I own an 2011 RoadKing and have been doing some research on rear wheel alignment.

Which leads me to my question: Other than the cams on the rear axle that are used to adjust the drive belt, is there an adjustment on this bike for a rear wheel alignment?

 

string, laser,or straight edge but still uses the cams for adjustment.

 

i bought the tool from Jims that you put on the left side of the axle and you can dial your adjustment right in

 

You may be able to align the engine/trans in the frame. which will have a slight affect on the rear wheel, but with the cams on the swingarm there is no easy adjustment there. I am looking into how I can alter alignment at that point (custom wheel and tyre), but haven't finalised it yet.

 

The only adjustment I see is to have both cams firmly against the bosses on the swing arm.

 

Harleys axle adjustment cams work fine.Adjusted correctly,the wheel is within specs and the belt centered.Why try and reinvent the wheel.

 

For pre 09 models there is chassis alignment and it is adjusted with engine links on the front of the engine and the front engine mount. The engine, transmission, swing arm and rear wheel are sort of an "assembly" and should be aligned with the rest of the frame. The power unit (components listed above) can be adjusted left or right by the bottom link on the engine and can be tilted left or right by the top link. Adjusting one link does influence the adjustment of the other but the basic description will do. The rear axle cams pretty much just set belt tension. On 09 and newer baggers, the engine is mounted differently and alignment is not covered in the shop manual, that I have found.

On many non-touring models, the rear axle position is set using jack screws or tension screws, one on each side. Because those screws can be adjusted individually rear wheel "squareness" in the swing arm must be verified. There are dimples in the center of the rear axle and in the swing arm shaft. The swing arm shaft dimples can be found under the chrome covers near the bottom of the frame behind the transmission. Using 2 long rods, each bent in an "L" shape and which can be locked together so they won't slide, place the short end of the "L" in each dimple on the same side and lock the 2 rods together to retain this measurement. Then move to the other side and repeat the measurement. If the distance between dimples differs from one side to the other, adjust one jack screw until the 2 measurements are equal. From then on, adjust both screws the same direction and the same number of turns to retain equal dimple distance on both sides. When belt tension and "squareness" is set, tightening the axle nut to spec. will hold the wheel in position. Now that this adjustment is complete, the power package can be aligned within the frame as indicated above.

The service manuals cover this and how to measure in detail but the above covers the mechanics of how adjustments are done. Hope this isn't too much like building the watch after just being asked for the time. With the cam style rear axle, no individual adjustment to one side only is possible. Axle/wheel "squareness" within the swing arm is close enough to suit Harley.

 

It works fine with a stock set-up, agreed, but as soon as we go away from stock the wheel may indeed need to be reinvented! With my set-up, using a wider rim and tyre, checking the alignment from first principles, the cams reveal that the wheel is offset slightly to the left.

btsom's description is excellent, however there is another aspect of wheel alignment which the manuals don't often cover, namely how the rear wheel relates to the front one. In an ideal world the rear should follow the front in perfect alignment. I'm currently working on a solution to adjust mine so they do that, as well as they can.

 

http://www.motorcyclemetal.com/downl...e%20Simple.pdf

 

Larry, good find! An alternative to those pieces of wood (not always easy to find dead straight bits) are long flourescent tubes, or simply a long piece of string. I have also found that my front-mounted display stand helps a lot!