First off are you havinga problem with your bike,, or did you just want to check the alignment?

07 the fall away is determined bythe tension (preload) on the steering head bearings.

 

http://motorcyclemetal.com/subpage14.html[/align][/align]Harley Davidson Wheel alignment Made Simple[/align]In an ideal world the front and rear wheel should be:1. Inline 2. Not offset from each other3. In the same plane, i.e. if the front wheel is vertical, the back wheel is also perfectly vertical.In practice: 1. We can adjust2. Hardly ever true, the rear wheel is usually offset 5 to 15mm but we can live with it3. We could have a problem, possibly a bent frame, but we can check it.Wheels that are not in alignment can cause handling problems, excessive tire wear and damage the drive belt/chain and pulleys. The H-D manual suggests that wheel alignment should be done using straightedges. The usually prescribed method is to support the bike, lay straight edges along the rear wheel, and measure the gaps at the front. See figure 1. To make things more difficult, the rear wheel can be offset up to 15mm relative to the front (depending on model). So, the method is. 1. Support the bike2. Hold a couple of 2 meter long straight edges against the rear wheel3. Turn the bars as near parallel as possible to the straight edges4. Measure the gaps A,B, C & D5. If A = C and B = D, then you've done it, if not, adjust rear wheel and try again.Not too easy, even supposing you've got 2-metre long straight edges, and 3 meter long arms. In practice you need at least 2 people and the method is really prone to error, 1 degree out in holding the straightedge will give you an error of over an inch..The Easy, Accurate Way:Materials Needed:1. Fishing line, about 5 or 6 meters (or strong thread)2. A nut or similar to use as a weight3. A piece of strong wire bent into an 'S' shape making a hook about 2” long (coat hanger wire is perfect)4. A long rubber band (about 6” is ideal) or 2 shorter joined together1) Check the Tires:
Check that tire pressures are correct, Ensure that the tires are fitted true to the rime. Usually there is a line around the tire wall. This must be concentric to the wheel rim.

2) Prop the Bike Vertically Use a lift:
if you've got one, otherwise maneuver onto blocks. Check for vertical alignment using a piece of fishing line with the nut tied on the end to act as a plumb line. See figure 2.Shim the blocks or lift until the line just touches the tire at the top and bottom edges of the tire. If you've got patient, strong friends they can brace themselves and hold the bike steady instead of using blocks. Don't worry if it's not exactly vertical, ‘nearly’ is good enough.
3) Attach the fishing line:
Attach one end off the remaining fishing line to your hook. String your line around the back wheel, down the side, around the front tire and down the other side. Trim to length, tie to rubber band and clip the hook attached to the first end to the rubber band. See figures 3a, 3b.
Ideally, the line should be as far up the wheels as possible. Make sure that the line touches only the tires! If it catches on foot pegs or exhaust, you will need to move it up and down until it just touches the tires. For simplicity, all the illustrations show that the rear wheel without offset relative to the front. In practice it will be, but the amount is usually small enough to make no difference to this alignment procedure. If you want to be sure, read the last section which deals with large rear wheel offsets.4) Test the Alignment:
Slowly turn the bars clockwise. Keep checking the line. Hopefully, you should be able to get the line to touch
Touch the tires at al four points A,B,C and D (see figure 4). Check by inserting a thin piece of paper at points B & C (don’t worry if either B

 

I don't know how critical it is in actual practice, but if you want to ensure your alignment, you'll take precise care to get the stearing head in a perfectly vertical plane. Then you'll perfectly determine the points on the ground both straight under the center of the stearing stem and where the stearing stem points to the ground out in front of the tire. You'll perfectly center the perfectly aligned fork assembly and ensure the front tire contact patch is centered on that line.

You'll also ensure the rear axle is perfectly parallel (both fore/aft and up/down) to the swingarm pivot. Then you'll center the rear tire contact patch, while the rear axle is perfectly horizontal, on the line extended through the two points you'd established off of the stearing head.

Easy! Hahaha!

 

You mean like this?


[IMG]local://upfiles/29413/E41E110FFE564F30811D0634E3014AA0.jpg[/IMG]

 

A string will sure do the trick.I have a straight edge,it's faster and easier.Take the top adjuster bolt out of engine mount,adjust suspension to straight edge,then adjust top until bolt will drop in.It's that easy.

 

try search section has a lot of good info on this subject.

 

No real problem but sometimes the handlebars don't look like they are perfectly perpendicular to the frame. With all the advice everyone has given me it will make for something else for me to do over our long winter. I have a heater and plenty of space in my garage to work on the bike. Thanks again for all the help.

 

Thank you for responding as all above put some effort and time into helping a brother. good luck! H