I'm glad everybody's bike pulls to the left. Mine does too. All of the other streetbikes I've ridden do not, but the Harley since new will head to the left if my hands are off the bars, regardless of road surface- not related to crown.

 

Mine does it. All it takes is two fingers on the grip to correct, but I would still prefer to be able to let go of the bar occasionally and have the bike track straight.

 

well welcome me to this discussion .. my 06 street glide tracked as true as could be with my hands off the bars until... I took off the factory spoke 16" wheel today and put on a 18" HD Road Winder wheel off of a 08 FLHRSE... everything lined up perfectly , no rotor rub .. alls good ... went for a ride .. now i have to hang my whole right butt cheek off the seat and lean right or it goes left ..badly !!! so it isnt an engine out of alignment problem-- a rear wheel alignment problem or a clutch cable problem for me ..it definately has something to do with the front wheel...the only thing i changed ... WTH???

 

Roads aren't level they tilt to the right for drainage. This causes more contact with the inside of the tire-pulling you left.

 

Are you kidding me? A dealer referred you to a forum to solve a mechanical/safety issue like that? Please let us know which dealer. If you did, sorry I did not read all the numerous post.

Have I ever had this issue? Yes, on bikes that have been wrecked (one of mine and a few others) with bent frames, forks, and mis-aligned rear wheels, and brackets. Of the five road bikes that I have purchased, and scores of others of my friends bikes that I have ridden (all makes), NO.

My last two bikes are an '07 Road King and a '12 Electra Glide. Both have cruise control and I can put my hands in any kind of position, up on the hand levers, take my hands off, one hand, two, it does not matter the bikes track true and straight wether accelerating/decelerating, whatever. And no "death wobble". By the way, my truck and the Old Lady's car perform the same way.

The same holds true for the two Honda's and one BMW that I have owned. You can literally drive them around with one finger. Harley's included. I have no doubt and despute no one who says that they have this problem and have had it since the bike was new. At this point, nothing would surprise me from a bike that modern day Harley Davidson puts on the road. Is it normal? Is it right? Is it safe? Is it Ok? HELL NO!!!

You should never have to "pull" your bike one way or the other to keep it tracking down the road in a straight line. There is no way that I could do the kind of daily milage I log having to pull on a bar. Do you have to "sandbag" you car to keep it from veering into oncoming traffic or drifting right into a telephone pole? Please.... "I'm sorry sir. Thats just normal". I think we are all getting tired of hearing that dealer dance.

Sorry for the rant folks but, OP your story and the others just pisses me off. By the way. I have my buddy's '05 Softail Special in my shop. It rides the same way as my bikes do. No bungie cords or sandbags required to keep it on the black top.

When I need maintenance done that I can't handle, I have an experienced local Indy. There is no way he would let something like that leave his shop. Accuse him or his mechs/techs otherwise, be ready to fight. "It does not leave here if it's not safe". His words.

Shame on you China Davidson. OP, I hope you can get your frame, forks, wheels in alignment somehow.

 

If you want to align your bike, for a good explanation and videos of the method go to the Glide Pro website, he's got some videos on there that show that method of alignment using the lasers and a torpedo across the frame under the seat. takes a little time and effort but well worth the time. He explains it very well.

 

Great advice if you have this problem. No one should expect this of their bike, regardless of the cost of ownership.

 

It's the clutch cable i have the same problem

 

Please elaborate. Is this something that we need to convey to the dealers? I mean since they send us to the forums to fix Harley's. This thread is getting too long to keep up with all post.

Thats funny, huh?

 

Been away for a long time. I was the starter of the post. My bike now has 18k on it and still drifts left slightly. Like Bill 8333 said, the clutch cable is a culprit to most of the problem. My cable was clamped to the left down tube and I removed the clamp. A lot of the problem went away but not all. A aftermarket shop that's been in the business for 40 plus years told me that the wheel used on the 08' anniversary models has been known to cause the same problem. My HD dealer refused to believe that and Harley's take on the situation is that it is unsafe to ride with no hands so they cannot duplicate the problem!! It's BS! I will be putting on a new front tire soon and will have the wheel checked. Blockzilla found it was a wheel problem. I now have a quick detach fairing on my bike and at speed I believe the fairing is helping me keep it straight as it drifts less with it. With all this crap it's no wonder people are moving to the other American made bike up my way! My buddy's V has less parts made in China than my bike. It's a shame and we're paying for it.