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Bike tracking left when hands off handlebars

3K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  yychow0812 
#1 ·
I noticed recently that my bike was tracking slightly left when my hands are off the handlebars (just for a few seconds, to adjust gloves or stretch out hands etc, not for showing off). I wonder if this is just due to the camber of the roads? (in Thailand, we ride on the left hand side, like in the UK and Aus).

I did drop my bike once on the right, from 1 km/h (rookie, front brake error). Could this have twisted or bent the forks in any way? To compensate and offset any twists, I dropped it on the left side from 0 km/h by not fully deploying the side stand.

Any ideas?
 
#3 ·
Haha. It was unintentionaly dropped on the left "by not fully deploying the side stand."

Maybe you just need to release the twisting tension in the forks by turning handlebar with side of tire leaning on a wall or tree/post... Or maybe something is bent. Have it checked by a pro.
 
#4 ·
Yes, unfortunately, it was unintentional :) Having said that, neither of the two drops were severe or dramatic as they seemed to happen in slow motion :)

Releasing the tension by turning the handlebars with side of tire leaning on something hard? Sounds scary, as I wouldn't know how hard to turn it incase I broke.

Best bet I guess would be to take it to the service shop for a look. Luckily, it's not as if the bike is skittling across the road, more like a slow drift which made me think initially it could just be the road camber.
 
#7 ·
crooked

sometimes the wheel will twist in the forks slightly to one side (more so on dirt bikes) if the bars hit the ground hard. Just find a pole or fencepost (that's what I used dirtbiking on the farm) and tap the side of the wheel that it pulls towards against the side of the pole to adjust the bars back to straight. Loosening the pinch bolts for the forks on the triple tree makes it easier, depending how much adjustment is needed.
 
#9 ·
Thanks for all the good suggestions. Will give it a try asap. Is it enough to just release the tension from the lower triple clamp? Should I loosen the bolts first on one side, retighten and loosen the other side or is it ok to loosen both sides at the same time? (I know that it's definitely not advisable to loosen both the top and lower clamps at the same time)
 
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