Why Won't My Motorcycle Track Straight?

If you are asking yourself "Why won't my motorcycle drive straight?", then you came to the right place.

It is not uncommon for the handling or track of a motorcycle to become “off”. If it does you must fix it as soon as you can to avoid the risk of causing more damage to your bike. Analyze your bike and even if you just replaced something keep that into consideration. The problem may be very simple and an easy fix or maybe something more complex as well both are serious matters.

Here are 5 of the most common reasons why your motorcycles tracking may be off.

Over Inflated Tires:

If your tires are over inflated//underinflated tires can cause your track to be off because of the disproportion of air in them. Underinflated tires can cause a pogo stick effect. Pogo stick effect is just as it sounds, it causes your bike to bounce up and down like a pogo stick. Other issues that can cause this effect include ineffective rebound damping that has to do with soft springs and also out of round tires.

Quick Fix:

To fix this issue, you can double-check the recommended tire setting and get a tire pressure gauge. Inflate tires to where the right tire pressure, or release air if it is over-inflated. If this does not solve your issue, you may also want to make sure there is no damage to the rim of your tire. Bent/damaged rims may cause your tire to not hold air right.

Bad Alignment:

If the alignment on your motorcycle is off it will cause your motorcycle to weave. Weave is when your motorcycle won’t track in a straight line, typically because of worn tires but can also occur if your tires are misaligned. Loose swing-arms or headstock bearings can also cause the same issue.

Quick Fix

You can do a simple alignment check yourself with a long piece of string and a track stand. Wrap the center of the length of rope around the front of the tire, pull the loose ends of the rope toward the rear wheel, trying to keep the line taut enough that it won't slip down the front tire. Draw the free ends of the string back until they just touch the tread at the front of the rear wheel, with the front wheel aligned, once again bring the rope to the leading edge of the rear tire. Look for the gap from the rope to the trailing-edge tread, they should be the same distance from the tire. If they are not your alignment is off!

Worn Parts:

When you’ve used something for a while and it hasn’t broken or stopped working you still have to consider whether it is worn and time to replace for better results in performance. Worn tires could easily affect the handling of a motorcycle. Having worn down tires could also cause poor balance and in some cases patter. Worn shock seals allow damping oil to escape possibly causing it to get into the brakes. If the shocks lack oil it will give the handling a “pogo stick” effect and make cornering a little tough. And worn fork bushes will cause friction in the tubes which can cause patter; this friction can cause the fork tubes to lock which will remove any suspension characteristics from the forks.

Broken Parts:

If there are parts on your bike that have not been replaced in a while (worn out parts discussed in the previous paragraph) you run the chances of them breaking. Once something is broken on your bike it will obviously not run the same or as good as it should. Parts can also break if they were not installed properly or if the wrong part was installed. It is important to investigate and check your bike if it feels off. If you do happen to find a broken part on your bike don’t just fix it, try to find out why it broke so that it does not happen again.

Improper Adjustments:

Wrong adjustments or settings on a motorcycle can cause handling issues also. We recommend your bike be at its factory recommended specifications. The specifications were set and tested by the manufacturers for the motorcycle to be at its best performance. Wrong adjustments to the suspension or the forks will cause your bikes handling to be off.

Is Your Bike Tracking Straight Now?:

Again, replacing or fixing anything that is worn or broken on your motorcycle is important especially when it is not letting your motorcycle track straight. You ride your motorcycle and know how it feels and if something feels a little “off” don’t brush it off. Putting any of these issues off and not trying to handle them as soon as possible only runs the risk of you doing more harm to your motorcycle. Remember, to observe, analyze, fix, and know how the problem occurred so that it does not happen again!

-Why Won't My Motorcycle's Battery Hold a Charge?

-Why is my Motorcycle Backfiring?

💰

GET FINANCED!

⏰

VALUE YOUR TRADE IN
30 SECONDS!

☎️

CALL NOW:

626-974-6600

✉️

EMAIL US!

customerservice@bertsmegamall.com

📍

GET DIRECTIONS!