Did front align today and noticed rear axle is out if wack. Seams to sit to far out to the left, right tire is closer to rr fender then left one and chain appears to be loose. I checked rear bushings seam tight, does appear anything is bent and chain looks aligned ok. If i loosen 3 rear bolts to adjust chain can the axle be pushed from left to right. Any advice welcomed thnx

 

Jack it up and turn the rear tires and see if the axle is bent. Plus there shouldn't be any play in the axle at the rear carrier or you could have worn bearings or one nut may be loose on the axle. Both sides of the axle have a nut and retainer cap with a snap ring.All that happens when you loosen the the rear carrier holding nuts is that the rear carrier can be turned forward or backwards,the axle stays in relation to the carrier as the carrier is oval shaped or eccentric.Dirt Cheap Yamaha, Honda, Arctic Cat & Polaris OEM Parts & Accessories – Cycle Parts Warehouse

 

I jack upped axle looks ok didnt put a run outgauge on it butspace between right tire and fendr doesnt change. I did tighten the right axle hut the other day and reinstalled new cotter pin. Nothing seams loose is it possible axle shifted to the left bout 3/4" or so and essentric needs to be turned to tighten chain?

 

Only way the axle can shift is because of a bad bearing or wallowed out carrier housing. The axle stays constant with the carrier body.Look at the rear caliper and rotor and see if the rotor is centered in the caliper.This would show that the axle is in the right place. If you're also talking about one wheel may not be aligned with the other tire or with the front tires,this is possible. Just take a straight edge,hold the handle bars straight and while holding the straight edge against the rear tire,measure the distance of one front tire to the straight edge,then the other side. They will be different measurements. Frames and rear swing arms don't always line up perfectly. Same on Sportsman 500s on front end alignments. In perfect alignment using a straight edge there will be a difference because the rear tires are slightly offset and not perfectly in line with the front. Only way I can explain

 

I did measure from center hub fro frt to back on both sides. Right side was 49" and left side was 47 3/4". When i ran the string on right side durin align the string never touched the frt of rear tire like that side was twisted in which gave me concern. Rotor is sittin in mid of caliper. Im a auto mechanic and do align on old bishman equip so when something is not right usually something is bent or worn. Swing arm doesnt look bent and hard ti bend. I do hear a clickin noise" chain" on take off. Can the axle move side to side if nuts r loosened and tighten could that cause the axle to sit to one side more then the other. I hav to say thnx a bunch for ur time i no readin a prob is hard to visualize a prob get it all to often from my customers.

 

String,chalk lines,etc didn't cut it for me.It's a lot easier if you have a straight 1x4 or even a metal wall stud like I used. Have someone hold the bars straight,hold the stud against the rear tire, then you can see where to adjust the tie rods to get the correct toe out on the front tire. You align the front end by the position of the rear tires,not the other way around. There will be a different gap between the stud on each front tire when your adjusting alignment because the the frame and swing arm are not perfectly aligned with each other. The rear tires are off set from the front.You just align left front and rear tire,then the right. Best way I can explain it.

 

Thnx ill giv it a shot this weekend im off and i can see how that works better then string. I was just concerned bout the wheel base lengths being different i guess frame to swing arm r not a perfect thing it is what it is. Its not a Ferrari is a atv and things twist and bend a bit. Thnx for ur help again if anything comes to mind let me no.