[revvingwit]

I own a 2022 duke390. After 7 months and 6000km, i took it from service centre back after 2nd service. After few days, i have started feeling that when i am riding a bike, the handlebar is slightly towards the right although i am going straight. Like a crab. Once i noticed it, i searched on youtube and found out it could be due to wrong rear wheel alignment. And i checked it and it's perfectly ok, based on the marks on both side of the chain adjuster. But even after that, it's the same issue.
I replaced my handlebar as well and still the issue is not solved. I went to 2 service centres in Bengaluru and in both of the places, they couldn't identify the problem itself, they said it's perfectly normal.
But i feel it evidently since i have to stretch my left arm more than right arm. They also said there is no issue in the forks as well. It's aligned as well.
What could be the issue here. ? Thanks in advance.

[Mr.Boss]

It could be because of one of the below reasons.
1. Fork bend
2. Swing arm bend
3. Misaligned rear wheel
4. Misaligned handlebar
5. Handlebar bend
6. Individual's presumption

For 1 to 5, ask someone else to ride the bike
For 6, you ride a different bike (390 TD vehicle from showroom)

[maverick029]

Why don't you run some checks by yourself to find out whether the handlebar is bent or not. I would suggest parking the bike straight and checking the distance and angle (use a protractor) from each handlebar weight to a centre point on the tank. This will give you a fair idea whether you are correct or not. You can also use your findings to justify and force service centers to check for fault.

[Aakarsh Gupta]

It might sound weird but the issue might just be in your head. I feel I have the same problem with my bike, but when I let some other person check the problem for me, they say it's perfectly normal. I've felt the same for years now with every bike I ride, and I've gotten used to it with time.

[vivekjayasheel]

Originally Posted by maverick029

Why don't you run some checks by yourself to find out whether the handlebar is bent or not. I would suggest parking the bike straight and checking the distance and angle (use a protractor) from each handlebar weight to a centre point on the tank. This will give you a fair idea whether you are correct or not. You can also use your findings to justify and force service centers to check for fault.

Parking and checking won't help. He will need to do this on an empty stretch of road while the bike is riding dead straight.

I have the very same issue with almost every bike I ride. I feel like the bar points right while the bike goes straight, like the revvingwit and Aakarsh mentioned. If the forks and triple-clamps are aligned accurately, there is nothing to be done other than using small, flat, metal shims in the handle-bar clamps (one placed in the front side of the left clamp and the other placed in the back side of the right clamp, to bring the bar into the perfect straight-ahead position. You can make these shims out of anything. Make sure it is 1 mm thick but soft and malleable metal (like say the top lid of a milkmaid can) so it can be easily held into place as you tighten the handlebar clamps. After you do this, the handlebar may seem pointing left in relation to the top of the triple-clamp, but it will point straight ahead in relation to the rider.

[I4_Pistoneer]

Originally Posted by revvingwit

I own a 2022 duke390. After 7 months and 6000km, i took it from service centre back after 2nd service. After few days, i have started feeling that when i am riding a bike, the handlebar is slightly towards the right although i am going straight. Like a crab. Once i noticed it, i searched on Youtube and found out it could be due to wrong rear wheel alignment. And i checked it and it's perfectly ok, based on the marks on both side of the chain adjuster. But even after that, it's the same issue.
I replaced my handlebar as well and still the issue is not solved. I went to 2 service centres in Bengaluru and in both of the places, they couldn't identify the problem itself, they said it's perfectly normal.
But i feel it evidently since i have to stretch my left arm more than right arm. They also said there is no issue in the forks as well. It's aligned as well.
What could be the issue here. ? Thanks in advance.

I faced a similar issue on my Honda SP 125, after a bad crash on the road in Bangalore (Auto driver successfully jumped his signal and hit me obliquely).

Well, owing to that incident, the bike had to go into the Honda service center for repairs and part replacements (which was done rather half-heartedly, due to which I had to consult my local mechanic), and one of the most overlooked aspects was the handle bar and the suspension fork bend issues that were completely omitted.

I got the fork-bend removed at my local garage and the bike is now properly aligned.

Coming to the issue of the handle, I too faced a similar issue as mentioned by the OP, i.e., when the bike went straight, the handle was ever so slightly 'bent' to the right, making it rather uncomfortable to ride. I tried consulting Honda's authorized service center, but they dismissed the issue saying everything was fine.

And hence, I sat for some extensive research regarding the matter, found a few videos and tinkered around the bike, and finally identified the issue. The jig/clamp that supports the handle was out of alignment due to the impact, the handle itself was not bent. I'll try to illustrate the point in the following photograph.

What happened was the RHS bolt of the handle clamp acted as a pivot around which the handle turned, and this was evident when I used a spanner to loosen the bolts, the LHS bolt was jammed and the RHS bolt was loose, thus confirming my hypothesis. (Detailed explanation upcoming)

I went about the repair in the following way:

Note: My handle was bent in a similar way as the OP.

• Slightly loosened the RHS bolt of the clamp (keyword being slightly, since we are using this bolt as a pivot).
  
• Loosened the LHS bolt of the clamp a bit more.
  
• Lodged the front wheel firmly between two metal posts (you can use any rigid object(s)) and yanked the handle towards the left.
  
• Then, when I felt the handle was straight enough, I tightened both the bolts, first the LHS bolt then the RHS bolt and took the bike for a test ride, and sure enough my issue was resolved.

Note: Assuming the bike was not involved in an accident, OP mentioned the issue persisted after a service, so my assumption would be that there was some incident/mishandling of the bike by the service center, or some mishap when parked may have led to this.

Principle behind the repair:

Commonly, most motorcycle manufacturers place and fix the handle-clamp assembly in the bore holes made in the triple clamp. However, these holes have a free-play to them, meaning that the bore-holes made in the triple-clamp are of a slightly bigger diameter than those of the screws inserted in it. This is done to allow room for the mechanical purposes such as expansion, tolerances, etc., thus it so happens that when a substantial force hits the assembly, it sometimes forces the screws to move to the extreme end of the holes, thus displacing the handle.

I used the 17 mil spanner that was provided in the Honda tool kit, which was sufficient enough for me to undo the bolts and repair it myself. However, if the bolts on your KTM are tighter and require more force to be undone, then I would kindly suggest you take the bike to your local garage and explain to them the issue, or at the very least, to help get the bolts loosened and tightened.

Hope it helps!