Pulling Left
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 2,729
Likes: 7
From: Republic of Texas
Mine has pulled to the left if I remove both hands since the day I bought it. I just lean a little to the right to compensate. I have been holding out on adjusting the axle until I change out the swing arm and wheels.
Road Captain
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 702
Likes: 3
From: Louisiana
Its absolutely the correct solution! I have argued with more people on this forum who do not understand what axle adjusters do, or why they are even there. Kudos to your sir. If the bike does not track straight you adjust the rear axle adjusters, its as simple as that. If the bike tracks to the left, adjust the right adjuster. If it tracks to the right, adjust the left adjuster. Always keeping belt tension in mind as you make adjustments.
Advanced
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 81
Likes: 0
From: Punxsy
Mine will track straight with no hands if I put the right edge of the seat in my crack! Pretty seriously off balance. I asked my dealer about that right after I got it and they said about the primary being on the left and the weight being the reason... Puzzled me because my dad's Road King rides straight as an arrow with nothing ever adjusted. I did notice my belt rides ever so slightly off center of the rear sprocket though. I'll have to give the axle adjustment a try.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 9,193
Likes: 494
From: Richmond, VA
Once you have your belt adjusted and wheel as equal as you can determine...go for a ride on a nice level road on a calm day without a lot of wind...run it up to 35 or 40 mph...release pressure on the bars, basically to the point that your not even holding on to the bars and if everything is perfectly aligned it will track true and straight.
If it pulls to either side, that means the rear wheel is cocked slightly. If it pulls to the left, it means the front of the rear wheel is cocked to the right...if it pulls to the right, the front of the rear wheel is cocked to the left.
For example...let's say it pulls slightly to the right. That means the front of the rear wheel is cocked to the left (the left end of the axle is further back than the right end of the axle)....loosen the axle slightly and use the right adjuster to move that side of the axle back a turn. A little bit of adjustment can make a huge difference.
Hope this helps.
Club Member
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 145,895
Likes: 821
From: 40 miles Northeast of Indy..
Its absolutely the correct solution! I have argued with more people on this forum who do not understand what axle adjusters do, or why they are even there. Kudos to your sir. If the bike does not track straight you adjust the rear axle adjusters, its as simple as that. If the bike tracks to the left, adjust the right adjuster. If it tracks to the right, adjust the left adjuster. Always keeping belt tension in mind as you make adjustments.
Sooooo while U say to adjust the adjuster, But U can adjust them in or adjust them out.. So which way are U saying to adjust those adjusters.
If it tracked to the right wouldn't one have to adjust both adjusters not just the left adjuster to adjust the belt to keep it adjusted with the right adjustment tension and tracking correctly.??..
.
Cruiser
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 181
Likes: 14
From: San Francisco Bay Area
You have to get the rear wheel as close to being aligned as possible. You do this by loosening the axle and adjusting the adjusters. You can use a caliper or tape measure, but you need to get the axle ends to be as close to equal as possible to the rear of the swing arm on both sides. If a tech or the factory has been working on it, its probably pretty close. Once you measure the axle and get it as close as you can, you need to "fine-tune" it on the road. Easy to do...like this:
Once you have your belt adjusted and wheel as equal as you can determine...go for a ride on a nice level road on a calm day without a lot of wind...run it up to 35 or 40 mph...release pressure on the bars, basically to the point that your not even holding on to the bars and if everything is perfectly aligned it will track true and straight.
If it pulls to either side, that means the rear wheel is cocked slightly. If it pulls to the left, it means the front of the rear wheel is cocked to the right...if it pulls to the right, the front of the rear wheel is cocked to the left.
For example...let's say it pulls slightly to the right. That means the front of the rear wheel is cocked to the left (the left end of the axle is further back than the right end of the axle)....loosen the axle slightly and use the right adjuster to move that side of the axle back a turn. A little bit of adjustment can make a huge difference.
Hope this helps.
Once you have your belt adjusted and wheel as equal as you can determine...go for a ride on a nice level road on a calm day without a lot of wind...run it up to 35 or 40 mph...release pressure on the bars, basically to the point that your not even holding on to the bars and if everything is perfectly aligned it will track true and straight.
If it pulls to either side, that means the rear wheel is cocked slightly. If it pulls to the left, it means the front of the rear wheel is cocked to the right...if it pulls to the right, the front of the rear wheel is cocked to the left.
For example...let's say it pulls slightly to the right. That means the front of the rear wheel is cocked to the left (the left end of the axle is further back than the right end of the axle)....loosen the axle slightly and use the right adjuster to move that side of the axle back a turn. A little bit of adjustment can make a huge difference.
Hope this helps.
If it still pulls left, I adjust another 1/2 turn OUT. Same to be said if it pulls right, in this case I adjust the right adjuster IN. I'm always adjusting the right adjuster until I get it to track right. I can usually nail it within one or two adjustments.
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2nd Gear
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
I recently bought an '08 Anniversary edition Ultra and it has the same problem. My dealer told me the solution is not to ride with your hands off the bars, but I have to apply pressure on the right or pull on the left slightly to keep it straight. Would love to get this fixed but they don't seem too enthusiastic about looking at. Is this alignment adjuster on the rear wheel something that I can do at home, need a special tool, etc. I am used to working on my own bikes so this can't be too difficult.
Supporter
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,912
Likes: 73
From: Pittsburgh, PA
My Slim does the same thing, and for reasons I still don't understand, the rear wheel is offset to the left under the fender... and it seems they're all like that.
The tracking is very slight, so much so that with both hands on the grips, I don't feel a thing.
It's only when I let go that it starts to drift left.
The tracking is very slight, so much so that with both hands on the grips, I don't feel a thing.
It's only when I let go that it starts to drift left.
Last edited by jam436; Jul 7, 2013 at 09:55 AM.