one side you do it the same wayon the other side. Because of the different angle there issignificant difference in the distances between the mount at the swing arm and out near the peg pivot assembly.
Great job, I salute you for coming up with something that's even easier than the glass tube trick. Cheaper too, everyone has a ton of old wire coat hangers that are ready made for something like this.
Frank [sm=deal.gif]
Tourer
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 341
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From: Richmond, VA
RE: Softail rear wheel alignment
I had a new set of tires put on last summer just before a long trip out west. My Heritage seemed to want to shimmy the front wheel when I hit a rough spot in the road at lower speeds. I figured that I had too much weight on the rear and the front wheel was light. Anyway, wore that rear tire out and had it replaced a few weeks ago. I noticed the difference right away. I think I was just a little out of alignment the whole time on the old tire. No more shimmy and handles better than it did with the new tires last year.
Tnicean
Tnicean
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 7,934
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From: Bloomfield, NM
RE: Softail rear wheel alignment
I would not trust the foot pegs to be exactly the same on each side of the bike. I made several straight lines across the pivot bold face (From one point of the bolt the the one oposite it) and used the point where they all intersected as a center point. If you want, you could use a center punch at the intersectionto make a dimple to put the end of the rod in.
Bill
Bill
May our Moderator Rest in Peace
Joined: Sep 2006
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From: Rochester, NY
RE: Softail rear wheel alignment
I looked it over again but I can't see anything that's really better. Remember that the pegs are not on the swing arm but the frame and your trying to align the axle with the rest of the bike (frame) and not the swing arm.
I find it hard to believe that the peg mounts would be any farther off then the pivot bolt as the holes for both were in all probabilitymade by an NC machine in one operation. So if one is off the other will be off by exactly the same amount.
In any event it shouldget the axle close to being parrellel to the trans output shaft for belt tracking reasons.
I find it hard to believe that the peg mounts would be any farther off then the pivot bolt as the holes for both were in all probabilitymade by an NC machine in one operation. So if one is off the other will be off by exactly the same amount.
In any event it shouldget the axle close to being parrellel to the trans output shaft for belt tracking reasons.
Stage III
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
When aligning the rear wheel, the drive belt will either loosen or tighten, depending on which way you need to re-align the rear wheel.
Any simple solution to getting the correct belt tension?
The manuals say that you need to adjust your drive belt with the normal weight sitting on the bike.
Pretty hard to adjust my drive belt while sitting on my bike.
Any simple solution to getting the correct belt tension?
The manuals say that you need to adjust your drive belt with the normal weight sitting on the bike.
Pretty hard to adjust my drive belt while sitting on my bike.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 15,704
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From: Farmington ,MS
I always just measure from the axle to the pivot bolt with a tape measure...then take it for a test ride and see if it pulls when you let go of the bars...if it does "tweak it" till it goes straight.
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