New tires, now bike pulls to left slightly

Hi Guys;

I changed the tires on my 1199s last weekend (Michelin Pilot Power 5, front and rear) and now it seems at slow speeds if I sit up and let go of the handlebars, the bike immediately leans to the left. Does that mean I got the forks twisted or something like that? Do I need to loosen and retighten the pinch bolts at the bottom of the forks? Is it something else?




Thanks,

I always push down on the front end to get everything aligned before I tighten the wheel nut.

Definitely do what scrider says. There is a proper sequence to putting on the front tire. Especially to center the forks on the axle. Dave moss shows the right way. Google it and watch the youtube vid on it.

Something to consider as well is maybe you adapted to the worn front tire you took off? Was the old one worn more on one side?

SCRider, good comment. I did that.

airjawed, the old tires were Bridgestones and I didn't care too much for them but they ran straight down the road.

Thanks both of you for your comments. I think I found it. I was checking the bike over tonight and I noticed that the fairing was being pushed out a little by the shift lever and then I noticed that the left axle bolt, the big hollow one, of which there are only two, was winding itself right out of the chassis. The pinch bolt was only partly tight and I suspect the swingarm was probably cocked to one side a little. Is it common for this big honking V-twin to rattle all of the bolts lose on this bike? this is not the first bolt I've had to tighten up on this bike and I've only ridden 2600 miles so far.

I removed it and cleaned it up, replaced it, tightened the pinch bolt and checked the right side while I was there as well as all the other bolts in the rear suspension. Then I adjusted the chain. We'll see tomorrow if that fixed it.

I had the same rear swingarm axle bolt back off! Mine was also on the shifter side. I think I caught mine before it reached the point of causing swingarm alignment issues. Hopefully you found your issue!!

I've had one of my throttle housing bolts come completely out. I was twisting the throttle and nothing was happening. Well, I look down and see the housing spinning around along with my wrist! Luckily I caught the issue but I was doing wheelies during that ride. That might not have ended well. So, yes, I'd say the big twin does loosen bolts and its a very good idea to inspect the bike as regularly as possible.

I have had the LHS wheel /axle nut loose after a chain and sprocket change, at a dealer. Lucky, I found it at the start of my track day! No reason why not after tyre changes, although it is the rhs if you're gonna remove the wheel. As it's so important to our safety, I always check the torque settings, + technique of the hub bolts (ie: 1-2 then 1 again) using torque wrench every time. If .... goes wrong on these babies, it goes wrong fast! Dave

airjawed said:

There is a proper sequence to putting on the front tire. Especially to center the forks on the axle. Dave moss shows the right way. Google it and watch the youtube vid on it.
Something to consider as well is maybe you adapted to the worn front tire you took off? Was the old one worn more on one side?

Click to expand...

There's a mistake in Dave's sequence which I've pointed out to him which he graciously acknowledged.
You will see my comment in the Youtube comment section.

Refiit your front wheel as follows:
1)Lube axle
2)Tighten the axle nut ( on the captive leg) while leaving the free leg un-torqued.
3)Bounce the forks to settle the axle in place. Your wheel will then be true.
4)Torque to specs on both sides (Any pinch bolts are always done 1-2-1)
5)Squeeze the brakes and hold (to align them) while tightening the calliper bolts 1-2-1

Thanks, that all seems reasonable. I'll retighten the front axle nuts this spring during pre-season prep just to make sure it is right.