Bars not deadcenter when riding!

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Jul 2, 2017 | 05:20 PM

KnarleyHarley

Thread Starter

Cruiser

Joined: Oct 2013

Posts: 241

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From: Land of Entrapment

Bars not deadcenter when riding!

Members, need your input...A little over a month ago I was going to change out my Fork sliders to some Billet edge cut sliders along with changing out fork seals and new oil. Everything came in so I proceeded to get it done.

Well I had a hell of a time just trying to loosen up the allen bolts thats on the bottom of the forks at the axle, in fact I can feel that I was stripping it so I stopped. I already had the head bucket off to get to the top fork seal nut, so I ended up bagging the idea of replacing seals.
They weren't leaking, so I just loosened up the pinch bolts and pulled out eack fork leg so I can at least replace the slider cow bell. Changed out sliders, replaced with new fork oil and buttoned everything up.

Well, like I said it's been over a month but man I can see that when I'm riding straight that my bars are slightly cocked to the right. It is BUGGING me out!!

There is only one way to reinstall the forks and tighten down the pinch bolts. Could I have actually left one of them slightly shorter/longer when reinstalling back?? I will say that the bike used to track straight when I would let go of the bars and now they seem Frikken Off, I have to lean a bit for it to balance...UGH!!!
Where do I began?? Remove forks again, measure and start over? Also going to install new riser bushings since I have em and everything is off again...just venting....thanks all!! Happy 4th of July Weekend!!!!!

Jul 2, 2017 | 07:37 PM

Vernal

Club Member

Joined: Apr 2013

Posts: 7,675

Likes: 8,401

From: Utah

Use a impact wrench on the allen head bolt on the bottom of the sliders.

My guess is one of your forks isn't seated all the way in the upper fork bracket.

Jul 2, 2017 | 08:08 PM

Longridertx

Road Master

Joined: Jul 2013

Posts: 830

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From: Hill Country, Tx

I would expect there is a measurement spec in the service manual for the fork tube height setting. I know there is for the 2015 touring models. I would begin by checking that to see that you have the height adjusted properly and evenly. If they are in adjustment specs I would then jack up the bike enough to just allow the weight of the tire/wheel to be on the ground and then loosen the triple tree pinch bolts. They may just pop into center/alignment on their own. Then retighten the pinch bolts in proper order and to torque specs.

Jul 13, 2017 | 09:11 PM

Yardstick

Road Captain

Joined: Aug 2007

Posts: 698

Likes: 70

From: SA TX

Longrider gave you the way to fix. Either one leg is set to high in comparison to the other or when you torqued down you pinched the forks. Really good idea to invest in shop manual if you are gonna do your own work. It lists step by step procedures to accomplish a task and that usually precludes you doing something unknowingly causing a problem. First thing to check is the fork tubes to ensure they are set in the triple tree evenly. Even slightly different will cause the front wheel to track at an angle in reference to the road. This will cause the bike to not track straight and you have to turn the wheel/handlebars slightly to go straight down the road

Jul 14, 2017 | 07:45 AM

grbrown

Club Member

Joined: Jun 2007

Posts: 45,429

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From: Bedford UK

I agree that you should buy an FSM if you don't have one and follow the procedure! If all else fails get a local indy to fit those sliders for you.

As for your bars not pointing straight ahead, there are a couple of possible reasons. One is simply that your handlebars are out of true. That may be because the clamps are askew either in the top tree or relative to each other. The other possibility is that your top and bottom trees are twisted, one relative to the other, so your fork legs are not parallel.

Jul 14, 2017 | 09:33 AM

X Iron Butt

Road Master

Joined: Jun 2011

Posts: 974

Likes: 13

From: Chesapeake Virginia

Not sure how well YOU can "EYE" your fork legs to see if they are parallel. I had a gifted lower tree chromed and after installing on my Shovel the gifter told me it may be have been bent. Thanks for that. For several years my bars were turned slightly. No issues with tire wear or handling for that matter. Looking from the side between the lowers and the tree you could see they were not parallel by maybe 1/8". The next time I had the front end apart I heated the lower tree on the bent side and pulled the tree in line with an old for tube. When both sides lined up by EYE I put it back to together and everything was fine. This miss alignment can also be accomplished during assembly with straight parts.