• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

wheel alignment

Nope. Have never needed it with any of my bikes.

If one of my wheels is out of alignment, either my forks or my swingarm is bent.
icon_shrug.gif


.
 
Steve said:
Nope. Have never needed it with any of my bikes.

If one of my wheels is out of alignment, either my forks or my swingarm is bent.
icon_shrug.gif


.
Click to expand...

Mm must have been a good day at the factory if its perfect aligment.
 
No alignmenttool required. Or do you have reasons to worry about your bike? Looking at the wear on the sprocket will give some info. I do wish though that all sprockets had the same thickness.
 
Steve said:
Nope. Have never needed it with any of my bikes.

If one of my wheels is out of alignment, either my forks or my swingarm is bent.
icon_shrug.gif


.
Click to expand...
I have to ask , how big are the chicken strips?
 
I use a length of 12mm aluminium angle for initial alignment (new tyres etc) then use the marks on my swingarm .

Cheers , Simon .
 
Eyeball works for me, stick my eye in line with the tire and use my line of sight like a string. Once I have checked it, I look at the marks on the swingarm, if they are perfect then using them is good enough. If they are off a little I put a spot of paint there to use, or make a little nick with a file… Finally look at how the chain is riding and wearing.

Alignment being off is often the fault of worn swingarm bearings.
 
Can almost guarantee that the marks are off. If your chain and sprockets are wearing abnormally, how would one know how much it is out of alignment? I would pay more for a chunk of aluminum or something made of metal and long enough to work than I would for the tool which is $30
 
Maybe I just need more practice (or more likely, more patience and a warmer garage), but I didn't have an easy time with the string method on my 750E. The strings kept hitting either the exhaust or sidestand... when I brought them out far enough to avoid either of those, it seemed like they were too far away from the front wheel to measure/eyeball with significant accuracy. (And I was having a tough time making sure the forks were pointing perfectly straight ahead.)

For now it's aligned via the hash marks, but I'll probably revisit the string method in the spring when it's warmer out.
 
eil said:
Maybe I just need more practice (or more likely, more patience and a warmer garage), but I didn't have an easy time with the string method on my 750E. The strings kept hitting either the exhaust or sidestand... when I brought them out far enough to avoid either of those, it seemed like they were too far away from the front wheel to measure/eyeball with significant accuracy. (And I was having a tough time making sure the forks were pointing perfectly straight ahead.)

For now it's aligned via the hash marks, but I'll probably revisit the string method in the spring when it's warmer out.
Click to expand...

Some older discussion

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showpost.php?p=1102275&postcount=4

I used a strong kite line although some other thin line would substitute. Wrap the line around the bottom of the tire. I am running a radial so the tire edge very closely tracks the rim. If you tire is much more run out than your rim, clamping a couple of pieces of wood to the wheel rim, will space out beyond the tire width.

picture.php


Here I am keeping the lines taught by tipping a heavy (back) metal box on edge (it is partially sitting on top of a block of wood) so that it pulls against the lines. This keeps them taught and makes everything much more stable. The red weight is keeping the block of wood from slipping on the carpet. You should be able to figure out something that accomplishes the same.

picture.php


I used a caliper to measure the distance between the string and two points on each side of the wheel (Front and Back). By doing this you should be able to get both strings parallel as well as equidistant from each rotor.

When doing this adjust your chain first, and then only make rear wheel adjustments on the brake side to get the front wheel to split the two springs. After done clamp everything down. If in the future you need to do a chain adjust , just count the number of flats (1/6th of a turn on the adjustment nuts) you have to turn the adjuster by on the chain side. Match that on the other and you will be close enough that you don't have to redo the string just for a chain adjust.
 
Last edited:
The hash marks work for me eil. I used a scratch awl to make sure I counted the correct number of hashes and it's worked fine for me.

Once I do the rear drum brake job, I can correct the bracket to the inside since it was installed incorrectly.


Ed
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top