Is your rear tire centered?

[V-STRUM]

Originally Posted by springer-

It is not a problem. It is the way it is suppose to be. The tire didn't shift, the shaft isn't bent, the swingarm isn't tweeked, the shocks aren't bad. It is perfectly fine and exactly as it was intended. It is only perceived as a problem because we are trained to think it should be in the center.

Now by it not being in the center there is more clearence on one side of the tire than the other. If a wider than stock tire is installed, the side with less clearence can rub. The fat tire kit move the wheel and tire to the right .300" and puts it in the center of the fender and allows for a slightly wider than stock tire. I believe it will acommidate upto a 150 with the stock fender.

I'm not so sure it's the way it's supposed to be, since mine was centered when it came out of the factory. I used to be able to run a 140 rear tire without issue before the rebuild. I check out other bikes rear tires and rarely see them out of center. So I guess as long as there's no negative affects it's not a problem.

[Kent]

As V-STRUM states the tire is centered when it comes from the factory, and anything else is wrong. My buddies 90, and my 94 have perfectly centered tires. However, they are stock in every respect.

Kent

[sctilt]

For what it's worth my 93' FXLR is perfectly centered as well...always has been.

[crankyoldguy]

My 92 is also dead center

[O-town D]

always been slightly left of center, but after 20 years and 96K miles and still running the original drive belt I guess it's a problem in looks only....

[Gebrr]

Hi,

New on this forum and hoping to get some help / advice during my FXR rebuild project.
Since this thread came the closest to the problem I'm having I thought I would revive it.

I'm having the same off-center issue as described above and I'm considering installing a wide tire kit to remedy it. (I'm running 140).
However, I'm having an additional problem that seems somewhat related to the above.
My left shock is contacting my pulley and I can't figure out why.
I'm afraid that if I install a wide tire kit the problem will not be resolved since the kit places a spacer between the pulley and rear wheel. So my pulley will remain in the same position... Grinding along my left shock....
I used to have 12.5 Koni shocks and was planning to lower it to 10.5 or 11. The Koni's were rubbing a bit but I "lived with it" since I didn't have a chance of fixing it.
I just got in some 10.5 burly's that I wanted to modify and fit but these have a much bigger diameter (something I never considered when I ordered them) and are impossible to install.... Unless I use a ridiculous spacer between shock and frame.
I'm considering getting some 11" progressives but I'm afraid I'll just run into the same problem again...

Has anyone here had a similar problem... And if so, how did you get rid of it?
Hope one of you can help me out.

Greetings from Norway!

[Conkljm]

While getting a tire change I pointed it out to the local shop mechanic. He measured and found the spacers were wrong. He milled down the correct ones and the tire is now centered, no need for the wide tire kit.


As far as the shocks, I've got a spacer on each side between the top of the shock and the strut.

I'll get a picture here tomorrow.

[Gebrr]

Thanks for the quick reply!
Maybe I'll just take out the rear wheel and check the spacers... Instead of spending a couple of 100 bucks on a wide kit.

After looking around I'm starting to thing that the Burly's just aren't made for FXR's...
I don't mind using some spacers but I need more than 0,5" to clear it, resulting in the fact that the shock doesn't line up with the bracket on the swing arm... :-)

Maybe going to progressive's will give me the couple of millimeters I need to clear my pulley...

Would like to see your solution so I can compare a bit.

[gretsch58]

My 93 is slightly towards the left too. Rides perfectly straight, never had a problem. When I change the tires I'll point it out.

[Conkljm]

Here's the pic. You can see the shock clears the pulley without a problem, but only because of the spacer.

[FXR2]

I've heard people talk about this before but have never understood it. The rear tire and wheel on my 1999 FXR2 has always been perfectly centered. Or if it's not, the offset is visually imperceptible. It seems to me that a rear wheel that's off to one side would also indicate that the motor is off to the same side, or else there would be obvious belt problems. Or is it the fender that's offset somehow? I can tell you that not all FXR's are like that.

A few years ago I installed PM caliper and carrier on the rear. It came with identical spacers to stock--obvious where they went The rear wheel is still centered but if I had somehow used different spacers, the swingarm could have been bent/pinched slightly by the axle bolts, or maybe even stretched open if a large spacer had been forced in there. Could something like that be happening on some bikes? Maybe the present owners don't know that their swingarms have been tweaked in the past?

[lucille]

If the nylon washers 47513-80 are worn through, possibly the whole swingarm has moved off-center. My '92 has worn them out before ......

[BigPeet]

My FXR is perfectly centered but my Road King is off to the left. I've had it since it was new, never dropped it or abused it. Haven't even had a fat girl on the back to possibly tweak the fender. In fact if you get under the bike you can see the drive belt is riding a little more to the right of the drive pully when you would think it would ride to the outside!

If it runs straight I wouldn't worry. You could put a wider spacer on the left side but than you would have to machine your caliper.

If Springer is reading I'd like your take on the wide tire kit you posted. I would think it was to move the wheel over to the right a little so you can space out your drive pully so as not to rub on your belt with a wider tire. I don't think the kit is made to center the tire. If the guys that have a centered wheel used it, their tire would now be to the right.

~Pete

[Catmanzrt]

My 2000 FXR4 is dead center. Checked it out after reading this thread.

[Thermodyne]

Every FXR I ever looked at close was off center. With that said, pretty much every rear fender I ever changed, moved the viewed position of the wheel. It seems as if the fenders don't spread evenly when they are first drawn out flush to the frame struts.