l have an 014 Lowrider with a hollow axle, l'll find a pair of bolts that are a snug fit in the axle and mark their centers in a lathe. l have slip on mufflers so the rear really needs to be removed to do it properly but there's no alternative.

 

I have aluminum plugs I made that slip into the axles with a cross mark scribed on the face. I also made a base that sits against the swing arm with a small rod that fits into the hole in the swing arm.
With those 2 items and a Starett 6" scale I can split 1/64" between sides.

 

Yeah made some plugs in lathe with centre mark to line up,

But would like also to do MattVA's alignment of front and rear wheel

 

Those plugs are trick. I would buy them, if you make them!

I bought the Motion Pro wires when I did my new wheel install...worthless

 

So i am comfortable with my starting point of 1/32 +/- i have always used some welding rod and a Grommet like in the fsm. I decided to use a mini zip tie as a slide marker this time and worked significantly better. Im out for a ride momentarily and will recheck when i get back. Then move on to the next step vertical alignment. I usually have a fairly easy time with this since i have 2 inclinometers and the magnet digital level.

Id really like to see or get a little more detail from Bmeyers about the setup on the swingarm that he is describing. Sounds quite slick to me. My axle ends are pretty banged up from the original owner

 

l've just re read all the posts as well as the factory service manual. ln terms of being accurate, the factory method is laughable and as some of the posters have said here, what they're doing has a fair element of guess work to it too. 1/32 is a damn small measurement and l really don't see how it could be done by eye, the hole in the swing arm needs to be bought out to the same plane as the end of the axle to get any kind of an accurate measurement for a start.
The factory gives a measurement so it would be reasonable to think it's important but their recommended adjustment procedure would suggest otherwise.

 

Man, now you guys have me all freaked out. After having my new tires installed I basically slapped the wheels back in and made sure I essentially adjusted the tension screws equal amounts until my belt was right. Never even looked at overall alignment.

Guess I'm googling "rubber band method"

 

This is completely true, especially about the alignment hole and the axle end being on different planes. I use the Motion Pro tool, but I cut it down a bit to make it a little bit more usable (not my idea, I read it somewhere here). It's tough because the axle protrudes a different amount on each side, but I was able to cut the length of the swingarm side so that it reaches the hole on each side without bottoming out, and then I removed all the excess part designed for Softails... Not perfect, but a little bit better...

 

Petefwa and f86 are explaining all the flaws that i have been experiencing but could not put in words. Thank you. Anyhow, with my closer adjustment before heading out for a ride I definitely experienced less pull to the left. I remeasured after the ride and found them with a slightly larger difference between them maybe a total of 1/16. Readjust and ride again??

 

That was certainly my approach...

Btw, here's my modified Motion Pro alignment tool... Super simple. Still not a perfect tool, but it's a little bit easier to use than it was out of the box. Once again, I can't take credit for this idea. I don't remember who I got it from or I would give them a shout out, but it was someone on the forum...