TOPIC:

Trying to align my rear tire. If I align it with the front tire, the chain is crooked. If I make the chain straight, it’s out of alignment with the front tire. Is there a way to adjust the rear wheel to one side or the other?

Wanted to mention the below screen shots were lifted from a post by Patton, all credit to him for this information. I’m just posting to help the OP

Here’s what your shooting for. The right to left location of the rear wheel is set by the axle collars, those are factory design. Should be able to align as long as OEM collars/spacers are in the correct place.

Mikaw is spot on with his explanation. I will only add that I use a laser pointer on the rear sprocket that if everything is set properly it follows right along the side of the chain to the engine sprocket. Handy item to have, but you don't necessarily need to have it. If I don't have the laser I watch how the tops of the rear sprocket teeth are positioned in each chain link. You can tell pretty fast if the chain is centered or not on the teeth. You should see the tooth centered in the chain link. Some laughed at me for doing it this way but I verified the procedure with my laser and it was on the money. Everyone has their own bag of tricks.
Rick H.

Good advise Rick. I've done the same thing, watching the point of the rear sprocket teeth as they enter the chain, tweak the rear tire alignment till they consistently fall perfectly between the the side plates of the chain.

Ramchargerjay wrote: Trying to align my rear tire. If I align it with the front tire, the chain is crooked. If I make the chain straight, it’s out of alignment with the front tire. Is there a way to adjust the rear wheel to one side or the other?

Yes. Step one is to ensure that all the components are in exactly the correct place. Do this very carefully to be positive that the pieces are all in the correct place and turned the correct way. That alone should make things line up correctly. I've owned my 1977 KZ650-C1 since it was new, and I eventually found that the chain adjusters were mounted on the wrong sides. This caused the sprockets and chain to wear out prematurely. After replacing the chain and sprockets and correcting the error the new chain has not shown any appreciable wear after 18 years and more than 26,000 miles. Ed