fork alignment help

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cgguy09
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Posts: 104
Joined: Thu May 08, 2014 7:54 pm

fork alignment help

Post by cgguy09 »

Hey team,
I came across a thread in the Rockster forum concerning fork alignment and I was hoping you guys would be able to expound on what I've read and found.

In short, I noticed some "pulling" or "sucking" in the handle bars while moving at a slow bell on my 04' Rockster. It occurred after I got new tires put on my bike and I chocked it up to a bad tire. BMW Seattle noticed the same feeling and replaced the tire and recommended I keep the PSI higher as that lessened the symptoms.

Then, I found this thread in the Rockster forum, did the little rain dance with the front fork, and like magic, it was better! I still notice a little falling in the corners though but only at the extreme. Thus, I'm looking to get the fork alignment perfect.

Here is what I've done:
install the wheel, leave the axle, axle pinch bolts, lower triple pinch bolts and brake caliper bolts loose.
Put it up on the center stand, Spin the wheel and let the calipers find their center.
Take it off the center stand. On a flat surface pump the front end up and down a bunch of times.
While still on the ground, Tightened the following in this order: the axle, the axle pinch bolts, caliper bolts, upper pinch bolts.

In the Rockster forum, a gent described using a piece of glass to more perfectly align the front fork. But it was totally lost on me. Can anyone help me understand what he's proposing to do? Or if anyone else has any advice, I'm all ears.


"Tighten the upper pinch bolts enough so the forks won't drop when you put the bike on the stand
put the bike on the center stand put an appropriately sized piece of glass on the front axle, hold it in the center with one finger loosely but enough so it doesn't move tap each corner of the glass. You'll likely get a little noise as the glass taps against the metal on two diagonal "corners." tap the bottom of the fork leg on the appropriate side with a big rubber mallet or a hammer + a short 2x4. Once the glass is completely flush torque the lower triple pinch bolts."

Thanks team!

-cFogs


morgan9283 wrote: I agree with the exception that the Clymer manual doesn't go quite far enough: you can't tighten the axle on the rockster without the wheel in place. I initially just fitted the axle and tightened the lower triple which got it close but it was still slightly misaligned: I could feel it in the bars but mostly could see it by comparing the alignment of the lower fork legs between the top corners of the tank.

Ultimately I got it perfectly straight with this process:
install the wheel, leave the axle, axle pinch bolts, lower triple pinch bolts and brake caliper bolts loose.
On a flat surface pump the front end up and down a bunch of times.
Ideally get a helper to balance the bike in place so everything stays aligned.
tighten, in this order the axle, the axle pinch bolts and caliper bolts.
Tighten the upper pinch bolts enough so the forks won't drop when you put the bike on the stand
put the bike on the center stand
put an appropriately sized piece of glass on the front axle, hold it in the center with one finger loosely but enough so it doesn't move
tap each corner of the glass. You'll likely get a little noise as the glass taps against the metal on two diagonal "corners."
tap the bottom of the fork leg on the appropriate side with a big rubber mallet or a hammer + a short 2x4.
Once the glass is completely flush torque the lower triple pinch bolts.

I just returned from nearly 2000 miles in Appalachia and the bike performed flawlessly: it's dead straight.

These links were helpful, in part making me feel less crazy for struggling to get my front end aligned:
http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/r ... nt.128713/
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/bmw-r110 ... nique.html

-morgan
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