pulling issue

[Damien]

when i first got my rocket three months ago (5100 miles)i noticed if u let got of the handle bars it would pull kinda hard to the left thought it might of been the windsheld took it off didnt change put 3000 more miles on it (8300 miles) and replaced the rear tire at (9500 miles) replaced the front hoping that would fix it it didnt went to stugis last week as long as you dont let go of the bars its ok got back with (14000 miles) on it now but ive had a 05 america and 06 scrambler and u didnt need to hang on on eather of those and they didnt pull at all and now the front tire has a wear line on it alomost like a wear line from pulling anybody else have this problem

 

[warp9.9]

Damien, do you have dresser bars?

Sounds to me like the motor needs to be loosend and then retorqued properly. The reason I ask about the bars was if it does I would first support the front and loosen it make sure the bolt moves freely and retorque.

 

[CanberraR3]

One theory is that it has something to do with the engine configuration and rotation of the crank shaft. I don't know, but it's a not uncommon complaint. Checking the engine bolts is a good idea, but I also noticed that the bear claw was making me sit a little to the left of centre and the bike did what yours does. Ensuring my weight is centred, fixed it. Some have also suggested that uneven weight in saddle bags can cause it but it seemed too much of a coincidence that everyone had overloaded LHS saddle bags - but worth checking that too. As far as I can tell, Rockets just seem to do it, as it occurs in Oz and well as US, which means it has nothing to do with crown of the road.

 

[TOMCAT]

Steering head bearings .. worn or need tightening/loosening up .. maybe.

 

[seeya]

Mine has done it since it was new, 29,000 miles, cept when I was Darkside..................but we're not goin there

 

[Mittzy]

I can ride my 2010 R3R with no hands - no problems.
Maybe jack the bike up so front wheel I in the air and just rotate the wheel, see if it spins freely, no bearings or brakes grabbing also check head bearings for movement etc.

 

[Damien]

soon as im done with the america on my rack im going to pull it on and check the bolts ive already thought about the saddle bags took them off and rode still pulls and i made sure i was centered up on the bike

 

[Dennsell]

Just an Idea..

If the front tyre has abnormal adverse wear caused by road camber for example it could affect the straight line tracking.
If your not sure and only as a test case because of tyre rotation specs, you could remove the front wheel and rotate 180 degrees and try it.

Other.. As the engine forms the lower frame part.. a twist in sub frame/engine assembly as Warp was saying
Or twisted fork leg/headstock triple alignment, not easy to detect though.

LM2CW

 

[mport]

My 2009 R3T pulled bad when new. I wore the first front tire out in 5200 miles. When I changed the tire, I loosened all the motor mount bolts and tightened them a little at a time to be sure none were on a bind. It completely cured the problem. I got 12000 miles on the next front tire.[same brand]

 

[scot in exile]

No problem at all with my 2005 but I do like to keep my hands on the handlebars