Front wheel falls to the side. How to fix?

[Toeslider]

Hopefully I can explain this in a way people can understand...

Working on a bike and decided to see how it was progressing today. When straddling the bike and holding it upright, the front wheel always wants to turn in one direction. When it does this, you can see the head tube falling slightly. Consequently if you turn the wheel in the opposite direction, the head tube either stays level or raises slightly. It doesn't seem to move up or down as much as when you turn the wheel the opposite way.

In summary:

Front wheel straight, turn to the right and the head tube drops noticably

Front wheel straight, turn to the left and the head tube either stays the same or raises slightly, but not as drastic as turning the wheel the other way.

Forks don't appear to be bent visually, and the wheel seems to be centered in the forks. Am I looking at a bent fork, or something in the bearings in the head tube, or maybe the races themselves? If you park the bike with both wheels straight, it will always fall to the same side, never to the other.

Thoughts>

 

[Walker]

Some photos would be great, side shots and a front on.

I'm a little baffled but there are only so many parts that make up the front end of a bike so could be wheel, fork or frame....

 

[deorman]

Look down at the steering head, aligning the top bearing with the bottom, then past them at the wheel, like sight shooting. It will tell the tale. If you still don't see it, look at a known-to-be-good bike for comparison.

 

[Uncle Stretch]

Ok this is kinda funny. If you have the kickstand down and turn the wheel to the left , it will raise the bike because that is the side the kickstand is on and your putting most of the wheel on that side. It will always want to turn to that side . If you have a kickstand that has two legs and hold the bike up in the middle then the wheel will stay pretty much straight.

 

[Toeslider]

This is when the bike is vertical, not when on the kickstand.

 

[clamdigger]

Oh this is a fun riddle ! Lets' see if the crystal ball is working tonight. Some ball bearings are missing in the headset ?

 

[Uncle Stretch]

If it dosen't have anything to do with the kickstand then maybe the bottom bearings aren't seated in the race. Maybe they are the next size up and are too big for the race.
If you added pictures then it would probably be a little easier to figure out what is wrong. :wink:

 

[brett4christ]

Sounds like the fork is bent.

 

[gcrank1]

Bent steertube? Just a little tweek at the fork crown will cause at lot of weirdness.

 

[Toeslider]

Looked at it closer today, got the straightedge out, it was a tweaked fork. Bent it back and it seems to have taken care of the problem. Does the same thing on each side now. Guess I just couldn't see it before.

 

[gcrank1]

Thats Great!
Its funny what some people will put up with. Years ago I rode passenger on a motorcycle (HD Sportster) that had been in a wreck and rebuilt. He drove it straight down the road, and it was tweaked so bad that I was looking right over his right shoulder, past his head, without leaning to the side! Oh well, at least the tires were in line on the road..........