beberle Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Not sure why I didn't notice this before (I bought the bike Sat), but I'm cruising down a 2-lane and realize my bars are turned 3-5degrees to the right while I'm cruising straight!? Anyone know if this is a dealer assembly issue? Factory assembly? Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member clint Posted May 18, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 18, 2015 Not sure why I didn't notice this before (I bought the bike Sat), but I'm cruising down a 2-lane and realize my bars are turned 3-5degrees to the right while I'm cruising straight!? Anyone know if this is a dealer assembly issue? Factory assembly? Brian Yes, it's been mentioned here before and has to do with poor setup and delivery. Just a matter of loosening the fork clamps and maybe the axle to get things re-aligned properly. Not a big deal. Just ride it until you get the chance to fix it. Piedmont of NC '15 FJ-09 '94 GTS-1000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowflake Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 I noticed the same thing. thought it must be an optical illusion. Its not 3-5 degrees but certainly more than one. Thanks clint for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beberle Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 I just took it back to the dealer. They 'eyeballed' it and didn't see anything wrong. They drove it and said Oooh. Unfortunately, 1hr later, it's still a little crooked! I know where I'm NOT taking my bike for service!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy01 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 I just took it back to the dealer. They 'eyeballed' it and didn't see anything wrong. They drove it and said Oooh. Unfortunately, 1hr later, it's still a little crooked! I know where I'm NOT taking my bike for service!! Mine suffered with this and it's a simple fix. If the bars are to the left when riding straight pull up against a kerb and turn the bars to the left so the tyre butts up against it. Then give it a swift jink to the left on the bars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beberle Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Huh!? I get what you're doing, but it's a little scary they have that much movement if the triple trees are properly torqued... Thanks for the tip. I was also considering using a 2x4 to align the front and back wheels and then measure the exact angle of the bars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctrlaltdl Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 pull up against a kerb and turn the bars to the left so the tyre butts up against it. Then give it a swift jink to the left on the bars. No, don't force it, until you've loosened the triple clamps (not too loose or they fork tubes will slide up). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathprof Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 You may consider double checking rear axle alignment. Mine was crooked coming out of the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beberle Posted May 26, 2015 Author Share Posted May 26, 2015 Got around to straightening my Bars/Forks. Took a whopping 15 min - I loosened the front axle 1st - loosened the lower triple clamp retaining bolts - left the top triple tree bolts alone - stood in front of the bike and held the tire between my knees and turned the bars in the direction I wanted. I didn't feel any movement or hear any creaking, but looking at the bars from the back showed they were pretty straight. - tightened front axle Then lower triple tree. Took her for a ride and she's perfectly straight now. Still wondering why the dealer couldn't handle this easy fix.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotboot Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 I have to do mine, the offset is not much but greater than zero. New bike, please set my bars alignment to zero mr. dealer. Once you see it ( thanks to this website ) it bothers you and distracts the eye, distracting things while riding a motorcycle are bad. I hope Mama Yamaha has been informed of this simple set up error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jth Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 the bike i rode at yamahas demo was the same way, the odo had 3500 miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member jimf Posted June 6, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted June 6, 2015 You know, the more I read these stories the happier I am about the mechanic at my shop. He's a primary reason I bought the bike where I did, based on previous experience where it was obvious he was meticulous. I'm still discovering all the little grease marks on bolts and brackets and whatnot that he left during assembly. I wish you guys the best of luck. At least skewed handlebars are easy to correct. 2015 FJ-09 (Mary Kate) 2007 Daytona 675 (Tabitha, ret.) 1998 Vulcan 800 (Ret.) 2001 SV650S (Veronica, Ret.) 2000 Intruder 800 (Ret.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanman35 Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 hi @beberle I just posted to you in your nekkid post and found this one. I mentioned that I dropped my bike and thought that i bent my handlebars because they are definitely off centre now. I'm new to bikes and thought that bars must be bent as this level of adjustment would not be available on the bike ie assumed that the bars would be in a fixed position in relation to fork position. What you describe below to fix this is completely foreign but I'm now more clued up and will take the bike to my mechanic to check out. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fj09jb101 Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 well Just got my 2017 FJ, in Galaxy Blue and noticed my bars are crooked on the way home too, 45 minutes into the ride. i guess this would be under warranty and i should be able to go to any dealer? right. Dealer was a 100 miles from where i live. So to reply to another poster 2 years ago, No Yamaha still hasn't gotten this figured out yet, Grr... i had a Honda shadow 750 that had the same issue. i'm wondering if it's how they ship them that cause this issue on apparently a lot of bikes cross different brands? Rachet tie downs pulling down on the bars is in shipping making the cause...?? Or is this simply to blame on poor dealer set up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 well Just got my 2017 FJ, in Galaxy Blue and noticed my bars are crooked on the way home too, 45 minutes into the ride. i guess this would be under warranty and i should be able to go to any dealer? right. Dealer was a 100 miles from where i live. So to reply to another poster 2 years ago, No Yamaha still hasn't gotten this figured out yet, Grr... i had a Honda shadow 750 that had the same issue. i'm wondering if it's how they ship them that cause this issue on apparently a lot of bikes cross different brands? Rachet tie downs pulling down on the bars is in shipping making the cause...?? Or is this simply to blame on poor dealer set up? Looks good. Just gotta paint those pannier lids now! Poor dealer set-up is the cause. Mine (new 7 weeks ago) was and still is exactly the same. Dealer tried to tell me the instrument panel was slightly offset, and allegedly fixed it. He hadn't. It will go back shortly. It bothers me somewhat and I find myself a bit distracted by it, which is unwelcome. More concerning is that when time comes to sell any prospective buyer will spot the anomaly and assume that the bike has been crashed. Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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