Pulling to the left

M

mwirrick

Member
Visit site
Anyone have any alignment issues? My bike has only 1,500 miles on it and I haven't removed the wheels yet, but I noticed the other day that it tends to pull to the left when I let it coast a bit with hands off the handlebars. This maybe a crazy thought, but could the weight reduction on the right (around 11lbs) from switching to a Two Brothers titanium pipe, cause a significant enough imbalance to cause a pull to the left? Other than bad tires or improper rear wheel alignment (which I have yet to thoroughly check), I can't imagine what the problem could be. Any thoughts, anyone? Thanks.
 
I would get the tyres re-balanced if your paranoid about it, you don't know how old the tyres are? and how long they have been on the bike?. The factory Michelins aren't the best tyres. As far as the weight distribution of the bike, with or without an aftermarket exhaust you wouldn't notice a few kg's here or there on a bike that weights over 200kg.
 
Wheel balance shouldn't affect the bike in that way.
Wheel alignment may possibly cause issues but I imagine it would need to be a long way out to cause the bike to pull.
It could be something as simple as the camber of the road causing it or your body position when riding.
 
Road rot

Unless they have spent a considerable amount of money since I used to drive truck through your state, my guess is road surface, not the bike. I used to refer to the state as Misery because of the roads, and that was when I lived in Manitoba a province famous for terrible roads (and high taxes). The suggestion of body position may have merit as well.
 
:ditto:

I would take a digital caliper and measure the distance between the swingarm and each axle block (where the adjusters are) to make sure that they are equal. Don't just go by the marks on them. I would imagine that they would have to be off considerably to cause an issue like this.

By the way I am talking about the measurement between the two endpoints of the arrow in the attached pic.
 
Had this myself

mwirrick said:
Anyone have any alignment issues? My bike has only 1,500 miles on it and I haven't removed the wheels yet, but I noticed the other day that it tends to pull to the left when I let it coast a bit with hands off the handlebars. This maybe a crazy thought, but could the weight reduction on the right (around 11lbs) from switching to a Two Brothers titanium pipe, cause a significant enough imbalance to cause a pull to the left? Other than bad tires or improper rear wheel alignment (which I have yet to thoroughly check), I can't imagine what the problem could be. Any thoughts, anyone? Thanks.
Click to expand...

I remember this myself !!! As soon as i changed to better tyres (pilot road 2's) and had them balanced up the problem went away. If that doesn't cure it, maybe there is another underlying issue, but i would be 99% sure its ur tyres/balancing.

All the best. Seth
 
I always measure as Tony pointed out (Great graphic Tony!)

It's typically one of several things... First, adjustment. Second, tire wear. Third, tire pressure. Forth, riding habits, meaning do you slab it a lot on crowned roads? You may be wearing one portion of the tire that is off-center. Check tire wear.
 
Me too

SETH46 said:
I remember this myself !!! As soon as i changed to better tyres (pilot road 2's) and had them balanced up the problem went away. If that doesn't cure it, maybe there is another underlying issue, but i would be 99% sure its ur tyres/balancing.

All the best. Seth
Click to expand...
When I first got my FZ, the front tire was about 60-70% worn and the thing about taking my hands off of the bars and how it wanted to lean left, now that you mention it, I do remember that it pulled and eliptically oscilated also. When I put the new tire on it......well........I'v since forgot about it?
 
Gohot229 said:
When I first got my FZ, the front tire was about 60-70% worn and the thing about taking my hands off of the bars and how it wanted to lean left, now that you mention it, I do remember that it pulled and eliptically oscilated also. When I put the new tire on it......well........I'v since forgot about it?
Click to expand...

hahaha love the expression there "eliptically oscilated" !!
yeah it pulled to the left, then as it slowed down it went into a tank slapper bar wobble, very nearly caught me out once, nearly making me loose it but managed to accelerate out of it !!

Sounds like history is repeating itself !!!

CHANGE THEM TYRES FOR BETTER RUBBER WITH CORRECT BALANCE !!!
ALL UR DREAMS WILL THEN COME TRUE !!!:eyebrow:
 
Thanks

Thanks for the responses, everyone. All good thoughts. I remember the OEM rear tire on my Suzuki Bandit, a Dunlop, lasted a scant 1500 miles! And that's twisty stuff (which there is, in fact, quite a lot of in Misery, ah..... Missouri). So, yeah, maybe its just a crappy tire. I doubt its the balance, and I know the first thing I should check is rear wheel alignment, just haven't been able to while on the road, working. But can't wait to get home to do just that. Great graphic, by the way, of the rear axle alignment. So thanks again, hopefully its not a big, irreversible problem.
 
new fz1n pulls to the left.

Hi, i just bought my fz1n and rode it for a few days.. it is a brand new bike.. but i found out fron the first day when i let go the handle bar..it pulls to the left... i tried did the wheel balancing for both wheels...adjust the fork tension settings... it still the same... by e way my bike came with dunlop sportmax tire.... why is tat so..? What else should i do?
 
I'm not trying to be a wise arse. simply put, if it bothers you, Keep your hands on the handlebars. Motorcycles are not meant to be ridden hands free. It could be as simple as the cables pulling on the bars. Just about every motorcycle I've owned, including my Gen 1 and Gen 2 have pulled one way or the other when hands were off the bars. If you don't have a problem while riding with hands on the bars, and your tires are wearing evenly, I wouldn't worry about it. Otherwise you may find yourself chasing ghosts.
 
mwirrick said:
Anyone have any alignment issues? My bike has only 1,500 miles on it and I haven't removed the wheels yet, but I noticed the other day that it tends to pull to the left when I let it coast a bit with hands off the handlebars. This maybe a crazy thought, but could the weight reduction on the right (around 11lbs) from switching to a Two Brothers titanium pipe, cause a significant enough imbalance to cause a pull to the left? Other than bad tires or improper rear wheel alignment (which I have yet to thoroughly check), I can't imagine what the problem could be. Any thoughts, anyone? Thanks.
Click to expand...
I think it`s been covered in other posts the swapping to a lighter pipe can cause the bike to pull a bit oneway, can`t remember if it was to the right or left
 
Road camber will make a bike pull one way or the other and also make your tires wear on one side quicker than the other. All the new and re-surfaced roads built here have a considerable amount of camber in them these days.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top