SuzukiSavage.com - Rear Axle

Fast 650

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Re: Rear Axle - right side
Reply #15 - 09/04/17 at 10:16:12

Armen wrote on 09/04/17 at 07:09:50:

FWIW:
The way I do belt adjustment:
Jack under the bike. Rear wheel free to spin.
Get the slack pretty close.
Play with the adjusters so that the belt is fairly centered.
Turn the adjusters so that as the wheel is rotated, the belt slowly migrates to the outer (cast in) shoulder. Not so much that it is scraping against the edge.
Double check the belt slack.
Torque the axle nut.
Recheck the slack.

That also allows you to perform another often overlooked task. Centering the brake shoes. Have someone apply the rear brake while the wheel is spinning. That will allow the shoes to center themselves in the drum. Then tighten the axle while the brake is still applied. On some bikes it makes little difference, while others will have a marked improvement in brake feel.

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Armen

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Re: Rear Axle - right side
Reply #16 - 09/04/17 at 13:10:48

Hmm, Fast,
Never thought about that. Not sure how if the drum rotates on the axle, that it would make any difference. Have to try it.
Actually, nut on the right is for another reason.
Most people tightening the rear axle nut will be using a wrench or torque wrench that is fairly long, so they'll be turning it above the nut so as not to hit the ground.
If the axle nut is on the left, and the wrench is at 12 o'clock, as the nut is tightened, the axle can migrate toward the back of the bike as you tighten. This will change the belt or chain tension.
I've watched people redo the chain slack a half dozen times wondering why it changes every time they tighten the axle nut. 99% of the time flopping the axle so that the nut is on the right side makes the problem go away. Tightening the axle nut works the axle against the adjuster, which holds it in place.

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Fast 650

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Re: Rear Axle - right side
Reply #17 - 09/04/17 at 23:28:15

It made enough difference on a Honda that I used to have, that if you even loosened the axle nut and tightened it again with no other changes, I could feel the difference in braking. My other bikes, I could barely tell any difference.I think it depends on how stable the shoes remain as the cam spreads the shoes. If they have a bit of wobble as they spread, centering them allows the shoes to align to the drum for the most contact surface.

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Armen Serious Thumper Offline Half-Witted Wrench-Jockey from Jersey Posts: 1452	Re: Rear Axle - right side Reply #18 - 09/05/17 at 02:44:37 Thanks Fast. I'll try it.
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Jaygee YaBB Newbies Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 3	Re: Rear Axle - right side Reply #19 - 09/05/17 at 09:41:35 My axle is now set to the same marks on both sides and belt is now running perfectly centred. Squeal is gone! Thank you - this forum is fantastic!
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Armen Serious Thumper Offline Half-Witted Wrench-Jockey from Jersey Posts: 1452	Re: Rear Axle - right side Reply #20 - 09/05/17 at 17:02:43 Nice! Gung Ho Jaygee!
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piedmontbuckeye Senior Member Offline Go Bucks! Posts: 496 Easley, SC Gender:	Re: Rear Axle - right side Reply #21 - 09/08/17 at 12:36:30 Jaygee wrote on 09/05/17 at 09:41:35: My axle is now set to the same marks on both sides and belt is now running perfectly centred. Squeal is gone! Thank you - this forum is fantastic! That's the way it is supposed to work!
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Jdvt600

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Re: Rear Axle - right side
Reply #22 - 07/13/20 at 21:04:10

Armen wrote on 09/04/17 at 13:10:48:

Actually, nut on the right is for another reason.
Most people tightening the rear axle nut will be using a wrench or torque wrench that is fairly long, so they'll be turning it above the nut so as not to hit the ground.
If the axle nut is on the left, and the wrench is at 12 o'clock, as the nut is tightened, the axle can migrate toward the back of the bike as you tighten. This will change the belt or chain tension.
I've watched people redo the chain slack a half dozen times wondering why it changes every time they tighten the axle nut. 99% of the time flopping the axle so that the nut is on the right side makes the problem go away. Tightening the axle nut works the axle against the adjuster, which holds it in place.

@Armen, I have been battling this issue today. You've just confirmed my suspicion. Tomorrow I will flip the axle and put the nut on the right side.

I have aligned the wheel 4 or 5 times previously with no problem, until today. I might not get sleep tonight because I am so excited to have potentially solved the mystery! What a pita this was today!

Before anyone asks, I have done the double wide spacer mod and am running the Kawasaki pulley. I think I may have read every axle
alignment post on the forum today and tried each alignment "technique" twice. Hopefully this post helps the next person.

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srinath

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Re: Rear Axle - right side
Reply #23 - 07/14/20 at 06:25:10

On some bikes like my GS500 I prefer to run the axle nut to the right - so if you crash it hard, it is protected by the exhaust. Cos if you install it the way it was from the factory and was on the left, and you partially damage it in a crash, you will ahve a real tough time taking it off.
But the savage has the shock on the left protecting it and exhaust and shock on the right.
Cool.
Srinath.

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Armen Serious Thumper Offline Half-Witted Wrench-Jockey from Jersey Posts: 1452	Re: Rear Axle - right side Reply #24 - 07/14/20 at 06:26:13 JDV, Let us know how it works out!
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ohiomoto Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 2778	Re: Rear Axle - right side Reply #25 - 07/14/20 at 14:39:33 I put something like a wrench or rag in the belt and rotate the wheel until it binds before I tighten the axle. Works for me.
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Jdvt600

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Re: Rear Axle - right side
Reply #26 - 07/14/20 at 16:59:54

Okay well I just finished. Long story short, after flipping the axle bolt to the right side the belt still makes a loud whine or whir and pulls to the left while riding. After riding, I put it back on the lift and rotated the wheel forward and reverse, without touching the adjusters or the axle nut. Bam! The belt tracks back into the center. Now, I didn't use the scientific method yesterday, it's possible and likely that the belt would have tracked to the center if I rotated it. I'm pretty sure though that I did, and it was sticking to the left.

I'm of the same mind as @Serowbot, if axle is square who cares about the belt. Let it live. But the whirring sound was pretty loud and more noticeable then I've heard before. I noticed it whirring yesterday while trying to tune the carb... I also wasn't wearing a helmet. 👀 It's possible the lack of helmet, combined with the high temp of 107 yesterday (potentially causing the belt to move outside even more than normal temps) is what drew my attention. It's also possible that a few weeks ago I flipped the belt (didn't mark it). But the teeth look evenly worn and I'm not sure flipping the belt would cause it to whir like it is.

Yesterday, after aligning and torquing, the belt would still pull to the outside, on a lift, off the lift, on the road, riding in a box, with a fox, with a mouse, in a house. here or there, anywhere.

So, for now, I'm chalking it up to high heat and inadvertent movement during torque. At least the belt tracks to the center on a lift and measures evenly to pivot point of the swing arm. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Armen Serious Thumper Offline Half-Witted Wrench-Jockey from Jersey Posts: 1452	Re: Rear Axle - right side Reply #27 - 07/14/20 at 19:02:23 Maybe put a straightedge along the outer edge of the rear pulley and see how it lines up to the front one?
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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Rear Axle - right side Reply #28 - 07/14/20 at 19:37:08 A light piece of strong twine. Under the belt on front pulley, roll to front. Work it back to rear pulley Adjust it in and out so it just exactly rests touching both sides of the front pulley and see how it lines up on the rear
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verslagen1 YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline Where there's a will, I want to be in it. Posts: 28890 L.A. California Gender:	Re: Rear Axle - right side Reply #29 - 07/14/20 at 20:56:41 probably your pulley bearing is worn out or you assembled something wrong. check out the double bearing mod.
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