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Message started by SoE on 07/03/11 at 19:42:26

Title: Havng trouble with wheel alignment
Post by SoE on 07/03/11 at 19:42:26

Should I adjust the belt tension/ alignment before I tighten the axle nut down? That's what I have been doing b/c it seemed like it wouldn't really adjust correctly after the axle nut is tight. But I noticed that I will get the wheel aligned right and the belt traveling nicely near the center and then I tighten the axle and the belt moves to the inside, every time.
Am I doing something wrong?
-d

Title: Re: Havng trouble with wheel alignment
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/03/11 at 22:02:45

Dont have the axle nut sloppy loose when you do the adjust,, adjust tension so that you can grab the belt in the middle of the bottom part of the belt & twist it 90* without working too hard. I put it in gear & roll backwards, to put all the slack on bottom. I run a string under the belt & roll it till the string is on front of the front pulley, before I put it in gear, Then I pull the string tight & line it up so it goes across the rear pulley, that way I know Ive got the rear pulley lined up on the front one. Takes some time diddlin,, youll figure it out..

Title: Re: Havng trouble with wheel alignment
Post by ralfyguy on 07/03/11 at 22:07:34

You need to get the axle nut hand tight, no lateral play, and then adjust the belt so it runs in the middle by spinning the wheel. Once the belt runs in the center, tighten both adjusters evenly, like 1/4 turns at a time, to get the belt tension correct. Keep spinning the wheel occasionally to check if the belt still runs center.

Title: Re: Havng trouble with wheel alignment
Post by Serowbot on 07/03/11 at 22:09:34

Don't worry about where the is running on the pulley...
Get the tension right, align the wheel,... and the belt will go where it wants...
The rear pulley is rubber mounted,... so,.. the belt will pull to the outside on accel, and inside on decel...
... or maybe, outside on both... not sure...
but, you can't change that, so... forget it...

Title: Re: Havng trouble with wheel alignment
Post by ralfyguy on 07/03/11 at 22:17:03

On mine I actually observed it seems to depend on the ambient temperature a lot as well. On hot days, it tends to run on the outside. On colder days more on the inside. I waited for a day with about 68 degrees and adjusted everything. Did that about two years ago, and runs fine ever since. 68 degrees is the industrial standard temperature.

Title: Re: Havng trouble with wheel alignment
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/03/11 at 22:37:30

68 degrees is the industrial standard temperature.

What time zone? Central?

Title: Re: Havng trouble with wheel alignment
Post by Serowbot on 07/03/11 at 22:46:49

Warning!... Watching your belt while riding may be hazardous to your health....

;D...

Title: Re: Havng trouble with wheel alignment
Post by Wolfman on 07/03/11 at 23:43:57

Checking your rear wheel while rideing will make you chase your own tail like a dog...lol

Title: Re: Havng trouble with wheel alignment
Post by SoE on 07/04/11 at 04:36:59

Thanks guys, I think the tension is about right. Took it for a spin round the hood last night while people were trying to blow their fingers off - Happy 4th to the US members btw- wheel seems fine on turns. I didn't try the stare at it while riding method :)

Title: Re: Havng trouble with wheel alignment
Post by Oldfeller on 07/04/11 at 05:36:59

;) hee hee

Now I'm gonna blow yer mind some .... you can't trust them little marks on the axle to be the whole story as it assumes your swing arm and bearings are all "factory nominal" and I am afraid that jest ain't so on a bike with over 5 years on it.

Some are saying "chase the belt tracking" and that is fine if you want to do that -- the outer hub where the big pulley rests runs on a big assed ball bearing that is trapped between steel shoulders that run directly on the axle and the ball bearing inner race is pinched by your all yer axle tightening forces and it isn't going anywhere.

But ....

It is a BIG ball bearing that has a lot of radial and lateral clearances that multiply out with distance to some clearly apparent movement on the big pulley (jest grab the sucker and wobble it some iff'n you don't believe me).

"Tracking the belt" is a bit of a waste of time, ol' Serowbot has the right of it. Instead, as you run down the crown (center of the drainage hump) on a straight level section of good paved road take a look at how your handle bars sit relative to everything else.

You can't study your rear end while riding, but you sure can see the front end if it is cocked any at all. As a matter of fact, now that you have looked you noticed that yours is sitting slightly catywampus to everything else on the bike.

Your front and rear wheel WILL run in parallel to each other on a level straight upright condition
(road forces say this must be so and you cannot stop it or avoid it).

First, move your butt around on the seat and see if it makes any difference. Some of us jest sit funny and it does play in this equation.

If not, then adjust your rear wheel to correct the cocking of your front wheel and you will achieve the mythical "good alignment" of your bike.

NOTE: this trick applies equally to wrecked front ends or warped frames or cocked swing arms. No matter what, the wheels run in parallel but on a tweeked bike they may be offset slightly to one another (which causes no wear or other issues, btw).

Now another shocker to those who didn't already know it, Suzuki set the rear wheel up offset a bit to the front wheel a little bit to begin with. They had to make some room for the big pulley's width.

===========================

I now declare this alignment war to be potentially started -- get yer measuring tools and your machine guns and be ready to validate your opinions with something other than 'jest saying so'.

We still have never resolved "the correct way to align your rear wheel" although some have proposed a 20 foot long mark on the floor and some have proposed steel straight edges and some have proposed measuring accurately to the hub of the swing arm on both sides.

Pick yer camp and get yer shovel out and start diggin' yer foxholes

;D

Title: Re: Havng trouble with wheel alignment
Post by SoE on 07/04/11 at 06:59:25

"Now another shocker to those who didn't already know it, Suzuki set the rear wheel up offset a bit to the front wheel a little bit to begin with. They had to make some room for the big pulley's width."

Okay, that would make visually trying to find a center point on the frame/fender whatever a little hard, no?

Title: Re: Havng trouble with wheel alignment
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/04/11 at 07:12:12

Is the belt squealin> Does the rear wheel LOok off? Are the handlebars pointed one way or the other when youre goin straight?
3 NO answers? Ride that sucker.. & the rear pulley is mounted on bushings, so its not exactly a solid mount anyway.

Title: Re: Havng trouble with wheel alignment
Post by Oldfeller on 07/04/11 at 08:39:28

SoE, it makes putting an extra wide tire in place a little bit of fun too.

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?board=tech;action=display;num=1181496112

Justin, next time you take your rear tire off take a look -- the rubber acts as a rotational buffer only, it does not control radial position. Because your part number 15 ball bearing has radial clearance the pulley can wobble some, enough to make you think it is controlled by the rubber (because it can go over to hit it) but the pulley is pinned through the center of the bearing by the axle and the inner bearing race is trapped between the steel bushing/spacers that you are referring to above and that is really what controls the pulley (the rubber wears out of the way of this motion and no longer really plays against it any more)

And yes, the pulley moves around between accelerate and decelerate modes and it tracks on different edges accordingly.

+1 on Serowbot's and Justin's DON'T SWEAT THE BELT TRACKING -- you should live long enough to figure that one out completely as it changes all the time.

So, how do you adjust your rear wheel?

:D

http://partstream.arinet.com/Image?arik=s4v92978S7HV4vH84i3c&arib=SUZ&arim=KWqM_-gzZgQ6g3s7gG4P5w2&aria=hNetWUsCGWpDLPN6YXKqPQ2&ariz=1

Title: Re: Havng trouble with wheel alignment
Post by SoE on 07/04/11 at 09:58:57

Thanks for all the info, guys.