R1200CL Handling and Tires

[Shmegma]

This may be a duplicate post, but I can't find the discussion. Anyway, Since I have owned my '04 OilHead it has a pull to the right effect when I let go of the grips during long rides. I know, keep your #$% hands on the grips, but I know we have all done it. The tire wear seems to be good, but I feel like the bike likes right turns better than left turns. During long trips I feel like I need to keep my left arm pushing on the bar or my right arm pulling.

Is there a tire balance or telelever issue here?

[PUDGYPAINTGUY]

Making an assumption that it is not the road camber that is dragging the bike right, some other thoughts might be - is there any heavier packing/gear in the right boxes than left?, Is the right front brake or rear caliper hanging up a little that might cause this same type of effect (sometimes the pins corrode and may be slightly sticking the pad from retracting as it should)? Is there any play in the headstock bearing by chance?

[MMMH2O]

It's the legendary PTTR. (pull to the right). Almost every CLC has it, and no one has fully discovered why. I have always had it, although after it seems to be slightly improved after I adjusted my valves.
There is a big discussion on the Chromeheads forum regarding it. Log on there and do a search (Chromeheads.org).

[Englishman]

That's one of the reasons I got rid of mine it has a Mono lever instead of a Paralever this causes the bike to whip alot more :doh

[Belquar]

My clc had it. After riding it a lot your body adjusts and you don't notice it as much. Some guys at chromeheads said theirs was a lot worse. I played around with body position and what-not and could actually hold it straight, hands free, by sitting a little more forward.

I have sold my CLC and now have a GS. It is just one of the quirks of that bike. I never noticed any difference in tread wear because of it.

I think that despite itself...the CLC is a great handling machine.

[Montana]

This hasn't been reported by C owners or Montauk owners, only CL owners. The Montauk has the same front frame geometry as the CL but the rear frame is the same as the C. The CL has a unique rear frame and might be why it's only this model with PTTR.

[Shmegma]

It's good to hear the reasoning here. At least there is nothing physically wrong in terms of misalignment or something fixable. I like the bike a lot and will deal with it. No other complaints about the handling or performance. Thanks for the confirmation and additional information.
DJ...

[RichardCCarson]

Haven't visited this forum for a while, but here is my experience with "no hands pttr CLC" on my R1200 CLC. It must be characteristic of the bike, and I have tried several things to make it go straight, including: shifting on the seat to the left (helps some); pushing down on the footboard on the side you wish to go to (helps a little); leaning back (helps some); putting a hand on both sides of the tank, then squeezing in with knee opposite of the direction you wish to go (seems to help the most). Once in a while the planets will align and it will go straight for a long ways with minimal "body English", and then a deer appears, or I think one will appear, and the experiment concludes. I don't think there's anything wrong with your bike.