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Problem...My new Stryker drifts to the right..... FIXED?.. I don't think so

6K views 31 replies 17 participants last post by  chris 
#1 ·
Picked up my 2012 stryker last Thursday. when I take my hands off the handlebars the bike immediately drifts to the right significantly (flat road). Leaning to the left makes no difference. Anyone have any idea why this happens?
 
#5 ·
Re: Problem...My new Stryker drifts to the right

SmokenJOE said:
Mine goes pretty straight. Drifts a little to the right but not bad. I just shift my weight to left and good to go.
Same. What mods do you have on it to throw off the weight balance?
 
#11 ·
Re: Problem...My new Stryker drifts to the right

Mine drifts ever so slowly to the right as well. I just lean a little to the left and it goes away. Rear wheel fitment as described by others should be the culprit. I would imagine you will have excessive tire wear as well.
 
#12 ·
Problem...My new Stryker drifts to the right

Straightjacket said:
Rear wheel not straight in the swingarm can do it, also if the forks/front wheel isn't set right could give you a little pull? I ride with no hands alot, and mines fine?
X3

Fell different taking left corners as opposed to right?
 
#14 ·
Re: Problem...My new Stryker drifts to the right

I just got back from the dealer. They took the bike for a ride and they agree that it does, in fact, pyllto the right. They checked the tire pressure, the wheel alignment and said every thing was ok. They are going to contact Yamaha and get back to me. Soooooo........ no solution yet. ****! In the meantime this Stryker is a pure delight to ride. Oh, yea, I drilled 4 half inch wholes in each pipe and went outside as the guy left for the test ride and the pipes sounded great.
 
#16 ·
Re: Problem...My new Stryker drifts to the right..... FIXED

Well... I left the bike at the dealers, still unclear what the problem was, and the owner called me later and asked me if he could ride my Bike............I told him of course you can.......Next day they called me and said I could pick up the bike. They adjusted the rear tire in the swing arm, took it for a ride, adjusted again and repeated until it ran straight. All is well......rides straight as an arrow and I'm a happy camper :)
 
#18 ·
Re: Problem...My new Stryker drifts to the right..... FIXED

good to hear BUT just to be safe I would compare your alignment marks on the rear tire on both sides of the swingarm and see if they are in the same position. If you see a difference then they just compensated for what ever the problem is. I don't think the dealership would do that but I would check.
 
#19 ·
Re: Problem...My new Stryker drifts to the right..... FIXED

quantumrider said:
Well... I left the bike at the dealers, still unclear what the problem was, and the owner called me later and asked me if he could ride my Bike............I told him of course you can.......Next day they called me and said I could pick up the bike. They adjusted the rear tire in the swing arm, took it for a ride, adjusted again and repeated until it ran straight. All is well......rides straight as an arrow and I'm a happy camper :)
Did'nt the dealer check the alignment originally? Straightjacket and several others commented it could be the alignment... I agree with checking the rear wheel marks... if they are off more than 1 full mark... there is a greater underlying issue... potentially unsafe issue. I had a GS400 (yes a long time ago) that had a bussing in the swingarm fail... caused all sorts of issues including squirreliness going into and out of corners.... eventually put it down because of it... thats when we found the bushing probelm.
 
#20 ·
Re: Problem...My new Stryker drifts to the right..... FIXED

I had the same problem, for the longest time I thought that is was just me but after a 2k run to the black hills in SD I showed up at the dealer and discussed it with them, one of their service guys went back and did a realignment of the rear wheel and I tell you, it was like getting a new bike, it turns better and it stays streight on the road. I have a break-away throttle control and now, no hands is actually possible. Tell them to realign the rear wheel, my guess is that the extended rake makes the Stryker more sensitive to this kind of problem, but I'm just a newbie.
 
#21 ·
Re: Problem...My new Stryker drifts to the right..... FIXED

SFCMcGan said:
quantumrider said:
Well... I left the bike at the dealers, still unclear what the problem was, and the owner called me later and asked me if he could ride my Bike............I told him of course you can.......Next day they called me and said I could pick up the bike. They adjusted the rear tire in the swing arm, took it for a ride, adjusted again and repeated until it ran straight. All is well......rides straight as an arrow and I'm a happy camper :)
Did'nt the dealer check the alignment originally? Straightjacket and several others commented it could be the alignment... I agree with checking the rear wheel marks... if they are off more than 1 full mark... there is a greater underlying issue... potentially unsafe issue. I had a GS400 (yes a long time ago) that had a bussing in the swingarm fail... caused all sorts of issues including squirreliness going into and out of corners.... eventually put it down because of it... thats when we found the bushing probelm.
Yea, they originally checked the alignment and said the alignment was correct but it still pulled to the right and it was simply the nature of the bike, the fat rear tire & etc. When I told them that was not acceptable they had me leave the bike overnight. When I picked up the bike after they told me that the problem w as fixed, the service tech told me they cocked, or offset, the rear wheel in the swing arm by trial & error to compensate for the pulling to the right until the bike ran straight. That didn't seem right to me, but I figured, hey what do I know. I did measure from the rear tire bolts to the end of the swing arm and the two sides are not equal. Now what to do? I think I might have to contact Yamaha.
 
#22 ·
You ever pull up behind a car/truck thinking ****, that things going down the road crooked! Every ones seen them, back end to one side or the other. If your rear tire isn't straight, thats what they just did to your bike. It'll make your belt, tires, and possibly even brake pads wear bad.

Was this bike new when you bought it? Has it ever been crashed? If it has I'd look for signs of dammage, in the forks, & swingarm first, and then the frame. If you know for sure that it hasn't been crashed, I'd check out the front end alignment, if the forks are at the same height, maybe pull the caps to be sure springs and spacers are correct, a bent axle? Then go to the headset, make sure it's greased and adjusted correctly, and nothing rubbing. Then to the rear, swingarm bushings(SFC's idea) bent bolt? You know the wheel isn't straight.

The fact of the matter is if the bike isn't tracking, something is crooked. You need to find it and fix it. I personaly wouldn't give up ( not you, the mech) and make something crooked, to go straight? The shops will be reluctant to spend this much time on your bike , but it does need to be figured out.
 
#23 ·
Re: Problem...My new Stryker drifts to the right..... FIXED

Stryker said:
good to hear BUT just to be safe I would compare your alignment marks on the rear tire on both sides of the swingarm and see if they are in the same position. If you see a difference then they just compensated for what ever the problem is. I don't think the dealership would do that but I would check.
I just checked the rear tire alignment marks. The left side is at 3 and the right side is at 5. Evidently that's how they positioned the rear tire to get the bike to run straight. Not the correct fix????
 
#26 ·
quantumrider said:
Straightjacket said:
If your out 2 marks side to side, somethings wrong. You need to figure out what and correct it. IMO
I checked the alignment marks again and the right is at the 3rd mark & the right side is 6th mark, not 5
WOW!
There is something more than alignment that is out.
 
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