When I went to put a sissy bar on my 1972 XLH I noticed that the right side of the fender (from the back) was almost rubbing against the tire while I had plenty of clearance on the other side. I took the fender off to take a look and found that the tire is centered in the swingarm, but is 3/4" off between the fender struts. Nothing appears to be bent. Anyone else have this problem or an explanation?

Thanks,
Barry

 

Check the swingarm bearings for play. The tire maybe straight in the arm but the arm is probably pulled over to the chain side when the bearings loosen. That would be the easiest fault. A bent frame or fender strut would seem unlikely, but possible.

 

Thanks Tedali,
I will check that out. Someone else suggested the spokes may need realigned. I'll check on that too if I can find someone who knows how to do it.

Barry

 

First off.....Has someone 'built' a new rear wheel for this bike? If so, then there is a good chance that it may have been spoked up with the rim incorrectly positioned in a right/left direction relative to the hub location.
The hub must be located in a certain place so that the rear chainline is straight.
The rim must be located so that it is centered between the rear shock upper supports on the main frame. Or, to put it another way the rim must be centered under the rear fender sides.
These two location requirements may be in different places and the result is for a different offset to the rim on the leftside than is needed on the rightside, relative to the hub.
If you do not know what these offset dimensions are (I do not) then you can measure and determine what you need. Set the machine upright on a stand. Insert the rear axle without a wheel and level the axle, placing shims under the frame as needed.
Drop a line down each side of the fender edges on both sides and take measurements at the axle. How far is it on each side to the swing arm members? Install the rear wheel and spacer(s) along with the axle and measure over again. Compare to the first dimensions and you have the offsets needed on each side to build the wheel correctly.
If this is the problem then just remove the tire and tube and mount the wheel in a stand. Loosen the spokes on the side that the wheel is pulled over too far to begin. Then tighten the spokes on the opposite side of the wheel by an equal number of turns on the nipples to move the rim over to that direction. Loosen the nipples one turn and tighten the opposite one turn to start with. This will move the rim over to a noticable degree and keep the rim trued up in the process.Turn all 40 spoke nipples until you have the offset dimensions indicated by your measurement. Do a final true and you are finished............pg

 

If all else fails, check the fender alignment relative to the frame. Fender braces are stamped steel and sometimes they just don't come out quite right and need a bit of manual alignment. I find this out all over again nearly every time I install a set of Easy Brackets.

 

I remember (very vaguely) being told that my 5.00 x 16 rear wheel conversion on my '72 CH had to be laced offset to allow the chain to align.