fork alignment

[petejw]

Just after sum advice about putting the forks
in proper alignment, i cant ride the bike past
a 100ks without a bad shimmy kicking in,
also the left side of the handlebars are dropped lower
than the right side, ive loosened the front end and
bounced the forks up and down and then retensioned
everything, but makes no difference, is there a method of checking the alignment, is there a sequence to tightening
the bolts, that is start at the bottom work ur way up or vica versa
ive also got a fork brace fitted.
any help would b appreciated
thanx in advance

[goldcoastguy001]

Firstly take a bit of wieght of the front by putting the bike on the C/stand and using a jack(with wood block) under the oil filter you dont have to lift the wheel off the ground just take the weight
then loosen your front axle bolt on the left fork for the front wheel then undo/loosen the lock bolt on the right front tube that clamps your front axle check that both fork tubes are coming out of the Triple Tree evenly at the top and and tighten the top, then tighten the lower Triple Tree, next now put a screw driver or rod in the hole on the right side of your front axle and tighten the axle firm (not the lock bolt on the right side), use a lever to set your gap on the brake caliper on the right side so it doesnt rub on the disc, then tighten the lock bolt on the right side of the axle, lastly install your fork brace,

there is no reason for you handle bars to drop on one side unless they are bent? cause they bolt to the tree not the forks.(and if you bent them enough to show up in the H/bars they should be cracked....lol.)

[petejw]

i read a cpl of past posts in the search and
went outside and loosened everything
the handlebars are now even, the shimmy is
a lot better but is still there,
i checked the front tyre which isnt that old
ands its beginning to cup on the sides,
ive got a spare rim going to get another
front tyre, better brand than the 1 i have
and ill go from there
thanx for the replys

[randy]

When was the last time you changed your fork oil? Do you actually have oil in the forks?

[petejw]

fork oil was changed about 18 months ago,
with new progressive front springs,

ive got it a lot better than what it was the other day,
im getting a new tyre and c how that will go,
the 1 i have at the moment is a cheapy, and with tha amount
of weights on it at the moment, im not surprised if this
is the main problem, tho the tyre is only about 6 months old
which is also starting to cup.

[randy]

tho the tyre is only about 6 months old

That's why I asked about the iol. Cupping is usaually a sign of bad shocks (in this case forks). Maybe something in the fork internals like slider is just worn out?

Or, have you tried cranking up the pre-load?

[petejw]

hey randy,
yeah ur right about the shocks causing cupping,
but ive had the wheel shimmy since ive had the bike 2yrs
with varying degrees of worseness, the whole front end
shakes, this could also cause the cupping as the bike
is bouncing around.
i might try and put a little bit more pre load on the
springs tho, at the moment the preload is set to spec
i took it out again tonite, this time i moved
the right fork leg out a whisker so the rotor
is central to the caliper which i failed to do previouisly,
its much better, the shimmy has moved up2 around 120ks instead of 100
and nothing like it was the other day.

[TomB]

Pete

Check your steering head bearings arn't too tight.

Overtight head bearings can cause wobbles at 100-120kmh

[petejw]

hey Tom,
the steering head isnt to tight,
if anything it could b a little loose
theres no play in it tho, but it
could use regreasing.

[goldcoastguy001]

Just a quik note try a run with a little more pre load on the rear shocks too...it helped with mine after i replaced the rear shocks I found it nice an smooth around town but bought my shimmy down too bout 120-130km, I bought the preload up and its fine now.....I can exceed 200kms and it is very very minimal...i think a fork brace will get rid of mine altogether...

[petejw]

Try the Tkat fork brace, i got mine
last year and am wrapped in it.
great price, nice bloke.

Ill give it a go, have set it on soft.

[goldcoastguy001]

Wind it up it up to the highest setting an bring it down bit at a time till you get a nice comprimise on comfort and handling.....let us know how you go after you sort it......might give the Tkat a go too....thanks

[petejw]

still not fixed

I thought I had cured the problem, tho
the front still shimmys it wasnt as bad as
it first was until i took my daughter 4 a ride
on the back, the extra weight made it impossible
to ride over 100ks without the whole bike shudderring,
could anything to do with the rear end cause this, maybe
even the universal joint in the shaft ive adjusted tyre pressures,
pre load, front and back suspension, new fork oil, realigned
the front forks, adj head bearings, i swapped the front wheel
over from my parts bike with another one fitting a new front tyre,
Im at a lost to figure this out, Ive had the bike 4 2 yrs,
and it has always had a wheel shimmy problem, but it just seems
to be getting worse and it feels more like the whole bike is shuddering/vibrating, and it only happens at speed 95-100km/h, engine rpm doesnt affect it, sorry 4 the drawn out post just wanted to try and cover everything ive done so far.

thanks 4 all the help so far.

[mro]

Sounds like you've checked over most things.
Have you checked the swing arm bearigs and kinda far out there but check the engine mounts.

Would put bike on center stand, place a gauge (thin rod on a old paint can) pointing to but not touching the rim, turn rim by hand to see if it spins true, then check front same way.

If all fails and you said it's allways done this, would try to find another XS so that you can compare the frames. Bent some where???


mro

[TomB]

A mate had a similar problem a while back on his Martini with standard wheels

When we sat down and looked at the bike we noticed that the tyre fitter had put the rear tyre clamps in at 12 and 3 o'clock instead of 12 and 6 o'clock.

It threw the rear wheel balance out a mile over 60 mph

Its an easy check.