Modern Buddy

No kidding, my 4T seems to lean to the left while I drive straight. Could this be an alignment issue? Has anyone else seen or heard of this with the stella? Bike has been babied and never been dropped.

Is this a new thing or has it always done this?
How many miles on it?

Does it do this with other drivers? You might be leaning yourself without realizing it??

All the Stella's, shifter Vespa's, LML Star (overseas Stella) exibit this but few notice it.
You are counteracting the weight of the engine.....the right side of the machine is heavier than the left.
Remove the spare tire.....you will lean even more.

No worries,
Rob

I haven't noticed any changes in handling and I can't say I ever consciously noticed leaning until it was pointed out to me by a fellow rider. I can tell that the weight of the motor influences cornering. It almost acts as a gyro of sorts. My concern was more about alignment. I don't see any unusual wear in the treads and I have 2500 miles on the Stella. - Interesting...

I had never realized I was doing it until I recently lead our club's ride and the rider behind me said you were leaning to the left during the ride. My Stella has 7500 miles on her and I have never experienced any problem with handling or irregular tire wear

OK, so I will ask the question. How do I stop leaning? Is it my seating position? I thought I was seated in the center. My feet are positioned equally on either side right where they should be?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

It's a physics thing. The center of balance of the bike while stationary is slightly to the right of center due to the weight of the engine. In order for a bike to go straight while moving, the center of balance must be over the centerline of the bike. So therefore, if you are sitting on the centerline of the bike, there has to be a slight lean to the left for the bike to be balanced. I suppose that if you sit just left of center, to counteract the imbalance, the bike might not lean. However, this might not really feel comfortable.

mikeyb wrote:OK, so I will ask the question. How do I stop leaning? Is it my seating position? I thought I was seated in the center. My feet are positioned equally on either side right where they should be?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Why do you want to stop leaning? By leaning you are keeping the bike going straight. As noted just above, it's simple physics. Don't worry about it.

Anyone ever notice uneven tire wear? Just curious.

Robbie wrote:All the Stella's, shifter Vespa's, LML Star (overseas Stella) exibit this but few notice it.
You are counteracting the weight of the engine.....the right side of the machine is heavier than the left.
Remove the spare tire.....you will lean even more.

No worries,
Rob

Most of those also pull to the right a bit, but I haven't experienced or felt it at all with the 4T. (Doesn't mean it's not happening, just might not be as noticeable.)

Its because you're sitting a bit to the left on the seat. just sit a tad more to the right and it will straighten up. The vertical axis is related to the tire patch on the road and the bike's lateral center of gravity.

Think about it, if the scoot was stationary and your feet were on the ground, how would you shift your butt to lean the scoot to the right?

You can see this with some riders on motorcycles that have the motor balanced in the middle rather than on the side like a Stella. Mc or scoot, it's related to the bike & rider's total combined C-G which is effected by your seating position.

Should the bike do a similar thing even while parked on the centerstand? In other words, is the lean built in?

I know this is an old post but no mine sits straight on the back wheel. Maybe worn engine bushes or previous damage?

I don't think mine is worn out or damaged. I bought it new, and the above photo was taken with about 200 miles on the odometer. It has never been tipped over.

I saw a YouTube video a few months ago (I can't find it now) in which someone assembled an LML Star, more or less from scratch. He complained about this very same lean. He said it was a manufacturing defect. I left him a comment suggesting that they might all have that lean, and he very confidently said I was wrong.

I stand corrected John you are right, so does mine. 😊

That's a relief! Thanks for double-checking.

No problem John, but I bet I will be looking at others when I see them parked up just to make sure

What is the wheel angle compared to the floor pan? THat whole rear tub (fender, sidecowls) is bolted to the tube frame, but who is to say that the tub mounting isn't skewed, compared to the engine where it mounts to the tube frame at the back? The front legshield, floorpan, and rear subframe are all one unit, so perhaps that's true, and you just have a crooked rear tub?