I have a 2000 xplor 400 4x4. About a year ago while hill climbing my machine flipped up, on, and over me bouncing 10 to 20 feet in the air down the mountain only hitting the ground twice before coming to a stop. I have just since put new wheels on ( Dirt Devils 26 inch). I never noticed the pulling of the machine to the right side while on hard pack until I put the new tires on. You have to fight with the machine to keep it riding straight. I have adjusted the toe-in to spec's . Could I have bent the frame or could it be a bent spindle. Any input would sure be of help. Thanks

Fullthrottle

 

Have you checked your Air presure

This may sound stupid but our trailblazer was pulling pretty hard. I replaced the lower steering post bearing at the bottom thinking it might be part of the cause but my Rear air presures were off, only buy a few pounds, evened them out and it went straight as an arrow.

 

No, nothing sounds stupid when it comes to trying to figure out problems with these machines. Sometimes it is the stupidest suggestions that it turns out to be.The air presure is 4 front 3 rear checked several times and also I replaced the steering post and lower block w/ the hot seat chromoly steering post and lower block after the down hill flip. The only things I noticed that were damaged were the steering post handle bars(bent)I was able to straighten them out and the front rack has a small crack.Can it be a bent a-arm making it do this or bent spindle?

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] Hey fullthrottle, just as a car has specs, so does a wheeler. The caster, I would suspect, is your culprit. Just in case you might not know, that is how far front to back your alignment of the spindle is from one another. If you have a bent arm or anything that can change the caster, it will make it pull to one side. You might be able to measure from the middle of your spindle caps to a common point on the bike and see if that might be your problem. Camber (how the tire leans in or out at the top)can also do this, but it usually has to be off quite a bit and I'm sure you would notice that from sitting on the bike. Hope this might help.Bubba[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Bubba297, I think I know what your saying but I'm not sure. I will try to measure from the middle front spindle to lets say the middle of the rear hub cap. On each side the distance should be the same? Now do you think I need to remove the front tire & hub and get the measurement directly from the spindle or just measure from the middle of the front plastic hub cap to the middle rear hub cap?

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] Yeah, you got the idea. You could go from the front or back of the spindle caps to the rear wheel edge.A small variance will be ok. I would say anything less than 1/2 inch would be all right. If you start getting quite a bit more than that, better start looking real close for something bent. By chance, I have installed brand new car tires that made a vehicle pull horribly to one side. Try changing sides with the tires. If it starts pulling the other way or goes straight, you found the problem. Time to change a tire. Good luck!!!Bubba

 

All seems to be good as far as the measurement but one thing I did notice was that the right front tire seems to be sticking out futher than the left front. If I run a string from back tire to front(Lt side)tire there is 1/16" toe on the right side the string will hit the front tire without being flush with the back tire.Any suggestions?