[mneblett]

Even if the wheels are perfectly aligned, if the center of mass of the bike isn't directly over that line, the bike can/will pull toward the heavy side.

The fix needs to concentrate on putting the center of mass over the wheel line, whether by moving the rear or front wheel sideways or counter-loading the bike to offset the imbalance.

 

[jasnusc]

Even if the wheels are perfectly aligned, if the center of mass of the bike isn't directly over that line, the bike can/will pull toward the heavy side.

The fix needs to concentrate on putting the center of mass over the wheel line, whether by moving the rear or front wheel sideways or counter-loading the bike to offset the imbalance.

Yup... Harley is famous for building bikes with the rear wheel offset to compensate for their bikes being out of balance. Switching to a right side drive transmission would eliminate most of their problems.

For a cruiser its not really that big of a deal to have an offset rear wheel but for a performance bike Its a must to have the tires perfectly inline.

Members who have already or are thinking of shifting their front or rear wheels with spacers to cure the pull are making a big mistake. If they are novice slow paced riders they might not notice a difference but having offset wheels deffinately does not improve control or handling. At a minimum you will feel a difference turning one direction instead of the other.


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[Norseman_K1600GT]

I reported no pull after changing to Pr3 on the front. But this is strange: this was when riding two up. When I'm alone, the bike pulls exactly like before tirechange.

 

[DDURRGTL]

Ive got 7000 on PR3, much better then the 4500 i got on Metzler. Convinced that larger scrub patch now that tire is worn is what is contributing to harder pull. The bike has to be out of alignment somewhere. Drove perfect with new tires.

 

[paul_m]

Even if the wheels are perfectly aligned, if the center of mass of the bike isn't directly over that line, the bike can/will pull toward the heavy side.

The fix needs to concentrate on putting the center of mass over the wheel line, whether by moving the rear or front wheel sideways or counter-loading the bike to offset the imbalance.

My K1600GT has a slight left pull that can be nulled by about 15lbs of tools/stuff in r/h case with the left empty. It was pretty neutral at first (had Metzlers since new) but now has 2500 miles on it and the pull seems a bit more noticeable without the cases on when I let go of the bars.

Haven't checked track offset on it yet, but did so on the last 3 BMWs (K100RS, K1200RS, K1300S) I had. Both the K100RS and K1200RS needed shimming to move the rear wheel over to the left (K1200RS was 6.7 mm/ .26” right offset – the manual allowed up to 5mm left offset to 14mm right offset!!). Those bikes were easy because the FD was on the right and in fact came with a shim from the factory.

The K1300S had 5.9mm right offset, but no easy way to move the wheel due to the L/H drive and wheel carrier setup so I just learned to love it anyway. Don’t know why they allowed / put that much in - couldn’t be to compensate for mass offset as the drive was on the other side. There were no published limits on that bike for track offset.

Shimming to get track alignment on the early bikes was helpful to reduce the pull a bit (but not eliminate it), and also to get rid of a vague yawing when hitting a bump. The K1600 however doesn't feel off in any axis, it just pulls a tad to the left.

To your point, even with track alignment near zero, lateral CG off the centerline will show up as a tendency to pull the bike a bit. That was true on the K1200RS as I got the track offset down nil and it still pulled a bit. Interesting comment by one of the BMW engineers in an article about the K1200RS was that the factory offset was due to the mass imbalance caused by both the crankshaft and driveshaft/FD being outboard to the right of the wheel track on that longitudinal 4 cyl bike.
Speculation as to why they allowed left or right offset was it depended on whether the bike was going to a country that drove on the left or right side.

I would rather have the bike track straight, but still pull a bit, than have a two track vehicle that didn’t pull. I’m pretty sure the K16 track is close, so I’ll just keep the tools in the right case. May try PR3s when the Metzlers wear out.

 

[Norseman_K1600GT]

I hate to keep this thread alive. I don't mean to whine about it, only express some hard facts. My bike still pulls left, just as it did before changing the front tire.

Therefore I decided to measure the wheel alignment using the simple method with a straightedge. I found the front wheel 3 mm left off the rear. I spent five minutes the first time, and later on triple checked just to come up with the exact same result each time.

Anybody else done this measurment?

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[paul_m]

BMW offers quite a range of allowable track offset in their K bikes. For example, My K1200RS manual allowed from 5mm rear wheel left of bike centerline to 14mm right of centerline! When new (and assuming the front wheel was on the bike centerline) I found the K1200RS rear wheel to be actually 6.7 mm (0.26") to the right of centerline. My K100RS was 2mm right of centerline. Both these bikes were easily corrected as the FD was on the right side of the bike and a shim (plus the next length code wheel bolts to keep adequate thread immersion in the case of the K1200RS) were all it took to roughly center the rear wheel and get back to a single track vehicle.

My K1300S was also offset to the right 6mm(.23"). Unlike the earlier bikes, there was no way to easily correct by shimming as the drive was on the left side - same as the K1600.

So, I haven't bothered to check the K16GT even though it does pull a bit to the left with hands off the bars. In my case, it is easily nulled out by 10 lbs in the r/h case though. For me it is not worth shimming the front suspension link as several have posted about to correct it. If it was as noticeable as some of the other bikes posted about, I might reconsider, but (thankfully) it isn't on my bike.

Surely during the design phase of the bike, the lateral CG is considered. Why after all these years of K bikes there is still significant variation allowed between the front an rear wheel track and/or lateral CG vs wheel centerline is beyond me.

 

[glenngeri]

I will try "no hands" today - see what happens

 

[Palamedes]

Mine pulls to the left every so slightly I almost hesitate to mention it..

Infact its so minor I can offset the pull just by sitting a little differently.. So maybe I just store more fat on one side..hehe

 

[mneblett]

Therefore I decided to measure the wheel alignment using the simple method with a straightedge. I found the front wheel 3 mm left off the rear. I spent five minutes the first time, and later on triple checked just to come up with the exact same result each time.

The problem is, none of us know whether the front/rear wheels were designed to be directly aligned, or intentionally offset (and by how much). I had to move my front wheel ~13 mm to the right to get my first GTL to drive straight. Does that mean the front was off 13mm? Don't know -- it could be, or it could be it should have been offset somewhat, but was off from the "designed offset." BMW isn't saying, so we have no way of knowing.

 

[bravo616]

I installed PR3's from mile 15. Never had a pulling issue, seems to track well with hands off bars, then again I weigh 250lbs. Two up and loaded to the max, she still tracks like an Indian. I run 42psi front and rear.

 

[jtomich]

I just recently returned from a 9000 trip out west on my new GTL. My bike had pulled to the left from the day I bought it (dealer demo with 2500 miles on it). It had Battlax tires. I replaced the tires in Albuquerque with PR3s and the pull to the left immediately disappeared. Wow! About 1000 miles later, the pull was back. I got about 7500 miles out of the PR3s, then changed them again two weeks ago and had Metzler Z6s installed. The pull was the same as ever.
I don't know what to make of all that, but I thought you might find it interesting. At this point, I don't really care, I just loooove riding the bike!

 

[CopperGreen]

I can't detect any bias atm.
The bike is still new (still on the 1st tank of gas).
I'll be able to better test after break in when I feel comfortable engaging the cruise control...

 

[elessnau]

I am surprised that this thread had died. Has no one gotten any resolution from BMW?
I bought my bike 2 months ago from Morton’s BMW. After my first long ride I realized my bike was pulling hard left. Now that I am aware of it, nothing bothers me more. I did a quick search on the web to see if anyone else has been having the same problem as me, which is how I found this forum.

I called BMWNA and they sounded as if they had never heard of any such issue. They said I need to take back to the dealer and have a tech service engineer look at the bike.
When I got to BMW dealer they said to keep my hands on the bars.
I believe that this vehicle pulling issue makes it a lemon. Check your state lemon laws, but in Virginia and Maryland, lemon laws do cover motorcycles.

Before I take this bike to the court system and make BMW eat this bike I have tried a few things myself.
24 pounds of weight in the right saddle bag fixes the bike very nicely. (Although embarrassing to explain why I have two dumb bells in the bag)
I have purchased bag guards by Wunderlich. I was able to fill the right side with 4.5 pounds of lead shot.

I was also able to get a quarter pound of lead in each foot peg.

So, that’s 5 pounds down 19 more to go.

I have engine guards and foot pegs on order from Iliumworks. (Should be here tomorrow) I will be filling the right side with lead, too. I am hoping to squeeze at least 7 pounds in there.

After that I will be trying to stick lead on the inside of the fairing.

I will repost when the engine guard is installed.

I would be very interested to hear how you all have dealt with your left pulling bikes.

Eric

 

[Pitts]

Hi Eric,

Sorry you've got a bike that exhibits the hard left pull. If you read back through this thread and others on this subject you'll get all the conventional wisdom on this topic of what's worked and not for those that have experienced it.

I'm happy to say that my GT tracked dead straight from the factory with the OEM Bridgestones on it and continues to do so with Michelin PR3s. The guys that ride with me have seen me throw both arms out to the side and ride for a long way with no input to the bars. I'll also say that I've often loaded my bike unevenly in the panniers and it doesn't seem to affect how the bike tracks. I'm a 185 lb guy that always rides solo.

Hope you get your bike resolved - take a walk back through the pages in this thread.

 

[elessnau]

The only possible fix I have found in this thread is to change tires. But it sounds like the problem comes back when the PR3's get old.
I am happy that your bike drives straight out of the box. Sure wish mine did, too.

 

[jjscsix]

I thought I had seen a thread on this! Today was my first real ride on my 2013 GT. A few times with Cruise Control engaged on a country two-lane road I took my hands off the bars. I was caught off guard by the fact that it pulled left, and did it very quickly. I had to lean quite a bit to my right to stop it - almost impossible actually to hold it straight.

I've had bikes that pull gradually to the right, but never one that pulls left, and never one that is so determined.

 

[elessnau]

Sorry to hear about your 2013. I was really hoping that BMW would have secretly resolved this issue.
After several hundred dollars I have finally fixed the left pulling problem though.

I bought 25 LBS of lead shot from the local gun store.
I bought wunderlich engine guard and was able to put 6.5 pounds of lead in the right side.
I bought wunderlich bag guard and was able to put 4.5 pounds of lead inside the right side.
There is some space inside the driver and passenger foot pegs which allows .25 pounds in each peg.
Finally in the right saddle bag, if you take all the screws out, the pretty painted part comes off. inside there is a huge empty cavity where I put 3 pounds of Sticky wheel weight strips. The lid feels a little heavier now but not much.

So, thats about 14.5 pounds I guess. The bike drives straight as an arrow now though.

 

[AirMike]

Bought the GTL a couple of weeks ago , 1,000 kms, no pull at all!

 

[Norseman_K1600GT]

Sorry to hear about your 2013. I was really hoping that BMW would have secretly resolved this issue.
After several hundred dollars I have finally fixed the left pulling problem though.

I bought 25 LBS of lead shot from the local gun store.
I bought wunderlich engine guard and was able to put 6.5 pounds of lead in the right side.
I bought wunderlich bag guard and was able to put 4.5 pounds of lead inside the right side.
There is some space inside the driver and passenger foot pegs which allows .25 pounds in each peg.
Finally in the right saddle bag, if you take all the screws out, the pretty painted part comes off. inside there is a huge empty cavity where I put 3 pounds of Sticky wheel weight strips. The lid feels a little heavier now but not much.

So, thats about 14.5 pounds I guess. The bike drives straight as an arrow now though.

But is this the right way to fix the problem? Maybe very clever if what we're dealing with really is imballance.

Did you feel any change in behaviour during normal ride?

I have given up, and kinda forgot all about it, since the bike is a perfect ride exept when I start testing hands off. I did change into PR 3 front, hoping for improvement, but the bike was exactly the same as with the Bridgestone.

The fact that the 2013 is still the same, may tell us that the bike has a heavy left side?

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