getting forks straight

[Nelso]

After my little off at the last EC track day I need to sort out my front end as my bars now turn far enough to hit the tank. We straightened the bars quite well (check out viewtopic.php?f=4&t=19468&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=340 if you haven't seen it) but I've ordered new ones anyway, the problem is I have no idea where to begin with re-aligning my forks. I would imagine it would require experience and possibly specialist equipment getting everything plumb so I am guessing it is beyond my mechanical capabilities, so where is a good place to go to get it done?

I am in Wollongong but I don't know of anyone here that is good enough to trust with this sort of thing so was thinking I will need to go to Sydney. Obviously the southern side of Sydney is a better option but I'm willing to go wherever to get it done right.

[Birdman]

if you definitely know something is bent then Laurie Alderton is your man he can straighten forks, frames wheels, etc

02 96092889
10 Long Street
SMITHFIELD
NSW, 2164

if your able to get the front end off yourself its not hard to check forks with a steel rule, you may even find forks are ok but the bottom triple is bent slightly

[Nelso]

Thanks Birdman. I'm pretty sure it's just the triple clamps twisted but wasn't sure about lining them back up. Is it just a case of undoing all four clamps and let the forks slide back straight and do them back up? Or is there more to it? If it's that easy, I will do it myself. I'm just worried there's more to it than that.

[Birdman]

i havent found a fork yet that is perfectly straight i find when reinstalling i nip the triple clamp bolts up just tight enough to hold the forks you should be able to install and remove the front axle with wheel very easily if its hard try rotating the forks in the triples a little at a time, if the axle is still hard to insert and remove then something is bent out of tolerance

[Gosling1]

when you straightened the bars after the off, did you loosen the triple-clamp bolts afterwards and re-tighten ??

Often, this is all that is needed to get the forks to 'spring' back into the correct position......it sounds a bit odd, but if you loosen the lower bolts first, both sides, you may hear a big 'crack' which will be the forks effectively re-aligning themselves - the axle and top bolts should be tight when you do this.

It may or may not work, but its definitely worth trying out before you rip a front end out looking for something to be straightened.

[Nelso]

That's the kind of info I was after, cheers guys. I couldn't get to the triple clamp bolts without removing the headlight at the track so that's what I am hoping is all that's needed. It's the first time I've dropped any bike in 19 years and am not used to repairing them, hence why I was hesitant about having a go at repairing something that is integral in the bikes handling and steering by myself. It doesn't sound like it will be too hard to tackle, unless the forks are bent, so I'll give it a go myself (when I change the bars over) and see how it goes.

[Strika]

I just had to do this with the Rex. Bars were pointing left, wheel was pointing right! Undid all the triple tree bolts and the axle, loosened the top headstem nut, straightened and then retensioned.

[Gosling1]

Did you get a big crack ??

[Strika]

Did you get a big crack ??

My understanding is that you're the one who has the big crack Gos!! Nah mate I got fecking nothing this time!!

[Nelso]

Fitted the new bars today and undid all the triple clamp bolts that hold the forks. The forks could slide up and down in the triple clamps with the wheel still attached so I assumed the triple clamps must be straight. Tightened everything back up and the handlebars still hit the tank on the right side but sit 40mm off the tank on the left. I have no idea how the front end is put together so I am hesitant about loosening head stem nuts and the front axle looks like it needs the worlds biggest Allen key to undo it so I find myself lacking the confidence and tools to fix it, yet again. Birdman, when you mentioned the bottom triple possibly being bent did you mean twisted in the head stem or actually deformed? Strika's post leads me to think that the top and bottom triple clamp are locked together when the nut is done up tight and that they twist out of alignment and stay that way until the head stem nut is loosened. Is my interpretation correct or am I way off?

[Birdman]

have you checked your bump stops????? you may have snapped a lug off allowing the bars to turn more than they normally would have

[JetPilot]

have you checked your bump stops????? you may have snapped a lug off allowing the bars to turn more than they normally would have

I checked the lugs on Sunday and all are present.
Looks like the bottom triple clamp has to move round to so they stop at the right position.
More work to be done.

[Nelso]

Took it to Dave's after the ride on Sunday and undid the triple clamps again to get a second opinion. The fact the forks slide up and down indicated the triple clamps are lined up enough but we couldn't get the front wheel off (didn't have a big enough Allen key) to check how easy the axle slid in. Both forks spin all the way around freely in the clamps so they should be straight enough but again without taking the wheel off we couldn't check it on a straight edge. It looks like the tab on the bottom triple clamp is a bit bent and the bump-stop on the frame has a bit of a dent in it too, so that appears to be the main offender to letting the bars turn too far to the right. The bike tracks dead straight and feels fine to ride so it's a shock that the bar end was 3 to 4cm out and hitting the tank. This distance at the bar end however, equates to only a 3 or 4mm gap at the steering stop, which isn't that much considering the bent tabs and the possibility the triple clamps could still be a couple of millimetres out. We made a small spacer to fit to the steering stop that works well enough, so it is fine for now. At some stage, maybe when the tank comes off to get fixed, I wouldn't mind stripping the front end down and measuring everything up and fixing it properly but it doesn't come out much in winter so that can wait 'till later in the year.

Big thanks to Dave (and his new garage) for his help too. It is very much appreciated.

[dave#3]

... no, it's not called dodgy brothers repairs, it's called engineering Glad I could help out - now I've got to buy one of those really big-arsed hex drivers to fit "modern" front axles too.

[mike-s]

btw, from what ive heard Laurie Alderton is semi retired, so the lineup for his work has kinda shot up exponentially.