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If you have been working on the forks, or if you have nudged something like the gutter or a barrier in the car park, you can end up with the fork tubes not quite aligned. This will mess up the bike's handling.
You normally need to align them with two straightedges, ideally one as high as possible and one as low as possible. However, things like the headlight get in the way of sighting the edges. There is an easier way.
Get a medium sized extruded alloy spirit-level. This will have an I-beam cross-section - (small levels are usually rectangular section) - preferably about 4 inches between the flanges. The extrusion has the advantage of high accuracy, after all, that is what the level is supposed to have.
Put the level edge-on across the tubes above the fork seals. If it rocks slightly it means that the tubes are not aligned. If it sits solidly, the tubes are OK.
To align the tubes, loosen (not sloppy, just loose) top and bottom triple tree clamps. Check which tube shows the gap between the tube and the top edge of the level. Lock the wheel in place with your legs and pull on the handle-bar of that tube. Check again. Keep checking until you get rid of the gap.
Tighten the triple tree clamps - carefully so as not to knock it out of alignment again, and check the tubes with the level again.
When you have no gaps the tubes are as good as they can be.
Safe riding,
Kim
You normally need to align them with two straightedges, ideally one as high as possible and one as low as possible. However, things like the headlight get in the way of sighting the edges. There is an easier way.
Get a medium sized extruded alloy spirit-level. This will have an I-beam cross-section - (small levels are usually rectangular section) - preferably about 4 inches between the flanges. The extrusion has the advantage of high accuracy, after all, that is what the level is supposed to have.
Put the level edge-on across the tubes above the fork seals. If it rocks slightly it means that the tubes are not aligned. If it sits solidly, the tubes are OK.
To align the tubes, loosen (not sloppy, just loose) top and bottom triple tree clamps. Check which tube shows the gap between the tube and the top edge of the level. Lock the wheel in place with your legs and pull on the handle-bar of that tube. Check again. Keep checking until you get rid of the gap.
Tighten the triple tree clamps - carefully so as not to knock it out of alignment again, and check the tubes with the level again.
When you have no gaps the tubes are as good as they can be.
Safe riding,
Kim
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