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Message started by VanHanlon on 10/12/09 at 17:46:53

Title: Front end problem
Post by VanHanlon on 10/12/09 at 17:46:53

Hi,

My 2005 S40 is having an issue. When I am going straight down the road, the handlebars (forks, tire, etc.) tilt a bit to the right. I can still ride the bike, but the handling is a bit off, and the noticeable tilt is driving me crazy.

I can't remember hitting anything other than the occasional pothole, but I must have hit something in such a way that bent a component or two.

The local shop (Mom's South in Foxboro, MA) took a look at it and said my tire pressure was off.....riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. As you can imagine, there was no change after they pumped up the tires.

Today, I took off the front wheel, checked the axle for obvious damage and eyeballed the wheel for runout. The axle seemed OK as far as my eyes could tell, but when I gave the wheel a few spins, it was clearly out of whack. Sadly, I don't have a dial indicator let alone the hardware to mount one to my bike, so I'm not sure where to go from here.

Any ideas?

Title: Re: Front end problem
Post by thumperclone on 10/12/09 at 18:07:34

62555A7C555A585B5A340 wrote:

Hi,

My 2005 S40 is having an issue. When I am going straight down the road, the handlebars (forks, tire, etc.) tilt a bit to the right. I can still ride the bike, but the handling is a bit off, and the noticeable tilt is driving me crazy.

The axle seemed OK as far as my eyes could tell, but when I gave the wheel a few spins, it was clearly out of whack.

Any ideas?

outa wack how ? spokes tight ? rim is true??

Title: Re: Front end problem
Post by VanHanlon on 10/12/09 at 18:24:36

When I look at the tire from the side and fix my eyes on the top edge, I see it go up and down, up and down, up and down....you get the point. So I guess the rim is messed up somehow, but wouldn't that just cause the bike to ride rough? I don't see how it could make the handlebars tilt to one side.

Title: Re: Front end problem
Post by Trippah on 10/12/09 at 20:12:56

Handle bars tilt?? are you saying the right handlebar is lower than the left, or are you saying the wheel isn't straight when the handle bars are? Kinda curious..of course if the wheel is out of round as you suggest, it may also be warped as you look at its side to side movement straight down from above compared to a spot on the front fender for example. Maybe it simply your closeness to The out of kilter Patriots :D

Title: Re: Front end problem
Post by verslagen1 on 10/12/09 at 20:35:39

I think someone knocked over your bike and didn't tell you.

loosen up the fork pinch bolts and caps, wiggle it about and see if it straightens up any.

as far as your handlebar go, if they're tilted, bend it back. the risers can be bent where they bolt on. eyeball 'm good.

Title: Re: Front end problem
Post by srinath on 10/12/09 at 20:52:21

It being out of round or out of balance will make it feel like you're hitting a series of pebble sized bumps.

If it rolls straight if you're pointing your handle bar like you're turning right, you have the forks and stuff twisted. Like we used ot do on bicycles in the old days, find a big fat post or tree, put the left side of the front wheel against it and make like you're turning left.

Out of plane wheel will weave all over like you have a flat tire. So that wont hold its line either.

Cool.
Srinath.

Title: Re: Front end problem
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 10/12/09 at 20:54:01

You could measure from bar end to center of tire on each side to get started.

Title: Re: Front end problem
Post by Oldfeller on 10/12/09 at 21:59:42

Sounds real familiar. Answers that work for your issue are in here.

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1251993333

<partial quote from this thread>

"ALIGNMENT

You have a bent puppy now -- don't be expecting your rear index marks, etc. to mean what they did when the bike was new. Bending of the frame and swingarm mean that the rear and front tires have a new relationship and you need to learn more about that to relationship fix it and to properly align it.

Trying to rely on reference marks and such with a bent bike is COUNTERPRODUCTIVE -- you waste time chasing marks and things that have done been changed on you by that impact.

You have a crab-cycle now, the front tire and the rear tire may not even be in a single true line any more. More likely you are running two parallel lines with your tires and your frame is slightly tilted to your direction of travel. Don't be amazed at this, some custom bikes are built this way on purpose, especially those with very wide rear tires.

How can you recognize this condition? Your handle bars are slightly turned to one side when running straight down the road.

How do you fix this? Adjust the REAR TIRE using the adjustment bolts.

Your front and rear tires must run at the same angle for the bike to physically go straight. My handle bars are slightly cocked to the right when going straight. This means my rear tire is slightly cocked to the right even thought the witness marks, etc say that it is OK.

Adjust the rear tire as if you were directly adjusting the cocked front tire. Moving the rear tire alignment will move the front tire alignment in a 1:1 relationship. Trust me on this, pavement forces on the tires make this back to front adjustment linkage work."

Title: Re: Front end problem
Post by Routy on 10/13/09 at 04:55:45

Quote:
but when I gave the wheel a few spins, it was clearly out of whack. Sadly, I don't have a dial indicator let alone the hardware to mount one to my bike, so I'm not sure where to go from here.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't think you need a dial indicator to check the runout of any wheel/tire combiation that runs at highway speeds. If you do, I'd say its close enough, and is not giving any problem.

Title: Re: Front end problem
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 10/13/09 at 08:15:23

You dont need a dial indicator to work on wheels. All you need is a reference point & a spinning wheel. You tape a wire on where it will point real close to the edge of the rim, spin the tire & watch. Slow the tire & bring it to to place thats not right & adjust in that area, mark that area, too, sharpie wipes off chrome, Just keep piddling,anyone can loosen & tighten spokes & learn what actions create what motions & then set the wheel back right. Its slow, but Im telling you, pay attention & you can do it. I did the rims on my 10 speed & they got abused badly, I folded the rear up in a turn once & slid to a halt. Stupid thing looked like an album that had been left on the package tray of the car in the sun. I rode it home, took an hour to get it straight enough. I never replaced it. I spent a few hours tuning it back right & it held up fine after that.

Title: Re: Front end problem
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 10/13/09 at 08:17:38

How can you recognize this condition? Your handle bars are slightly turned to one side when running straight down the road.

How do you fix this? Adjust the REAR TIRE using the adjustment bolts.

Your front and rear tires must run at the same angle for the bike to physically go straight. My handle bars are slightly cocked to the right when going straight. This means my rear tire is slightly cocked to the right even thought the witness marks, etc say that it is OK.

No arguing with that. As long as the distance from the end of each handlebar to the center front of the tire is the same.