I've been working through an issue with the fore and aft alignment of the rear axle on my 2014 Tri-Glide. The process is not only used for aligning the rear but to set the belt deflection properly. The instructions in the Trike Supplement Shop Manual are bullshit. They specify the use of a caliper to measure from the face of the front axle which is considered an inside measurement to the face of the plate that mounts the axle to the rear fork which would be an outside measurement. Calipers don't work that way. The jaws used to take inside measurements are on one side of the caliper and the jaws for taking outside measurements are on the opposite side of the caliper. Using their method would entail using the angled rear of the jaw that takes outside measurements against the face of the axle and then the other outside measurement jaw would be place on the face of the plate that mounts the axle to the rear fork. As far as I know calipers aren't made to do that. I just can't get an accurate reading with an angled jaw up against the face of the axle especially since there is no marker on the face of the axle and even if there was the angled jaw would still cause issues.

I was told today by an HD dealer that there is a special tool to do the measuring. I told them there is not one documented in the Trike Supplemental that I can find and said please provide the part number and cost so I can order it. He said he would find it and let me know. I then called the dealership I usually work with and spoke to the parts manager there and he is searching for it. How can HD specify the belt deflection as a maintenance item and not provide a tool part number to make the adjustments which involves aligning the rear axle to achieve the proper belt deflection.

Oddly enough the next step after aligning the rear fore and aft to set the belt deflection comes the lateral alignment which is dependent on the fore and aft alignment being correct. A laser level is one of the tools used for a lateral alignment so HD has a nice picture of a Black & Decker laser level in the trike supplemental. The lateral alignment is used to center the rear side to side and to setup the belt to run in the center of the rear sprocket.

Does anyone know if the mystery tool above exists and where I might get one?

 

Why can't you just measure between the flat surfaces of those plates ?
I do. Anywhere that is a constant with both sides will do. I use digital calipers for ease of measurement readings. Why spend big bucks for things you don't need.
There is also a laser alignment set-up you could buy to align the rear wheels with the front wheel. SPENDY, SPENDY !
Bottom line is unless you just have too much money, just use what makes sense.
But that's just my opinion.....

 

I tried using the notch on the front plate next to the adjustment bolt and I'm fine with that. From the picture in the manual it looks like that is where they want you to measure from. The outside of the other jaw is angled and the manual says put that on the face of the axle. That doesn't work for me. We don't get the same reading every time. We've tried other areas and none of them in our opinion will yield the variance of 1/16" side to side. Inconsistent plate thicknesses and powder coat thicknesses result in different reading from one measurement to the next. We've looked for consistency all over those things. It's like they were dipped in plasti-dip. Humps and drippy looking places on all of them.

I talked several times to a tech at the HD dealer close to my house about this whole thing because of other related issues and he told me the best way to do is by using the ends of the pivot shaft as my starting point. It's going to be used anyway for the next step which is the lateral alignment and he said unless the bearings around the shaft are shot or the frame is bent I will have a place that is straight across the trike.

I guess you would have to see the plates and powder coat on the rear of my trike to get the full picture. This trike is just weird. The tray under the trans is welded lower than any other trike or bike I've looked at. It screws the rubber up on one of my jack rails and it really is impossible to lift the thing up in the designated areas without putting weight on that tray.

I hear ya on the spendy things and I need to remain conscious of that. I got sick a few years ago and it knocked me off a bike, out of a job, and took away a lot more. I live on SSD now so staying away from pricey things has to happen.

I use a digital caliper too. My friend gave it to me. It's very sensitive. HD told me their was a tool so I'd like to see it and the price then I'll make a decision. I already have a laser on my ceiling and I now have markings on the floor. I moved the trike under the laser so that it runs right down the middle of the console on the tank and I stop at the communications port. I verify the bikes position using markings on the floor and a plum. There are also markings on the floor now that align with the pivot shaft which runs through the rear fork. I can us those as well to verify the trikes position. I am also using those markings from the pivot shaft to align the rear and set the belt deflection by simply placing a framing square on the floor and running it back to the rear. I have a magnetic laser attached vertically on the ends of each axle pointing down to each square. This tells me exactly where the axles are unless the the pivot shaft is no longer aligned with the frame or the frame is actually bent. I have a friend that is a machinist and pretty much a master with measuring devices since the stuff he machines have very tight tolerances equivalent to tolerances you might see in a jet engine. That's not what he machines but that's how close he has to be. His actual work is classified. Anyway, he put all of this together out of things I already had so I won't even attempt to put a price on it and having him as a friend is priceless. I have a few friends like this. One is a HD mechanic, the other one is a successful independent now but was an HD mechanic, and the last one paints bikes and cars for a living. So I am surrounded by mechanical people and I come here for that too. There is a huge amount of knowledge on this forum.

Right now my pivot shaft bearings and rubber bushing have failed at 9k and sidelined me for several charity runs I participate in and that bums me out.

I appreciate your feedback and opinion. That's what forums are for even if there is disagreement.

 

I just red your other post about the bushings. I don't know if HD has the urathane bushings or not.
The brakes you might luck out on because they don't want the inspection to go to the wrong places. Most of the time HD doesn't cover consumables like brake pads. Those plates on mine are smooth, so they are easy to measure from. But with the bushings worn out you couldn't get an accurate reading anyway.
Wish you the best of luck

 

Thank you sir! U 2. When we found the problem we gave up.

 

i measured from the blocks forward to the plates with my caiipers and got it within .003, took my time and kept going back and forth until i was happy with it. i'm **** about things like this.

 

Firm Joint Hermaphrodite Calipers? $9.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shinwa-150-m...38.m2548.l4275

 

go up to the sticky " transmission sprocket change begins " somewhere in that thread he shows you where and how he sets his belt tension. i do the exact same way.

 

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/tri-g...ml#post7599769


Post #80. Wilbert, that picture of how the micrometer is oriented is what I referred to before I started my alignment procedure. I have the exact same setup as M3 depicts, and I was able to get inside the 0.016 tolerance. Takes a little practice.
I also used a magnetic laser level and magnetic inclinometer for the lateral alignment. Stick the laser on the rear brake disc hub and stuck a spare cb antenna into the little hole under the swingarm bolt cap, made a mark with a .5 mm pencil where the laser hits the antenna, switch sides, mark again, adjust axle, repeat until marks are on top of each other, but I digress...
I also had to deal with a rear frame alignment issue to that I was able to prove using the same mag laser level. Then again, if M3 were still here, he'd have helped you a LONG TIME AGO. Too bad he's gone. Take a look and you'll see it can be done.

 

Off track here, But M3 was a big help to me also. "Too bad he's gone" Is an understatement!