if you really want to go nuts, take a very long rubber band and capture both sides of the rear wheel and the front wheel also. you'll likely need an assistant to hold the front wheel straight while the bike is on the lift. if you have equal spacing on the rear of the front tire, then the alignment is spot on. this method has worked for many years. this may require taking apart a golf ball if you can't find a long enough piece of elastic or rubber band. the rubber winding inside of a golf ball will work just fine for your gauge, or you can go to a fabric department and get a long package of elastic. it's an old trick, but if basic physics still apply, then you'll be just fine. there used to be a difference in frame geometry for bikes destined for the u.s. germany, etc, compared to bikes sold for great britian, only because of the slant of the roads. our roads here are made to assist in the runoff of water to the right, and to help snow dissipate off of the road surface. the opposite applies in reverse for those driving on the left, "wrong" side of the road. this crown in the road meant that our bikes had a pre loaded left turn to counteract that crown. yeah, ask a question and be prepared for a lunatic to dig into it way too deep.

 

I like lunatics myself........guess I may be one too. I am just like knowing everything about bikes and even after 40 years of fooling with them I still can't get enough!

Getting the front wheel straight wasn't that bad. I made a couple "tools" to do just that. I used some Kydex plastic to make a couple of clips to go on the bag guards and bolted a 1/4" X 5 1/2 turnbuckle to them. Then a piece of what I call Dog Chain going from the turnbuckle up to the grip on the bar. One for each side, and a few turns on the turnbuckle and it is straight. I also found that the two bolts on the passenger foot rest are plumb with the frame is level so it is no need to remove the seat to get the bike level.

 

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