If your front wheel doesn't track in front of your rear tire....there is a fairly simple fix for most bikes with this condition.

You can usually see this out of align condition by riding behind a motorcycle. Most of the time it's caused by some sort of bike trauma that twists the motorcycle's frame neck.

I was talking to a friend about why his rear tire was wearing more on one side, so I suggested that I ride behind him, and see if his front and rear wheels were not aligned. He couldn't tell it by riding, but I could see it was way out of track.

I told him that with a Bottle Jack, and 7' piece of 1/4" wall 4"X4" square steel tube, and a 6 ft piece of 1/4" chain, we could straighten his frame.

It took him a month to find a good used piece of Sq tube....only cost him $17, and our buddy Ray had the chain and bottle jack plus the peripheral equipment of a well equipped home shop.

We decided to do the job at Ray's place, and today was the day. We showed up at 10am and got after it.

First we checked his alignment scientifically. :rofl

All seriousness aside we got a couple 2X4s out and laid them along both sides of his rear wheel to extend beyond his front wheel. We could easily see that his front wheel didn't align centered between the 2Xs.

The front wheel is clearly off to the left side of the picture... We've got a Honda VTwin 650 here that has a bent frame so that the front wheel doesn't line up with the rear wheel. Those 2Xs are line up on the sides of the rear wheels. The front wheel should be centered between the wood.

From Frame straightener

Raise the two 2Xs on top of a short block in the rear for better alignment. Use a 1/4" wall 4"X4" Square tube as a 'strong back' to rebend the frame to align the front wheel.

From bike repairs

So we needed to force the forks to the left (as seen from the bike) which will twist the neck back toward the center between the 2Xs.

Use the swingarm pivot, the lower frame All the way around both frame rails), and the 2 forks Like in this picture in order to force the front end back to it's correct location. We had to loosen some items to get the chain in place, and protected the frame on the far side with a cushion to save the frame from damage.

From bike repairs

Here's a sketch of what I'm trying to accomplish.

From Frame straightener

It takes some futzing around to get the tubing lined up with the swingarm pivot and the front axle and the chain around both frame rails at the same level as the sq tube.

Robin (right)and Ray (left) scheme on the setup. I'm here to take pictures.

From bike repairs

You need to get things as tight as possible, no slack, as it takes the full six inches of the jack's travel to bend the frame a bit.....and then you take the slack out again, and jack the fork's axle sideways again...till you get it right.

We chained the frame to the 4X4 around both frame rails, and then placed the jack so Robin can push sideways on the fork tubes at the axle. You must not allow Forks to turn. That applies force to both Fork tubes. Fork tubes will flex, but the frame will bend before the fork tubes bend.

From bike repairs

We had to push the forks sideway twice to get the tire within an 1/8 of an inch centered between the guide boards. We pushed as far as the jack would go, and then took up the slack and jacked it sideways again.

Left side clearance between guide board.

From bike repairs

Right side clearance between guide board. About a 1/4" more on the right. That's within an 1/8". Good enough for Robin & Ray.

From bike repairs

See? That wasn't hard. I've done three bikes like this, and was happy with the results. You have to keep the forks from twisting when you are jacking. I've used blocks between the upper fork leg and the frame before, but on this one that wasn't good enough. On this one we put a wall stud diagonally between the fork tubes, just above the fender, and Ray held the forks from twisting.

With the wheel straight ahead, you are jacking on both fork legs which are strong enough to bend the frame neck and not the fork tubes.