Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech handle bar turning

Why is it that if I turn my bars hard to the left they will stop before hitting the tank but if I turn them hard to the right, they touch the tank? This is a extreme turn of the bars not something you would do in motion.

Did you have the tank off recently? If you miss the guide posts on the frame when installing the tank the bars will hit the tank. I have a tiny dent on my tank to remind me.....

Measure from the risers to the curve in the bars to see if they are offset. The bars are installed by the dealer at setup time and they usuall just do it by eyeball. If they are centered in the risers, measure from the ends of te bars to the center of the cap on the fork stem to make sure the handlebars anre not twisted slightly. If this is also OK, remove the seat, loosen the bolt holding the tank in place and make sure the tank is centered.
Oh, and like he said, lift straight up on the front of the tank. If you can lift it, it's not installed onto the rubber guides correctly.

Check your tank orientation, bar centering, and also make sure both sets of controls are slipped ON all the way. There are dimples on the bars... Also make sure your forks are lined up properly in the tripple trees. The bottom tree is what hits the left/right stops, and the top tree holds the bars (obviously) so if the forks are cockeyed or twisted, that could explain it.

Thanks, guys I'll check you ideas out. I haven't had the tank off lately but now that you mention it, the tank wobbles left to right and high speed. I 'll see if it has just loosened.

The tank shouldn't move at all. Fits real snug when mounted right. Make sure when you slide it forward you are in the little slits, not above the little knobs with it.

I have a similar issue. My left shroud comes very close to the ank, probably a 1/4". But the right one is much further. If anyone could turn thier bars on a speedmaster and see if it's the same with thiers i'd appriciate it. i know the tank is on right, so it's really puzzling. I once dropped the bike in the garage while not moving forwards, but i cant imagine how that could bend the head or anything. if it did these frames would have to be awful cheap. so can someone try this for me and let me know how close thier left and right shrouds come to the tank? Thanks in advance.....

Maybe the shroud got knocked off-center?

Reave, if your tank is shifting, take it off and make sure the round rubber knobs (2 ea.) are attached to the frame and that you haven't lost one. If they are attached then slide your tank back on the frame making sure the rubber knobs slide into the slots and seat properly. If it's correctly done you wont have any type of movement from your tank........Angelis

this is bizzare....i went out to see what could be off kilter and maybe remove and re-install the tank, and they look the same now ! I don't know if i was spacing or the lighting was different or what. But i coulda sworn it was much smaller a gap on the left side. oh well...i much prefer the bike fixes itself than i have to mess with it !

3-D objects are tricky like that sometimes