pulls to the left

BIKER

.060 Over
Joined
Aug 30, 2010
Messages
163
Location
finger lakes NY
I own a 2009 R3T...got it as a left over and got a great deal on it.. love the bike I now have over 1200 miles on it..the other day going down the road I pulled my hands from the bars to zip my coat..and it pulled to the left really fast ..put my hand back on the bars got it going straight again..tried it again and still pulled to the left..now i know most are say well don't take your hands off the bar..but I have done this in safe places to fit my helmet,fix my coat stuff like that and my bikes have all tracked down the road straight & true.. everything looks good ..my one friend say its because its shaft drive???

Thansk Ed
 

definitively not the shaft drive. could be the front tire worn unevenly, or maybe te front suspension but drive shaft will not pull the bike left period.
 
I have a 07 with 40k on it and ride it all the time with no hands. nice way relax after a long days ride.
 
It usually turns out to be weight in one saddle bag. A few extra pounds will cause a pull to one side or the other. And the bike will also follow the crown of the road down hill.
Hell, I've even had a buddy complain that when he wears his wallet the bike pulls left, that turned out to be because his ass hung off to the left side of the seat when his wallet was in his left pocket.
It's either wind, weight, road crown or body position that causes it, just have to narrow it down.

It's not the drive shaft, no way. The drive shaft will make it pull on hard acceleration as the tire breaks loose, that's about it.
 

Agreed. You'd be surprised at how little weight it takes too. I can put a light jacket and hat in one of my bags on my Tiger and it'll pull to the side that has the added weight.

If you don't have anything in your bags, it could be the brakes. One of the pads on the left side could be rubbing slightly.
 
I have and 08 standard I bought has a leftover in 09. I enjoy open highway with the throttle locked down and no hands anytime I can getaway without a passenger. My Rocket tracks true as well, so I would definitely look at something else causing it, besides shaft drive. The problem I have down in Texas is 2 local dealers and no good feed back from either one about any Rocket issues, one is a little better than the other, but neither seem really interested. Hopefully you have a good dealer who can help you solve issues and concerns and is interested in you being a return customer and having product satisfaction.
 
It is most likely the weight distribution issue described above.

However, a few Captains have reported that following the fitting of the front dresser bars, their Rockets pulled to the side like you describe. Once they jacked the engine back up and refitted the bars, it ran true and straight.
 
Unless somethings seriously bent causing the wheels not to track properly it has to be weight distribution. Get a mate to follow you and let you know if you're sitting upright in the middle of the seat. Can't rule out saddlebags but more likely to be something above the centre of gravity - around 200lbs (say..!!) high up, slightly off to the side would do it.
 
Ed,
My 08 R3 always pulled slightly to the left also. Never really gave it a thought though.
 
I have never gotten anything but straight tracking from my "08 in 22K miles. Except on bad roads. How was the road?
 
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