[mityaz]

hey guys. just got the zx10r ad already have a problem. it seems like i always have to have the handle bars turned right to go straight. so i took the all the plastics of to see whats bent. turns out one of the fork tubes is bent. check out the pics:

on the last pic if you look closely you can see that if you drew an imaginary line through the two red tops of the fork tubes --- the front wheel would not be perpendicular to that line. you can see that the front wheel is turned slightly left. i dont think there is anything wrong with the frame, atleast it doesnt look like it.

so what do you guys think? is it the forks? get new forks and be done with it? or maybe try to fix them?

i know there are some smart people here, so please help


EDIT: I measured the distances between the upper and lower triple trees on both sides and the distances are EXACTLY the same. ant the top tripple tree is flush with the tubes on both sides

 

[nickalltogether]

The forks are tweaked in the triple... not too unusual for it to happen and it will make a bike ride like ass. Just get a front stand, loosen the triples, take the front wheel off, realign the forks, and put everything back together taking care to tighten everything back. I had the same problem on my stunt 636 after wrecking it a little hard and the problem persisted until I took the forks out still attached to the wheel and noticed they were almost an inch out of whack at the top of the tubes.

 

[Nutter34]

As Nick said...

Get two broomsticks, fit one at the top, the other at the bottom and tweak the forks until they are parallel...

Mine was the same...

You can do it with the wheel on but you'll need to loosen the axle bolt and pinch bolts for the axle too. Don't forget the handlebars bolts, since they have limited range of motion.

Not difficult, just fiddly...

 

[mityaz]

As Nick said...

Get two broomsticks, fit one at the top, the other at the bottom and tweak the forks until they are parallel...

Mine was the same...

You can do it with the wheel on but you'll need to loosen the axle bolt and pinch bolts for the axle too. Don't forget the handlebars bolts, since they have limited range of motion.

Not difficult, just fiddly...

can you please elaborate a bit more on this? what do you use the broomsticks for?

 

[TENN10]

:+1:Happens riding dirtbikes all the time.
Should straighten right out.

 

[mityaz]

But my main concern is that the forks seem fine when i measure them:

THe distances A and B (the lenght that both tubes protrude over the triple tree) are the same. And distances C and D are also the same.

So what am i trying to align if they are aligned already???:dontknow:

 

[Nutter34]

can you please elaborate a bit more on this? what do you use the broomsticks for?

What you want to achieve, is two fork legs parallel to each other. If the forks are twisted in the clamps, you get the result you have, a wheel pointing forward but twisted bars.

What I meant with the broom sticks...

If you place one along the top of the yolk (horizontal and parallel to the floor), say against the rebound adjustors, then place one further down, just above the disks (also parallel to the floor), then by looking from the top, you should see whether they are parallel, or whether they cross to a degree.

You want them to be parallel. (Used your image to give you an idea of what I meant...). By having longer sticks, you see the twist a lot easier, due to the sticks not being parallel. Also, the further they are apart, the better you see the twist...
As you can see in your pic, there seems to be an element of twist, though it is just a rough draft...

Another thing that happens if they are not parallel, is you get a percentage of steering as the forks slide in and out, it may not be much and you may not notice it but it is there...

 

[mityaz]

ok, i now understand what you mean about the broomsticks.

So if the forks are not parallel what do i do?

 

[Nutter34]

You'd have to support the bike to get most of the weight off the front wheel.

Loosen the front axle nut and the pinch bolts for the axle.
Loosen the top and bottom clamp pinch bolts.
Loosen the handlebar pinch bolts.

They don't have to be loose loose, just but loose enough that you can twist the forks in the clamps.

Align the forks using the brooms and then gently tighten the bolts, recheck and adjust as required...

Of course, using the correct torques when tightening the bolts...

 

[mityaz]

thanks alot man, will try tomorrow. let you know what happens

 

[abzx10r]

I was just about to post what he said up approve but I will just say good luck and keep us posted!!!

 

[mityaz]

ok, so the job is done. I loosened all of the clamps and the axle and tried to spin the fork tubes to align them. in the end, the alignment is alot better than it was, but i still could not get it 100% straight. If you dont know that its not straight you wont be able to tell. There is only a very (i mean very) slight misalignment.
Thanks for the help guys. And i guess i will keep an eye for e new set of forks.

here is a before pic:

here is an after pic:

 

[tasos]

Maybe your lower triple is bent...Did you check the forks out?

 

[Chubbs]

I'd take the forks off and make sure they aren't creased anywhere. It's still possible one (or both) are bent.

Dirtbikes spring back to normal very easily (in fact, I don't think I've ever bent dirtbike forks) but streetbike forks seem to be a little different. Whenever i've had a bike that was that far out of alignment, one of my forks has always been bent.

It doesn't hurt to check....it should be easy to see with the forks off the bike.

 

[Nutter34]

I don't know what you mean by spin the fork tubes...

What you want to do, is turn the top clamp in relation to the bottom clamp.

In your original picture, it appeared the top clamp was turned right more than the bottom one. If you turn the top one left, you'll even out the steering. Go too far and the steering will be left down...

These bikes usually need a big whack up front to bend or damage something. Has the bike been in a big crash?

Hope that helps to clarify.

 

[mityaz]

I don't know what you mean by spin the fork tubes...

What you want to do, is turn the top clamp in relation to the bottom clamp.

In your original picture, it appeared the top clamp was turned right more than the bottom one. If you turn the top one left, you'll even out the steering. Go too far and the steering will be left down...

These bikes usually need a big whack up front to bend or damage something. Has the bike been in a big crash?

Hope that helps to clarify.

this post definitely clarified everything. now i actually get it.

its like this:

So what do i do in this case? Take a rubber mallet and whack the top triple inward on the left side?

 

[Nutter34]

You've got it now... Pictures say it all, lol.

If you loosen everything, it shouldn't take much effort at all to straighten it.

If you still have the wheel on, hold it between your legs or support it against something and turn the top right forward, it should do the same thing...

But yes, you want to get the right forward or left back to get them in line with each other...

 

[mityaz]

thanks alot mate, i will give it a shot on sunday

 

[mityaz]

GREAT SUCCESS!!! I loosened it all up and while holding the wheel between my legs i twistes the handle bars. after a few tries she rides straight!! Thanks alot guys

 

[Nutter34]

Awesome!!!

Have fun.