this makes sense if your pulley is in fact lined up, and wheel is off centre,

 

As 24v said they are all a bit off center, about 1/8" to left (mine is just a hair under that). Off center rear tire wear or having to lean to one side to go straight would mean that the rear wheel is not aligned straight. There is no consequence with leaving the stock wheel as is, just make sure it is aligned straight very accurately. there is also no consequence with adjusting the wheel a bit towards right and centering it if that's your preference.

 

maybe it's me, but by the pictures it looks like the fender is leaning to the left which would cause the difference. maybe they cut the mounting hole wrong and caused it to be off and shimmed it to not rub the tire.

i took the metal trim off my sportster tank for a better look. when it got it off there were scratches underneath, but the trim hid them. never know what they do at the factory to get things to pass

 

Not mine... it's dead center, maybe mine is wrong..lol, or maybe they vary a bit and I just got lucky!!

 

lol- well could have been yours was made on a monday and ours on "beer friday" ;p But AFAIK the small offset is normal.

 

Have you measured the front of the fender? If the axle is adjusted just slightly off, it can make a big difference and the tire will be off center at the rear ...if you measure the front of the rear fender it will be off in the opposite direction. If the axle is indeed straight, you can shim the bolt on struts to get the fender parallel with the tire.

 

This sounds practical. I didn't know about these spacers being able to be modified. Kind of disappointing that such an expensive motorcycle comes engineered crooked.

 

I have a rocker, the breakouts older brother...I think if you folks check your manuals they are engineered to be offset a hair. I have had mine since 09, never changed anything and never had a problem.
It might not like being changed...if it was designed that way...to keep things lined up.
Ride safe.

 

We're just assuming the wheel is crooked- it could be the fender or strut that is slightly off. would need to measure wheel hub distance to swingarm on each side of wheel to be more sure.

if you shave the right side wheel axle spacer 1/16", and do not add 1/16" to the left wheel axle spacer, all it will do is compress the swingarm together 1/16" closer together when you tighten the axle bolt. the wheel pulley mounts to the wheel hub directly and does not touch the left axle spacer, it floats over / around it. that is why you can add offset spacers to pulleys if you have a belt rub problem when going to wider tires, without needing to touch the actual spacers on the axle.

 

Ya I think your right LA Dog, because the gaps don't seem to be the same on any two like bikes, I think it's the fenders that's are off center, not the wheels. My Breakout is in the center, the gap for the op is an 1/8" smaller on the left, yours is under 1/8" I don't think HD would use different size spacers on the same model?? MY Rocker has a 3/16" BIGGER gap on the left!!. The fender being slightly off center, for whatever reason, makes the most sense to me, and if it is, I don't think moving the wheel would be the best fix!! lol