pulls to the left

How dumb do they really think you are. The drive shaft is making it pull left. Biggest load of **** I have heard as an excuse as to why they can not give you a reason as to why it is going left. I doubt they even called corporate. Probably just sat there and waited for you to call back.

I have had plenty of drive shaft driven bikes and have never had a problem with the drive shaft causing it to pull any direction. My bet would be head bearings and tires like everyone else here has mentioned. Did they even check the head bearings to rule them out?
 
On my way back from a John Fogerty concert the other night, I thought of this post and took my hands off the bars doing about 50-60 Mph, the bike stayed straight as an arrow. I did it several more times ( Mostly just to piss off the missus ) never veered at all.

Jim
 
Should be easy to see which side he dresses.... in the direction of his bikes "pull" of course....!
 
Front tire cupping isn't uncommon. At 1300 miles I'd be suspicious. I again suggest a simple methodology to find the problem. First check the wheel alignment. Get two yard sticks and with the bike vertical (tire vise in a lift works well) place one on each side of the rear tire touching the tire. Then measure the distance between the sticks at the rear of the tire and then space the front of the sticks the same distance (making them parallel to the tire track). Then draw a line (using a straight edge) from the center of the front tire to between the sticks. If it's within a centimeter of center it's OK. You'll also see if the rear wheel is skewed doing this (pointing off center).

If all that is OK, then loosen the steering head and re-torque to spec. Then go ride it. Any change?

If that's OK then loosen the fork clamps and raise the forks 5mm in the triple tree and then go ride it.
Any change?

If that's OK then remove the front wheel and the fender and test each fork leg for compression damping by collapsing the fork leg and watching the return action. You can change the fork oil while you're at it. and see what condition it's in (good oil will be clear like sewing machine oil). Put it back together and ride it.
Any change?

Basically you just keep working the problem until you find it. The best part is this testing are the rides. They can be or or or or you get my drift.

Good luck and report what you find.
 
The only torque reaction you get from a shaft drive manifests itself as lift at the rear end. There will be no sideways reaction pulling you to one side. On some horizontally opposed engines (BMW's boxer engines) there is an inertial reaction that rocks the bike from side to side (very slightly) on initial throttle application. There is nothing inherent from the engine or the shaft that would cause the bike to track one way or the other.
When you are riding with both hands on the bars, do you feel any pull that you are correcting automatically?
Oh! And ignore the thoughts that moving your backside or loading your panniers wrong will cause pull to the heavier side. When riding in a straight line you are holding the bike in balance through the centre of gravity. When one side is heavier than the other you simply hold the bike slightly further over to address the shift in CoG. If it leans one way or other outside of the centre of gravity wear some scuff protection on your ear as you will be over on it before long.
 
Weight to one side won't really effect the steering because you naturally shift your body to compensate, it's called countersteering....

It's important to maintain the maximum rated tire pressure (on the sidewall) cold inflation). Bike tires will readily cup if underinflated.

If you ride mostly freeway, there is a good chance the steering head bearings have flat spotted, they need to be checked for free movement and proper pre-load (detailed in the shop manual)

Triumph thoughtfully (cheaply) makes it impossible to lube the headstock bearings, much like draining the forks. It's a simple matter to drill the headstock for Alemite fittings and keep the headstock greased. That eliminates any bearing problems from water ingress (when you wash it) and lack of grease (Triumph uses a scant amount in the bearing cavity anyway).

The forks are another story. I machined the lowers on my bike and added drain plugs but that entails disassembly and machine tools.

I've actually added drain plugs to all my bikes (forks). The USD forks are a bit harder to fit drains to, but doable.

If the bike veers to the side riding hands off, it's mostly the headstock bearings, either preload, flat spotted or rough from corrosion internally.

If you have a set of pads dragging, it's easy to determine. Just ride the bike for a few miles and coast to a stop. Feel the rotors (each side) with your hand. They should be just above ambient temperature (the pads drag slightly, it's an inherent design). If one rotor is hot, that side is dragging. Time to bleed the brakes (in the shop manual again) and check the pads for glazing or uneven wear and yes, I have pads on site for your Rocket....(shameless plug...)
 
yes i was there when this was done...everything looked good

the mec also rode it with out the shield on and the bags off and it still did it .. when I get the $$$$$ a new set avon very soon...

Ed
 
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