After searching the forums for an answer, I've finally decided to make my own topic. I just bought a 79 KZ1000 LTD that needed a carb cleaning. After cleaning the carbs three times I got it to run right. On my first drive, I noticed that I wanted to push the handlebars left just a little bit.... it was very weird. It felt like the bike was pulling itself to the right. I had my cousin drive it and he too noticed the pulling. You can keep the bike from pulling, but if you let off of the handlebars it will lean hard to the right almost immediately. I thought maybe the rear tire needed aligned, because the guy before me said he had his chain break, and had the chain and sprockets replaced about 500 miles ago. It also got new tires about 500 miles ago, so I figured the rear wheel could be mis-aligned. After aligning it, the bike still pulled. I noticed that when the bike is sitting level, that the rear wheel was actually tilted to the right. My dad used a level on the front tire, and then on the rear, and of course the rear wheel was leaning towards the right. I read that the swingarm could actually be bent, so I removed it today. I think it may be an aftermarket swingarm, as it is chrome. It turns out that the swingarm had a one inch long crack on the bottom of the pivot axis (the part where the bolt goes through) on the right side. My theory was that the crack, when it had weight on it, would cause the rear wheel to lean. So I drilled a hole in the end of the crack, ground it out and welded it up. I didnt really check to see if the swingarm was bent, which I think was a mistake. I did sit it on a level surface, and when I had the pivot axis flat, one of the arms would be about 1/4" off of the ground. Upon further inspection though, it looked as if the welds on one side of the swingarm stuck out a little bit, and could cause it to sit unlevel. Again, I should have looked more into the issue, but assumed the crack was causing all my problems. After I reinstalled the swingarm and it didnt fix my problem, I jacked up the front end. My triple tree bearings are bad, because the bike acts like it wants to snap the handlebars straight. I dont think this is causing the bike to lean though, because the handlebars are straight while Im riding (obviously). Sorry for such a long post, but there is a lot of info and I would really like to solve this problem. I dont feel too safe while my bike is trying to pull me into the ditch, haha.
