Wheel Alignment??

[Billet]

If anyone has used a string to align the rear wheel on your dirt bike (or any chain drive) you will know where I am going. Have had the 04 for about a month now and it always felt like it was pointed a hair to the left going down the road.

I just put a new set of Venoms on last week and had everything apart. Even pulled the drive shaft for a check. Every thing looked good, carefully re assembled, axles straight, nothing tweaked, still felt like something was off. Today I did a check (see attached diagram) and sure enough the front wheel is about .4" to the right. Just to make sure I was on the right track I rolled the bike to a different spot on the tire and checked again. Same reading. I balanced the wheels myself and the tires run remarkably true with the wheel. Then I checked the old Vstar and go figure, it is dead on.

Bike has never been dropped, no damage what so ever.

Can't see any way to adjust. Adding a shim between the drive shaft tube and dif. housing would be moving it the wrong way. Do I just have a bent bike??

[BuddyRich]

Did you run the straight edge on both sides ? I have a brand new set of avons sitting in the garage and even though the are both 150's the front is not as wide as the back.

[Freebird]

.4" is not much. I sure think that I would attribute it to the tire width and/or even the tread profile. I haven't checked mine that way but will try to do so in the next day or two and let you know what it shows.

[Eck]

 

Can't see any way to adjust.

Adding a shim between the drive shaft tube and dif. housing would be moving it the wrong way.

 

 

Possible solutions:

Suggestions only here.........

You could have a local machine shop mill off .400 from rear end of drive shaft tube..

OR:

have machine shop mill off .200 from drive shaft tube and another .200 from rear hub surface where the tube mates to hub.

This way your not removing all .400 from the same surface making it thinner (or weak)..

one more thought:

Mill off .200 from front end of drive shaft tube and another .200 from rear end of same tube.

[eagleeye]

I thought that I understood you to say that one of the wheels was pointed in one direction or the other, but looking at your drawing, it looks as though they are parallel to each other, just not in line, a gap as you say.

This may be a bit simplistic but the tires are not the same width.

I just went out to the garage and measured the tires with a caliper.

On my 86VR, Front: 4.875, Rear: 5.475,-------so that would leave a gap of .300 on each side.

On my 05 RSTD, Front: 5.400, Rear: 6.375,-------so that would leave a gap of .487 on each side.

So, if the gap on each side is the same, then no problem, right?

 

Or am I completely missing the point?

 

Steve

[SilvrT]

If anyone has used a string to align the rear wheel on your dirt bike (or any chain drive) you will know where I am going. Have had the 04 for about a month now and it always felt like it was pointed a hair to the left going down the road.

I just put a new set of Venoms on last week and had everything apart. Even pulled the drive shaft for a check. Every thing looked good, carefully re assembled, axles straight, nothing tweaked, still felt like something was off. Today I did a check (see attached diagram) and sure enough the front wheel is about .4" to the right. Just to make sure I was on the right track I rolled the bike to a different spot on the tire and checked again. Same reading. I balanced the wheels myself and the tires run remarkably true with the wheel. Then I checked the old Vstar and go figure, it is dead on.

Bike has never been dropped, no damage what so ever.

Can't see any way to adjust. Adding a shim between the drive shaft tube and dif. housing would be moving it the wrong way. Do I just have a bent bike??

 

It would seem to me that your tires are in line but is there a twist in your forks at the triple trees? This would cause your handlebars to be slightly "off centre"... in other words, when tires are straight, handlebars aren't at exactly 90 degrees. I had this on my '87.. had to loosen everything and do a bit of twisting...wasn't out much but enuf that it seemed it was "pointed" wrong.

[Billet]

Thanks for the input!!

Yes I did consider that the front tire is narrower (in fact I am running a MT90 and love it) and you do need to repeat the measurement on both sides.

 

You could have a local machine shop mill off .400 from rear end of drive shaft tube..

This may be where I am headed, I haven't done the math yet but it would actually be only around .010 or .012.

If it comes to that I'll be sure to post the results.

[Squeeze]

Or, before start milling, Look underneath your Bike and look out for any Problem on the Shock and Suspension Linkage that might occur when you're moving the Swingarm the 0.2 Inches in Question. If you can't see any, take the next Step.

 

To do so, buy an adjustable Pivot Bolt for the left Side, take out the old, fixed Bolt and mount the adjustable Bolt. Alingn and adjust the Swingarm properly, bolt everything down and be a happy Camper.

[BuddyRich]

and you do need to repeat the measurement on both sides.

 

I have to disagree with that. That's like building a house and only measuring one side and assuming the other side is right.

If its off then the other side would show it being .4 inchs over to its side or totally over the line. If its .4 inch short on the the other side then its due to tire width

 

Like below but I would not wrap the string around the rear tire and would probably use 2 long straight edges.

 

http://www.yamahafz1oa.com/images/srwam01.jpg

[SilvrT]

That's like building a house and only measuring one side and assuming the other side is right.

 

 

Isn't that "standard practise" the way houses are built nowadays....

 

:rotf:

[flb_78]

I'm going nuckin futs?!?!?!

 

My mind is inserting words that my eyes are not reading.

[GeorgeS]

Did you check the Position of the Tubes where they are clamped into the Triple Tree ?

 

Carefully check the positioning of the tubes

[BuddyRich]

OK, I losin it. I could have sworn that said no need to measure both sides.

 

:rotf::rotf:

[SilvrT]

OK, I losin it. I could have sworn that said no need to measure both sides.

 

:rotf::rotf:

 

ya made me read it three times just to figgure out if'n maybe I read it wrong too...

 

[Squeeze]

Or, i forgot to mention.

 

Yamaha Germany states for the Vmax that 9mm/0.359 Inches out of Centerline would be Ok.