[KarenK]

My husband was admiring my Burgie and commented that the back wheel seemed to be slightly offset to the right of the rear fender. Seems strange. Is this normal? He wondered of the front wheel was aligned with the back. It’s tough to tell.

Karen

 

[Randy]

Keren,
I don't really see it, since the rear fender is just a big piece of Tupperware anyway.
It may just be an optical illusion because of the gear housing on the left sticking out.

 

[Rubble]

Karen,
Have your husband watch you ride away from him (in a straight line) and see if the bike 'crab walks' (rides with the wheels not in line with each other). How does the bike handle? If things are misaligned I'm sure it would feel different in left and right hand turns. I would bet if anything is out of alignment it is the fender, but if you feel there is something not right, take it back to the dealer, after all, it is brand new.

 

[Timothy Ma]

Hey Karen,

Hate to be a smart butt but maybe its just an illusion ...the plastic (body work) may make a discriminating eye fooled into thinking the wheels are not in inline. Not likely on a new bike. Maybe the engine cover (big black plastic peice) is throwing you off. Ride the thing on level ground and not the public road because there is a slight camber to roads and see if the bike rides straight. If you have a mis-aligned bike there would be trouble in keeping it riding straight.

 

[allwalk]

If the rear disc brake is not binding then I expect it to be in it's proper positon. It the wheel was shimmed wrong you would notice binding on the rear brake. I suspect optical illusion myself.

 

[Guest]

Karen, I don't know if it's "normal" for the rear wheel of an AN400 to be offset 1/2" to the right - but mine sure is! I have 2-6' long pieces of 1" square steel tubing I clamped to the outside of the rear wheel (used a big woodworking clamp), extended the ends foreward and measured to the sides of the front wheel. My rear wheel is offset 1/2" to the right.

Russ

 

[Randy]

Having never looked I find it hard to believe !
Sounds like Russ knows what he's doing so I will have to check mine now.
We ( I ) take for granted that the rear wheel tracks in a straight line with the front. Granted it doesn't not have to if the wheels are parallel .
Velly interresting

 

[KarenK]

I wondered if it was real or some kind of illusion. If you link to this picture, it also looks offset.

http://tfic.com/v-web/gallery/Burgman400/an400k3fe018

Karen

 

[ClassicGeek]

Well isn't that interesting? I posted this question regarding always seeming to sit crooked on my B400. I wonder if we've found the "smoking gun"? :?:

Simon

 

[Robert]

In that picture the wheel is correct, but the plastic fender does seem to be skewed. The wheel looks off - but that's an optical illusion caused by the difference in color to the right and left of the tire. Hold a straight edge up to the picture and line it up with the tire - and it looks okay.

Back before they put adjustment marks on the swingarms (or at least before they were done well), I would use a piece of string to check wheel alignment. (Yeah - my first tool box had string, tinkertoys, a little radio with 2 wires hanging out of it, old National Geographic covers...). Anyone want to guess their uses? Anyway - here's how you can check your wheel alignment with a piece of string...

Put the bike on the centerstand and put the front wheel where it looks perfectly straight. Tie a piece of string around a spoke on the rear wheel, take it around the back of the wheel, and then loop it from the back end around the front tire and back to where you tied it on the rear wheel. Lay it across where it first crosses the tire, and take it through the mag again. Hold onto the string to keep it snug (a second person to hold the string would be helpfull). Check that the string looks the same on both sides of the bike (check the gap at the back edge of the front tire - it should be the same on the left and right sides). If you can turn the front wheel to where the string looks the same on both sides - then the 2 wheels are tracking together.

 

[ClassicGeek]

Good tip, thanks MacGyver! Now, how about making a WMD from only chewing gum, a pipe cleaner and coffee grounds?

I think I'll try this out and see if we can put this baby to rest.

Simon

 

[Robert]

Hey Simon - my guess would be that you have a wallet in your right rear pocket of your jeans, thus your right side has less room.

My knees knock the dash too. I've bought a spare seatpad to play with - and it looks as though when all of the hardware is removed from it - I can zip tie it in place through the original mounting holes. It fits securely up and back about an inch this way. I just need to cut a couple of slits in the plastic plate to run the zip ties through - and I'll be ready to try it.

 

[hrdillender]

My take on the picture is that the mechanical parts are straight, but the plastic is ofset a bit. Not only the fender, but the trunk walls as well. Teh tire seems in square with the handlebars, though. If the plastic were slightly crooked due to assembly error / design flaw (if such a thing were possible on a Burgman) the bike would still handle correctly.

 

[CenTX Tom]

If it doesn't handle squirly and unless you notice odd ware on the tires don' sweat it. Many bikes are designed with an offset. One of the easiest ones to see it on is the 70's and early 80's BMW's. All shaft drive so accidental misalignment isn't possible. Some modles even came with a spacer to off set the wheel so a slightly wider tire could be fited between the swing arms.