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Rear Wheel Off Center

Brendan Papciak

Finally made it
Hello,

I tensioned my chain for the first time, and now my rear wheel is off center to the left. I adjusted the swing arm chain tensioning bolts back to the way they were before I tensioned the chain, and the wheel is still off. Is there anything else that would have caused the rear wheel to have become off center?
 

johnny42

Well travelled
Location
NY State
If your alignment markings are accurate, I'd be surprised. Many of us will say to make sure the chain and sprockets are aligned. You can use a tool, a string or a board.

Others will say to make sure the wheels are in straight line and say it's more important than the chain being aligned.

Personally, I align the chain without regard to the alignment markings since mine are not correct.
 

Brendan Papciak

Finally made it
Thanks,

Does your wheel appear off center when looking at it from the rear? When I look at the center line of the bike from the rear(lining up center of seat down through brake light and license plate), my wheel is way off by about an inch. Would the tension adjusters make it appear to be that off?
 

Morgan60

Well travelled
Location
USA
If your alignment markings are accurate, I'd be surprised. Many of us will say to make sure the chain and sprockets are aligned. You can use a tool, a string or a board.

Others will say to make sure the wheels are in straight line and say it's more important than the chain being aligned.

Personally, I align the chain without regard to the alignment markings since mine are not correct.
Plus one!
 

Brendan Papciak

Finally made it
IMG_2380.jpg
Chain is aligned, but the wheel itself is really favoring the left side. Its nearly outside of the rear fender. Those marks also seem to be off, so I agree not sure if they are reliable. The left adjuster nut on the swingarm tensions the chain, and the right one aligns correct? Is it possible my entire swing arm needs to be adjusted?
 

johnny42

Well travelled
Location
NY State
If this is a new bike, I'd let the dealer have a look. If you research the forums you might find others have noticed this on their bikes and most of the responses say not to worry about it. That's kind of why many of us will say to align the chain and not the wheels. Not sure if it's possible to mount the tire with improper placement of any axle spacers, but you might want to make sure.
 

Old Boy

Well travelled
Location
Northern Ireland
I had a gizmo I made up when I had a BMW Funduro. I had a piece of steel rod about the same thickness as a wire coat hanger and a few inches longer than the distance of the swing arm of the bike. I ground one end to a rounded point (not to sharp) then bent the end three inches to 90 degrees to the main rod. At the other end I used a cable tie pulled tight (allow enough tension for it to slide but not to move on its own) and left about one inch after cutting. Carefully cut the end to a point. Now all you need to do is put the wire end to the centre of the swing arm bolt and then slide the cable tie point to sit in the middle of the axle bolt. Then swop over to the other side positioning the metal end to the swing arm bold and offer up the cable tie to the axle bolt. If there is any discrepancy you can see straight away whether the wheel alignment needs altering or not. I use it when adjusting chain and also when everything is tightened up. A simple fix.
 
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