bike pulls to left

[oops-sorry]

hi everyone. i purchased a 2002 750 katana a couple of months ago. it was a theft recovery and it has some light scratches on both sides of the plastics. so im assuming it had a light crash. ive had the plastic completely off of the bike and inspected the frame. the frame looks perfect.

my problem is if i take my hands off the handlebars while riding (any speed) it pulls immediately to the left. with both hands on the handlebars i cant even tell its trying to pull. i checked the chain adjustment it was off a little bit. i figured if the left side was tighter than the right side that could cause my problem. but nope, it still pulls. only other thing i can think of is the front pads are a little bit worn, and since the caliper is on the left side that may cause it.

anybody have any ideas, or am i on the right track thinking it might be the pad

thanks
bob

[steves]

Okay, could be a bunch of things...

First, are the left and right forks an even height?

It's probably not brake pads or chain alignment.

Was it lowered?

I googled up some information on steering geometry.

http://www.american-v.co.uk/technical/handling/geometry/body.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_and_motorcycle_geometry

You'll probably need to do some measuring to determine if it's straight or not....

[katman05]

Check to see if the forks look straight.

[Black_peter]

Hmm hope it's not the frame..
Then follow Steve's advice.

[oops-sorry]

thanks everyone, i never thought of that. ill check in the morning and ill post my results

[KatanaSoldier]

Have the tires balanced too.

[The CyberPoet]

Check the tires for wear patterns, the brakes for dragging, and the steering stem bearings. A front-end crash can shift the welds between the frame & the steering head minorly, enough that in conjunction with minor fork damages, you could get such pulling. Or it could simply be a fork low on oil (not usually the case for pulling left in a country where people drive on the right).

The odd thing is that it's pulling to the left; many newer riders complain of pull to the right (as a result of the way roads are crowned) because they don't know better.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[oops-sorry]

i checked the fork height, it was the same on both sides. i have checked the frame again and steering and i still seen nothing wrong. i inspected every weld i could find. im a welder by occupation, so i know welds pretty well (lol). the forks look perfectly straight. i just stopped writing this letter and went to my garage to check the tire for wear pattern like "the cyberpoet" suggested, the tire looks brand new but by feeling it i found out it was cupped. so i think i found the problem. thanks again everyone

[BlackKat93]

That would likely be the result, not the cause, of your problem. I'd specifically check rear wheel alignment and get the back end of the bike in the air and check the swingarm for looseness. Both forks height may be proper when you're measuring it with no load on the suspension, but what about when you are sitting on it......

[KatanaJim]

Check for a leaking fork seal (i.e. oil on the tube above the the dust seal) If one is leaking, or if one side has more oil than the other, that could be the problem.

[The CyberPoet]

i just stopped writing this letter and went to my garage to check the tire for wear pattern like "the cyberpoet" suggested, the tire looks brand new but by feeling it i found out it was cupped. so i think i found the problem. thanks again everyone

Just FYI: Tire cupping almost always happens as a result of the tire being low on air pressure for the load weight on the bike, causing the tire to build up localized heat spots where the rubber wears away faster.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet