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[Spanish Flyer]

  I promissed someone  I'd check the alignment of the front and rear wheels on the new Springer 08, so I got involved in it and finished about an hour ago.
I did mention I would be very annoyed with H-D if I found that as someone also said, the new 08 FXSTSSE2 had the wheels off-center or out of alignment due to the big rear wheel and the fact that the drive belt would force the rear tire to be more to the right than the front one.
The laser device I have can give too big an error due to the dia. of the beam it produces, so I went the old way, using a trout fishing nylon line instead.

This method is fine as long as you can accept a + - measuring error of 2-3 mm.(0.1 inch) tolerance and that's what I did.

One thing is clear,  I can now assure anyone, that IF there is a missalignment on this CVO outstanding bike, it is not measurable by using normal mechanical methods.  My bike at least gave readings that are right on the zero mark give or take a couple of mm., so that makes me very happy and aware that I can still trust Harley on main issues such as this one.

Now my question goes to the ones who have a 2007 STSSE... has anyone checked their wheel alignment the way I did? and if so, what were the results? I say this because of the fact that they have the disc brake on the other side and the front wheel is not centered with the front suspension.....

Take a look at the way I measured my alignment:   

http://imageevent.com/wforest/wheelalignmentfxstsse22008

Comments are welcome.

Best Regards,

Spanish Flyer

[Air-Cooled]

Thanks, great work. I'll try to measure my '07 sometime. The issue of the brake location in and of itself is probably not important because the older springers from the early 90s had their front wheel centered in the forks. They too had the traditional brake placement like the '07 cvo bike.

[Deuce Bigelow]

I believe the '07 springer front and rear wheels are not aligned...it's easy to see.

[Air-Cooled]

I wouldn't rely on visual to check that. The fishing line technique is the way to go. Like Spanish flyer, I'll be quite disappointed if my '07 measures out in nonalignment. I may have to go out and get an '08!

[Air-Cooled]

Here's one to ponder. When they made that fat rear tire, they shifted the whole rear tire to the right. This of course meant that the rear fender had to be shifted right as well. The seat had to stay in line with the frame and gas tank, so you can see that seat is shifted to the left as it sits on the rear fender.

[blowncobra]

CENTERLINE! TRAIL!  I believe that both the 07 and 08 are in line as in  the front and rear wheels are on the same plane, this is somewhat different than alignment, but certainly will effect alignment. The difference in the 07-08 is in the offset of the wheel to the forks. Stated both years are in alignment but the front wheel to front fork offset is different. Hence the larger tire on the 08 and the different front fork set up, this is how Harley was able to get the larger tire on the bike and yet keep the centerline or trail of front and rear tires proper. Set an 07 and 08 side by side and draw an imaginary line through the steering neck to the centerline of the wheel, then look at the wheel location in the front forks. Engineering what a wonderful thing! If you have one of those cheap laser levels for hanging things on the wall, set your bike up in the yoke of your bike lift, locate the centerline of the rear tire at proper inflation and then turn it on and see where it hits on the front tire. Provided the bike is securely clamped into the yoke and not sitting on its stand.

Which then brings us to no more than preference of do you like the wide tire or the skinny tire? Regardless of which you prefer they are both beautiful and fun riding bikes.

[Air-Cooled]

I'm not sure I followed your logic completely, but we all know that the front wheel on the '07 is way off "center" if you consider the center to be directly under the steering stem. I'd be interested to see if the '08 is offset from the stem an equal amount. It would appear to be very much centered in the forks.

[blowncobra]

Air Cooled, the 07 is NOT centered in the forks BUT IS centered to the neck of the frame so it is only off center to the Forks not the neck or stem or rear wheel
The 08 IS centered in the forks and in the neck of the frame and as well to the rear wheel
The difference is the front wheel offset and fork design, both allow proper trail or centerline
Hence if the guys with an 07 want the big front tire like the 08 you can change the forks and brake assembly with attaching parts and have an 08 set up, but HD will not supply an 08 fender with an 07 paint scheme, so a custom paint source will be needed if you desire to match the 07 paint

Bikes with improper trail or centerline out front to rear DO NOT ride straight

BTW the cross-bones is also using the new fork set up

[Air-Cooled]

Air Cooled, the 07 is NOT centered in the forks BUT IS centered to the neck of the frame so it is only off center to the Forks not the neck or stem or rear wheel...

Sadly, this is not the case.  I very carefully checked my '07 and the front wheel is NOT centered under the steering stem. It is off by about a 1/4".