How do you adjust rear wheel?

[El Dookey]

I am not the most mechanical guy on the planet. I bought this 78 Bobber last year. Was riding and smelled what I thought was oil burning - nope, the tire was rubbing. I can't figure out how to adjust it so that it sits straight.

Oh crap - I tried to post an image and it asks for a URL??? Dang - the image is in my Pictures file..............

[TADracer]

There is no adjustment of the wheel in the rear suspension, only a micro adjustment to center the rear in the frame rails. Here are a few things to consider.

Is your tire rubbing on the left (drive shaft ) side? Tire too wide.
Is the rubbing constant or just in one spot? Rim run-out is well out of tolerance....bent rim.
Is your bobber running the stock rear setup? If not then mods to the rear most likely your problem.

Some pictures would be helpful.

[GLoweVA]

First of all, what size tire is it? It may be too big. I think the biggest one anyone has fit on the rear of an XS11 is a 140/90/17. Nominal size is a 130/90/17 (16 for the specials)

Next to check is the proper spacers and location of the rear brake bracket.

Maybe the PO (previous owner) put the rear axel together wrong.

CatatonicBug has a manual on website here: http://www.ringler.us/family/mybike.html

download the PDF and read about the rear wheel removal and while you have it off, check the rear drive splines for grease, then make sure you put it back together per the manual.
If that doesn't solve your problem, then maybe you've got a bent swingarm. (not too likely though)

[GLoweVA]

Oh crap - I tried to post an image and it asks for a URL??? Dang - the image is in my Pictures file..............

Oh and to post pics up to this site, you first have to upload your pics to a hosting site like photobucket, then past the "{IMG} code {IMG}" in your thread.

[crazy steve]

It's simple; you have the wrong size tire. If the bike still has the 17" rear wheel, there's only one size that fits and has the right load range. Look here: http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36698

[El Dookey]

Thanks for all the tips. I will put some pictures up this evening and see what the tire size is. What I don't get is that I put a few hundred miles on the bike before the rubbing started.....

[GLoweVA]

Thanks for all the tips. I will put some pictures up this evening and see what the tire size is. What I don't get is that I put a few hundred miles on the bike before the rubbing started.....

In that case, it sounds like something might have shifted/worn in the axle setup.
Is the brake rotor rubbing in the caliper? In other words, is the disc centered in the caliper or off to one side.
That might help diagnose what might be out of alignment.

[crazy steve]

About the only thing that could cause wheel misalignment would be a missing spacer on the wheel drive hub....



... as seen here. You can see the spacer protruding from the seal. On the brake side, wrong/missing spacers will foul up caliper/rotor alignment but will have no affect on tire clearance. If the drive side spacer is missing, you'll have other problems too; likely damage to the drive hub and/or final drive.

All this assumes you have an OEM wheel and somebody hasn't swapped for something else off another Yamaha model.

[El Dookey]

The tire is a Dunlop 140/90-16 which according to the link provided above SHOULD work - at least that is how I read things. A 130/90-16 is the best.
FWIW - the brake rotor seems to be in the middle of the calipers. Got my pictures up to Dropbox - now will work on getting them down here!

[GLoweVA]

The tire is a Dunlop 140/90-16 which according to the link provided above SHOULD work - at least that is how I read things. A 130/90-16 is the best.
FWIW - the brake rotor seems to be in the middle of the calipers. Got my pictures up to Dropbox - now will work on getting them down here!

According to Crazy Steve's tire thread (that you referenced):

"Rear, Special: This one is simple; the Special came with a 'modern' metric 130/90-16 tire, replace with the same size. Load rating on this size is about 690 lbs. Some owners have fitted a oversized 140/90-16, but that reduces sidewall clearance at the shaft side of the swingarm to near-zero. Maximum tire width cannot exceed 5.45" (and carefully verify clearance once installed) in most cases. White-lettered tires in this size will rub...."

Okay, so it was probably really close before and now it's rubbing. It could be something as simple as lower tire pressure causing the tire to widen out a little thus exceeding the 5.45" width and rubbing.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey El Dookey,

Different manufacturers, and even different models of tires from the same manufacturer can have different actual installed widths even though they are listed as the same size...ie. 140/90-16. I ran that tire in the Dunlop Elite II with Raised White letters, and they were a bit too tall and rubbed against my swingarm on the left side. I later installed the black wall version, and it did a little better, but still "slightly" rubbed. This latest tire is the dunlop EliteIII in the same size, and it doesn't rub, but is very close.

Another thing I did to try to get a few more mm's of room was to put some washers under that crown wheel hub assembly that Crazy Steve posted, this positions the actual rim a couple or so mms' further to the right away from the swingarm/driveshaft side which is the one that's closest to the wheel and likely to rub. I plan on doing a more aggressive MOD to the swingarm and remove and move that recess a bit closer to the driveshaft, but there's not much room in there!

Does your bobber have the rear suspension, or is it hardtailed? If hardtailed, you may actually want to run a little less than recommended spec tire pressure to provide a little more cushion affect, and this can also help reduce the width by not inflating the tire as much. I'm talking like only down to 32 to 35 lbs, instead of the 40 lbs.

T.C.

[DiverRay]

As someone who is running a 140, it's not low pressure but HIGH TIRE PRESSURE that will make the tire rub. I cannot put more than 38PSI in my rear tire, and that is getting REAL CLOSE to rubbing. IF I'm at 34, I have clearance and NO rubbing.
My $0.02, FWIW
Do try and drop the rear tire pressure to about 34 to 36. As a solo rider, it should be no problem with the handling, as the tire is designed for more weight than the 130.

[El Dookey]

Hmmmm, food for thought. It is not a hard tail - I will go check the tire pressure right now.
Thanks very much for all the helpful input/insight.

[El Dookey]

Hmmmm, posted the link to a couple of dropbox pics.

[TopCatGr58]

https://www.dropbox.com/lightbox/home/78%20XS%201100%20Special

Hmmmm, posted the link to a couple of dropbox pics. Does not seem to be working. What am I doing wrong?[/QUOTE]

Hey there,

DropBox according to these links requires a SIGN IN, it's not an open link. I put the code into a browser and got a sign in screen. I don't use DropBox, so I don't know if you can make a settings change and make a folder PUBLIC so it won't require a sign in to access or view it? That might then allow you to direct link to the photos. Otherwise, as we said, get a PHOTOBUCKET account, we KNOW that it works!

T.C.