Softail Handling in Curves
Road Captain
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 537
Likes: 120
From: DELMARVA
Falling over on one side
Was wondering if anyone had any ideas why it would do this turning right but not left. Most things will affect steering in both directions. Be nice to pick up anything needed while we're in the States rather than finding it out after getting back home.[/quote]
If bike rear wheel is pointing hard to the right your bike will feel like it is "falling over" to the right because of center of gravity problems. Left hand turns will still feel reasonably balanced.
As for being in a strange land without your trusty "alignment blocks" why not just use a piece of string. String works great if you check your work a couple of times and are patient...
I trust the string method because sometimes Harley marks the rear swingarm wrong. There simply is no way to set the wheels crooked if you can "see" that both tires are tracking exactly 100% in the same angle---straight ahead---when adjusted in relation to the string.
You will of course have to check belt deflection once you jack the wheel around looking for a perfect straight line up. As you move the wheel you will be messing with the belt tension...
But really any Harley guy should be able to do alignment, belt and fall away in his sleep. There is no other way to get a Harley to track correctly if you let these things get away from you.
If you don't know how to use a long string to set the wheels straight look for it here:
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/softa...ml#post8412071
If bike rear wheel is pointing hard to the right your bike will feel like it is "falling over" to the right because of center of gravity problems. Left hand turns will still feel reasonably balanced.
As for being in a strange land without your trusty "alignment blocks" why not just use a piece of string. String works great if you check your work a couple of times and are patient...
I trust the string method because sometimes Harley marks the rear swingarm wrong. There simply is no way to set the wheels crooked if you can "see" that both tires are tracking exactly 100% in the same angle---straight ahead---when adjusted in relation to the string.
You will of course have to check belt deflection once you jack the wheel around looking for a perfect straight line up. As you move the wheel you will be messing with the belt tension...
But really any Harley guy should be able to do alignment, belt and fall away in his sleep. There is no other way to get a Harley to track correctly if you let these things get away from you.
If you don't know how to use a long string to set the wheels straight look for it here:
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/softa...ml#post8412071
Thread Starter
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Road Captain
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 601
Likes: 6
From: Aruba
Regarding a wrecked and bent frame, this is a two owner bike and I was assured the bike had never been wrecked and also nothing shows on cyclevin.
Intermediate
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 30
Likes: 0
From: N.C.
95yj I agree the frame needs to be checked. A friend of mine had the same problem with a FLHT he bought. The owner swore it was never wrecked but turned out some how the frame was bent. I would take it to a shop and just have it double checked. Good Luck how you figure it out and keep us updated I am curious what you find out.
Road Captain
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 537
Likes: 120
From: DELMARVA
Bent frame or just wheels crooked
95yj I agree the frame needs to be checked. A friend of mine had the same problem with a FLHT he bought. The owner swore it was never wrecked but turned out some how the frame was bent. I would take it to a shop and just have it double checked. Good Luck how you figure it out and keep us updated I am curious what you find out.
I would do the cheap (how much does a string cost) crooked wheel check first. See if you can get the rear wheel perfectly aligned with the front.
If the bike is still messing up then you can justify dragging the whole mess over for a shop to check the geometry of each part. Getting a shop to put your forks, swingarm and frame in a jig and looking for a bent suspension member sounds like Ka-ching Ka-ching to me...
A string on the other hand don't cost squat.
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MOTOKILLER
General Harley Davidson Chat
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Feb 14, 2011 12:10 PM
