Soooo........any updates on this??????

 

There is a very interesting post on another site about this issue. The poster used a laser and identified his rear wheel was not alligned properly with respect to the front. He fixed it by adjusting the frame to engine mount and dialed it into spec. I imagine posting the link here would be improper, so I won't without the express permission of a mod.

I emailed the link to my dealer who has the service guys checking on it. Perhaps I'll have an answer for everyone by Wed or Thurs next week.

 

I'm still waiting for the factory rep to contact me. I'll give him a buzz in the middle of the week if he does not call me.
I'm really thinking the dealer I use needs to get some mechanical training. I lifted the bike and did the swing by to check the steering head bearings and find they are still too tight. According to the dealer they adjusted it and found it too be good now but they don't follow HD's procedures. I'm really loosing faith in the HD company and the people their dealers employ.
But as of yet there is no ground breaking news. I'll keep you posted.

 

I have also checked my steering head bearings as per HD's procedure and they appear to be tight - at least they were at around the 1200 mile mark. I let them alone - as someone said earlier, better a bit snug when new than sloppy - I doubt if wearing them in before checking that is a bad idea. I am anxious to check them again at my 5K checkup which I will be doing (myself) next weekend. Incidently, are there ANY dealerships - car, motorcycle, boat, moped - who employ all certified, factory-trained mechanics?? Let's face it, there probably are not enough to go around which is why I, along with many others, have decided that we can do it just as well ourselves armed with the current service manual and some good tools. I may take a bit more time, but, that's not a negative, in my book. When I would adjust the valves in my 2000 BMW R1100RT, it would take about an hour. The dealer's mechanic could probably do it quicker, but, I doubt if it was done any better (in fact, many times after checking someone's poor running RT - the valves were found to be mal-adjusted having been recently tuned by the dealer).

 

Well guy's I met with thr rep today and he took my bike for a long ride, used his trigger gauge and he says that it takes 1.4 lbs. of pull pressure to keep my bike going straight and that is acceptable. They pull due to the angle the bearings are pressed into the neck. It's all within normal tollerances.
That doesn't say much for the Harley Davidson motor company when bike specs are not as tight as you would hope.
Not much else I can do at this point

 

I'd still take it to another dealer, and get another mechanic to look at it. Specs or no, you're not happy.

Mac

 

I agree with Mac. There should be no pull if everything is true.

The bearings are CROOKED is what the rep said? Straighten the damn things or provide a part with straight bearings.

 

this is the copy of what was posted on another forum by dmax that JBBooks was refuring to:

05 RKC pulling to left, I fixed it myself!

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So my 2005 roadking was pulling to the left pretty bad. I read on here somewhere that lot's of the bikes were doing this and the dealers don't know how to fix it.

Being an engineer, I got to thinking. There's really only one way a bike can drift off center assuming the weight is balanced side to side. The rear tire has to be misaligned with the chassis. The front will tend to track on it's own due to caster, and shouldn't be a problem. Misalignment must be caused by the rear tire steering the bike. Checking the book, there is a method to align the bike. They call for some sort of H-D "alignment bars". Sounds expensive to me. Instead I went to Sears and got a $35 laser level. I placed the level against the rear tire sidewall, projecting a beam parallel with the bike towards the front. Then using calipers, I measured the distance from the front and rear edges of the front tire to the beam. Doing this for both sides of the bike, I calculated that the rear tire was misaligned by .750" with respect to the front. The book says this spec should be .030"! 3/4" is way out from .030" And you wonder why the bike can change lanes by itself! To adjust, I shortened the front frame to engine mount link. I had to turn it 1.5 turns. You must also loosen a few structural parts first, and then torque everything back when you're done. This is part of the 1000 mile service anyway. So I got it to within .010" front to rear alignment. Took it around the block and it's fixed! I can ride with no hands forever. Leaning my body with no hands, the bike will turn both ways equally. I also notice the initial turn-in is smoother, probably because I'm not fighting a constant left drift.

This is sort of like toe on a car. Another adjustment at the top of the bike is kind of like camber on a car. I'll check that one out tomorrow. Anybody who says these bikes can't be aligned (stealers) is dead wrong. My guess is the assembly guys threw together a bunch of these bikes with the same front link error, and so they all tend to pull left. What you're doing is actually bending the bike. The front wheel and chassis, are bending with respect to the engine/tranny/rear tire. You don't want to **** the rear axle because the belt won't run parallel.

 

Sounds resonable.

Thanks for the info.

 

I spoke to an independent shop owner today and he has a new RK that does not pull. I told him about my problem and he says "The alignment is off", we had a nice long talk and it seems he knows his stuff. I'm going to try another Dealership he recommended down south from my home. He has also put me in touch with this guy in my town who says he can align the bike properly if the Dealerships fail. He's HD certified but has his own shop. I'll probably wind up paying for the repairs myself and I wonder if HD will reimburse me.
I'm sure the bike will get fixed soon or later, I'll let you guys know what the fix is. Why is it so damn hard to get your brand new bike squared away.
I don't think I'll let my local Dealer know what I find. F 'em