Ok, now I've noticed my bike pulls to the right a fare amount and since I'm fairly new to riding I concluded that it was the muffler's weight causing it.  But after thinking about it I believe its more than that?  If the rear tire is out of alignment will the same thing occur? 

I'm not trying to stunt or anything but while riding I realized I forgot to zip up my jacket all the way and couldn't do it with just my left hand.  When I removed both hands, I had to lean to the left a good amount to keep it balanced until I got it zipped and buttoned up. 

That isn't normal to pull/lean like that is it?  If it is normal because of the muffler's weight, could it be counter misaligned to pull to the left to compensate for the exhaust.  In cars you should be able to take your hands off the wheel and it should drive straight, bikes shouldn't be any different should they?

put your wallet in the opposite back pocket.



problem solved.




seriously, its probably an alignment issue, check it out, make sure everything is tight.

Get a ruler/measuring tape out and measure from the middle of the rear axle, to the end of the swing arm.  Don't just eye ball it.  Get a straight edge out and align it to the rear of the swing arm and form a 90deg angle with the ruler/measuring tape.  It should be the same on both side.  My bike goes straight with my hands off the bars.  If the rear wheel is out of alignment, my bike will head shake with my hands off the bars.

Duct tape a brick to your left leg!

Rear wheel alignment would be my first guess, Jarretts suggestion is right on.

Check your front forks, are they tweeked? When the forks are out of wack they force the bike into a countersteer. There is no real alignment for the front forks, check the plate above the fender, is it bent or screws missing? Otherwise you may have real damage, such as a bent fork or something.

The rear wheel is more likely because its alot easier to mess up that alignment. If the rear wheel is not straight it will send the bike in it's direction of travel.

Pop the bike up onto the bike stand and raise the rear wheel off the ground. Remove the rear phillips screw from the chain guard and lift it up so you can eyeball the chain. Since you said the pulling is very noticable, I believe you will be able to see that the chain is not in line with your sprockets.

It's an easy fix and bikes are a bit forgiving if your "alignment" of the rear wheel is not spot on. Especially with stock tires that tend to be a bit flat, anyway. Some people beat themselves up trying to get it perfect, I don't even measure. I just eyeball it. 

The GS has been thrashed for having less than perfect alignment tick marks on the swingarm. Don't sweat it, do your best, make sure the chain isn't too tight/loose and take her for a ride. Let go of the bars and see if she will ride straight. If she does your good to go, if not give it another shot. If perfection were neccessary, we'd be told to always take her to the shop for alignment.

good luck and keep us posted.

Quote from: TragicImage on March 07, 2007, 12:26:21 AM
put your wallet in the opposite back pocket.

Dang, I tried that today and your right but now it pulls to the left...

no but seriously I'm gonna do most of my 1k tune up this weekend so I'll look at the alignment of it while I'm down there.  Thanks for the help.

I tightened the left side to the max chain adjustment movement (20 mm of chain slack) and loosened the right up a bit to match mid axle to rear arm length.  But when I loosened the right side the end just came loose.  Do I need to give the axle a little love for it to move forward?  I guess i'm just ignorant. 

Why I think the rear needs to go more to the left:

Quote from: 3imo on March 07, 2007, 08:40:08 AM
If the rear wheel is not straight it will send the bike in it's direction of travel.

you are loosening the axle nut before playing with the adjusters, right?

Quote from: NiceGuysFinishLast on March 23, 2007, 06:59:06 PM
you are loosening the axle nut before playing with the adjusters, right?

Ya on center stand, axle nut off completely, and right swingarm end-plate loose.

anyone?? i've whacked the axle a few times with it completely loose but it won't move forward.

the axle is not spring loaded.  you tighten it to move the axles back .  If you loosen it you might as well start over.

If one of the tighteners won't move forward and the plate is loose, I suggest you take it out of the swing arms and give it a look. 
The design is very simply. you should be able to discern any deforms or whatnot.

Loosen the axle nut and make sure both adjusters are loose, then give the tire a little hit,(not enough to knock it off of the the centerstand however,) it should move foreward