Is your rear tire centered?

[BigPeet]

Originally Posted by 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.

I'll go with that answer. I remember the first time I noticed it on my RK it had me worried, so I checked the alignment with an 8' flouresent tube and it was right on the money. It may have been like that from day one.

~Pete

[Gebrr]

Originally Posted by Conkljm

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

Thanks for the picture.
I see that it looks pretty close with you too. I'll have to try putting a specer in and see where I end up. Gave up on fitting the burly's, they are so wide that even a spacer won't make them fit.

Just ordered some 11" 412 progressive's so hopefully they will fit better....
It said they would fit FXR's in the spec, but it also said that for the burly's so I'll keep my fingers crossed!

[Gebrr]

Originally Posted by 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?

I have read several forums and articles about this issue and unless Harley Davidson comes with an official statement saying that they intentionally gave all rear wheels for FXR's, model years XXXX, a 0.3" offset to the left.... we will never know the real reason behind this I'm afraid.
Doesn't seem to be any line in who does or does not have it... So I guess it just depends on what day it came off the assembly line and if the guy assembling it got laid the night before...

What it comes down to is that it seems to be a known issue, so known that there apparently are aftermarket kits to resolve it...

I'm taking out my rear wheel and swing arm anyway so I'll see what I find and try to correct it in some way.

But if I manage to uncover the conspiracies and dark secrets surrounding the illusive "off center FXR rear wheel" I'll let you know...

[V-STRUM]

I believe it's the rear fenders that aren't true. I know I posted my story earlier in this post, but here's a recap.

Originally my rear tire was perfectly centered.

Crashed the bike in '01, replaced front end, tins, and frame, but not the swingarm. After rebuild rear tire was off to the left. There's no contact between rear tire and fender through the full travel of the swingarm which is good.

I bought original spacers, swapped between 2 rear rims, but still off center. BUT, the belt is inline, the shocks are inline from swingarm to top frame mounts, and rear tire is centered with the bike just not the fender. I thought the swingarm was bent but the shocks line up perfectly. The important geometry is correct so I don't worry about it.

[BigPeet]

Originally Posted by Gebrr

I have read several forums and articles about this issue and unless Harley Davidson comes with an official statement saying that they intentionally gave all rear wheels for FXR's, model years XXXX, a 0.3" offset to the left.... we will never know the real reason behind this I'm afraid.
Doesn't seem to be any line in who does or does not have it... So I guess it just depends on what day it came off the assembly line and if the guy assembling it got laid the night before...

What it comes down to is that it seems to be a known issue, so known that there apparently are aftermarket kits to resolve it...

I'm taking out my rear wheel and swing arm anyway so I'll see what I find and try to correct it in some way.

But if I manage to uncover the conspiracies and dark secrets surrounding the illusive "off center FXR rear wheel" I'll let you know...

What are the aftermarket kits to resolve it?!!!

~Pete

[Gebrr]

Originally Posted by BigPeet

What are the aftermarket kits to resolve it?!!!

~Pete

Guess the statement above was a bit off.
I was refering to one of those wide tire kits that moves your wheel 0.3" to the right... which in my case is exactly the distance needed...

http://vulcanworks.net/FXR-Fat-Tire-...set-p-416.html

Wouter

[BigPeet]

Originally Posted by V-STRUM

I believe it's the rear fenders that aren't true. I know I posted my story earlier in this post, but here's a recap.

Originally my rear tire was perfectly centered.

Crashed the bike in '01, replaced front end, tins, and frame, but not the swingarm. After rebuild rear tire was off to the left. There's no contact between rear tire and fender through the full travel of the swingarm which is good.

I bought original spacers, swapped between 2 rear rims, but still off center. BUT, the belt is inline, the shocks are inline from swingarm to top frame mounts, and rear tire is centered with the bike just not the fender. I thought the swingarm was bent but the shocks line up perfectly. The important geometry is correct so I don't worry about it.

I agree with V-STRUM. The best way to know for sure is check your alignment. Do the wheel in the swingarm check first. Then check the alignment between the front and rear tire. You can use a tight string, laser, or what I use, an 8' flouresent bulb. If all lines up you know it's a tweaked fender, or bent frame struts. Chances are good it's just the fender.

Not a lot of guys have had their bike since new. Bikes have been dropped, passengers wiggling around, it doesn't take much to bend a fender. A lot could have happenned in almost 30 years. I'm convinced some came like that from the factory.

Just don't think you have to space the tire to fit centered in the fender when (if it really bothers you) you probably could center the fender over the tire instead.

~Pete

[Thermodyne]

Just go to a parking lot and roll the scooter along a straight painted line. If both tires roll at the center of the line, the offset is not at the wheel.

[Gebrr]

Thanks for the replies.
I fitted a new fender and the problem remains.
So I'll just realign the whole thing once I reassemble the bike.

We'll see what happens :-)

[Gebrr]

Hello again,
As promised a small update on the above thread... Just in case anyone is interested or struggling with a similar issue...

I'm getting closer to reassembling my bike after a complete rebuild and I'm pretty sure I found the cause...
After disassembling my bike I found that the hole in the rubber block between the swingarm and frame is off-center and apparently can be mounted I 2 ways.. The wrong way and the right way...
Since I never touched this before I suspect that a sleepy mechanic or a unmotivated assembly line worker, has been responsible for my problem.
In my case the hole in the right side block was off-center to the top right and left side block was off-center to the lower left.
Apparently this resulted in the fact that pivot axle and swing arm were under an angle.
Installed new cleeve blocks, pivot arm and rubbers, ( In the same orientation on both sides this time) has straightened my wheel out and it's perfectly centered.

Regards,
Wouter

[V-STRUM]

Thanks for the info, pictures would be great if you haven't already reassembled the bike.

[Gebrr]

Originally Posted by V-STRUM

Thanks for the info, pictures would be great if you haven't already reassembled the bike.

below a "before" picture... made a thousand pictures of the project but none that really show the misalignment as good as I hoped... but I think you can see it a bit...

[Gebrr]

here are some pictures showing the "off-center" hole... or at least that´s what I´m attempting to show anyway...

[gretsch58]

Originally Posted by Gebrr

below a "before" picture... made a thousand pictures of the project but none that really show the misalignment as good as I hoped... but I think you can see it a bit...

It almost looks cocked eye'd. Like not straight up and down with the bike. Could be the picture.


Sent from Motorcycle.com App

[Gebrr]

Originally Posted by gretsch58

It almost looks cocked eye'd. Like not straight up and down with the bike. Could be the picture.


Sent from Motorcycle.com App

no, that´s what I think too... although it looks a bit worse on the picture than it actually was I think.
Just never really noticed it in any other way than than it looked "off".
None of the mechanics I asked about have ever commented on it either. Strange when you see how obvious it is on the picture.

below the "after" picture, difference is pretty clear if you ask me...
Maybe I´ll notice a huge difference when I start driving it again next month... never drove any other bike than this and had it for almost 15 years now...