Member Contributer Cogswell Posted August 7, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted August 7, 2014 This weekend a buddy brought over his relatively new to him 2001 - nicely mod'd with Heli's, Corbin seat, BLS lowering blocks, among other things. He had bought some new tires and we spent the afternoon installing them. Before we began work I looked at the bike and told him "something doesn't look right about your front wheel". He came around next me with a "WTF??" look on his face. We set the top clamp straight, and as we looked at the bike from the front we could see that the wheel is skewed to the rider's left. Also, the fender is not centered over the wheel. So then we did the opposite - set the wheel straight with the chassis and then we took this photo of the top clamp which is skewed to the right. While we had the bike supported and the front wheel off, we loosened the bolts on the upper and lower clamps until the forks could be moved around hoping that things might be bound up and they would pop back in to position. A straight edge was set across the flats where the axle pinch bolts attach and it laid perfectly flat across each side. The axle slides in easily with no binding. We examined the brake calipers and pads and there looked to be no unusual wear and the calipers slid easily over the discs on re-assembly. The bike tracks straight when viewed from behind and he reports that it rides fine - it just looks out of whack. The only thing I can think of is that he has a bent fork tube(s), but there's no oil leaking from either fork which I would presume would eventually happen if one or both were bent. If the bike's been down the plastic has been replaced as it's in very nice condition. The bike has 15,000 miles. How does one check front end alignment or for a bent fork tube? If one or both is bent, is repair a reasonable option or should he just be looking for replacement(s)? Or could there be another issue? He loves the bike, but this is really bugging him and I'm afraid he's going to sell it. Any help appreciated. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Duc2V4 Posted August 7, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted August 7, 2014 I'd pull the forks off and confirm the tubes are straight. If they are bent, depending on how much, they could be straightened. As far as aligning the forks once you get them back in, the HSM has a procedure for setting them up correctly. I do recall Jamie Daugherty give advice on "resetting" the forks while on the bike, but I don't recall where I saw/read the post. Essentially you loosen all (Lower triple clamp, axle retention bolts, axle, fender bolts and clip ons too I think) except the top triple clamp bolts and push the front end all the way down a couple of times and then button everything back up. You can search YouTube for a video and you should be able to find one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Probably just out of alignment. You were on the right track, just loosen up the triple & axle pinch bolts. It's not a big deal to persuade the wheel/forks to twist back into position as long as there's no binding. Based on the pic I would put the bars full lock to the right and lightly push the front edge of the front tire towards the locked forks with your foot. Everything will twist in the triples and should align, check centering and add more force if needed to center. Once it's lined up and no force is needed to remain centered start the torquing process and you should be good to good. You can check the fork tubes on the bike pretty easy, just pull the front wheel and loosed the pinch bolts on one fork tube only. Be sure to maintain a slight amount of drag so the fork tube doesn't fall out or put something under the tube to support it. Now just spin/rotate the upper tube in the triples, if the fork is bent you will see the bottom of the lower moving forward & back. I think I might have slipped the axle back in the forks to prevent the lowers from spinning. Your basically using the triples as a set of V-blocks. Slightly bent fork tubes can be straighten w/o issue or new uppers can be had for around $125 per. BR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer RDMcD Posted August 7, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted August 7, 2014 Did the old tire have unusual wear? I can remember adjusting old 35mm dirtbike forks after a spill by using two trees growing about 6" apart and some pressure on the bars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted August 7, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 7, 2014 Thanks all - we'll give this another shot. We just loosened things up and re-tightened - we didn't put any umph in to attempting to get them back in alignment. I forgot to mention the tires - they had normal wear (the new one is in the photos). I'm hoping to get these set up properly and get him off his BMW and out riding with me on it! Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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