Front unit off center

[txlander]

Does anyone have any experience with a steering head off center in the frame?



It is that way at both the top and bottom of the fork unit. There is no way typical alignment is going to correct that issue. The HD service man said that is the way they are making them now for better control. Sounds like a lame excuse for a manufacturing mistake. The service man checked with HD and they asked him to send them the pictures. The center line of the front and rear tires will not track on the same line but will track parallel. I have owned many Harley's and other bikes too, and I've never seen this before. Should this be cause for concern?

 

[Papa Zook]

This is the first I've heard of this so I cant say one way or the other. If the Harley rep confirms its built this way, let us know. Is there any handling problem?

 

[txlander]

I bought it unseen because it had to be shipped in from another dealer. That was probably not the smartest move I have ever made. It was delivered to me late in the day. I only noticed it the next day when I was giving it a thorough inspection. I've kept it off the road until I hear back from the HD rep. It's a new Road King that I was planning to trike. Not so sure now. Maybe I should've opted for a pre-built freewheeler. But I wanted IRS. Oh well, at least I still have my Goldwing trike.

 

[Lee H. Mann]

Similar problem

I had a customer with a 2003 Harley Police Road King ( two-wheeler ) with the same issue several years ago.
I told the owner....he supposedly took it to the dealer....don't know what ever happened to it.

Yours looks like it might be a tank mounting issue. Not enough info ( pictures & measurements ) to tell for sure.

Wheels not tracking straight might be great for racing but will make inconsistent handling from right to left, even as a trike.

 

[Sloufoot]

Yours looks like it might be a tank mounting issue. Not enough info ( pictures & measurements ) to tell for sure.

I agree with the tank mounting. It could be twisted a bit or just off center that much.
If you look close the line isn't on the center of the frame member below the tank. It looks like if it was centered on the frame & not the tank, it would be almost dead center. But that isn't the best picture to include the frame.
Never trust an attached piece to reference from.
It could just be the dash/speedo housing also.

 

[txlander]

I had a customer with a 2003 Harley Police Road King ( two-wheeler ) with the same issue several years ago.
I told the owner....he supposedly took it to the dealer....don't know what ever happened to it.

Yours looks like it might be a tank mounting issue. Not enough info ( pictures & measurements ) to tell for sure.

Wheels not tracking straight might be great for racing but will make inconsistent handling from right to left, even as a trike.

Thanks for mentioning the tank alignment. I forgot to account for that, but it is now included in my summary to HD. I may be over my head on this and it may not be an issue at all or it could be just a simple alignment adjustment. The fact that the Harley service tech could not even see the misalignment and said there is nothing wrong bothered me just a little especially when it was so obvious to me. It may not seem like much to be concerned about, but since the offset is constantly in my view, it is distracting and disturbing. I don't think I should pay $20,000 for a new bike and then have to look at ugly alignment.

This is part of what I am submitting to HD:
View attachment Note documenting procedure.pdf

Any thoughts or advice is welcome.

 

[hitechrr]

2023 harley -davidson tri-glide front fork alignment

My 2023 anniversary tri-glide has the fairing and handles facing right when the bike is going Stright. The dealer tells me that it came from the factory that way and that it can't be adjusted. I think that is bull. I have been working on bikes for 50 years and they all could be adjusted.

 

[rhino 2]

My 2023 anniversary tri-glide has the fairing and handles facing right when the bike is going Stright. The dealer tells me that it came from the factory that way and that it can't be adjusted. I think that is bull. I have been working on bikes for 50 years and they all could be adjusted.

Richard.Welcome to Trike Talk…..…

And yes it can and definitely should be adjusted….A call to Harley HQ is in order…

 

[Jack Klarich]

My 2023 anniversary tri-glide has the fairing and handles facing right when the bike is going Stright. The dealer tells me that it came from the factory that way and that it can't be adjusted. I think that is bull. I have been working on bikes for 50 years and they all could be adjusted.

Hi Richard, Welcome to Trike Talk and your first post

I agree, this is BS from a dealer, there are getting to be too many reports of this lately, so much for any techs doing PDI on ALL new bikes, and sadly this cost gets passed down to us thru hidden costs