aligning the front end

[ARRON]

i put the bike in the ditch last night,now i need the front end to drive stright,nothing is bent .i twisted the front end sideways

[TopCatGr58]

Getting Bent "Back" into shape!

Well Arron,

Hopefully nothing is really bent, but you may have slipped the tubes in the triple trees. Put it on the center stand, then loosen the clamp bolts that secure the fork tube in the triple trees, both upper and lower, and also loosen the center nut on the top of the triple tree just below the handlebars, the one that secures it in the steering head. You may also need to loosen the front axle nut!? Then you should be able to wiggle, shift things around and see if you can get the front wheel to aim straight again, then tighten things back up! HTH.
T.C.

[ARRON]

aligning

i have loosened all the bolts and i put the front tire against the bumper of a van i lineed every thing up by eye,but the only thing i haven't loosened was the axle nut.may be i'll try to do that tomorrow,it's hard to do with a cracked rib!

[skids]

Glad you are not hurt too bad.

[ratbyk]

Alinging

As well as putting the bike on the center stand also put a jack under the engine and JUST!

[ratbyk]

Aligning Front End

Don't know what happened. E-mail took of before I had finished.
Starting over.
As well as putting on the center stand also put a jack under the engine and JUST! unload the front tire. Now loosen every thing;
axle, fork brace, front fender, upper and lower triple clamps.
Place the front tire/wheel between your legs, (facing rearward) grasp the handle bars and twist back into line. Step aside and eye ball. When all looks good lay a flat piece of steel maybe 4X8 inches against the fork tubes just above the fork seals. It should fit flat on both fork tubes with no wobble up or down or left to right. If there is any wobble determine which tube is just ahead of the other and tweak it some more. After the tubes are aliened start by tightening the front axle first. Torque to spec. This will hold the tubes in line by squaring up the bottom of the tubes.
Next tighten the lower triple clamps to torque. Recheck the tube alignment with the steel plate. If all OK tighten the top triple clamps, fork brace and fender.
Recheck alignment with the steel plate again and go for a ride.
Ken/Sooke
78E Ratbyk
82 FT500 'lilRat"