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If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

  1. #1
    I'm mildly retarded. JeffL's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    How would one go about it? Lets just say I have a friend, and one time (the first time for him ever) he tightened his chain and then for the longest time afterwards was deadset the rear tire was not straight. Now lets just say this friend tightened the chain again tonite, along with a myriad of other tasks, and is still completely uncertain as to if his rear tire was straight.

    He cant use the stupid reference marks on the swingarm next to the axle nut, because the washer on one side is looser than a Roxybury hooker and doesnt give a very accurate reading. So say someone had to set up the rear wheel with limited tools and no decent reference marks on the swingarm, how might they go about it?



    In other news, this "friend" of mine replaced his main wiring harness tonite, changed the oil and filter, replaced his bent up shitty old shift lever with a brandy new OEM one, and rewired his turn signals using neat-o spade terminals for a better connection than what was there. He even bought a new lightbulb and installed it because his left lowbeam was burnt out. And tomorrow if his fuel filters come in the mail, hes going to replace the fuel filter, synch the carbs, do a coolant flush, and maybe just maybe flush the brake lines, but probably not.

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  2. #2
    Senior Member LiononaLeash's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    to get it "ghetto" close:

    put a straight edge(metal scale or ruler) on the side of the (clean)sprocket. line up the axle so the straight edge follows the chain forward towards the front sprocket.

    The edge should follow the chain at the same distance in from the edge of the links for the whole distance that you can reach with your straight edge.

    There are actual tools made to do this. I think Tabby has one that uses the swingarm pivot as a gauge for squaring the axle to the pivot axis.

    I think there are others that use points on the frame to help makes sure the wheel is straight. I bet Peter Kates would know.

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  3. #3
    Resident Turkey Tricky Mike's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    Does it turn when you wheelie it?

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  4. #4
    I'm mildly retarded. JeffL's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    I like the straight-edge idea, probably alot closer than how my "friend" just did it. We'll give that a shot and see if that helps with the headshake "he's" been getting.

    And.........I cant wheelie yet, I'm just a NOOBIE

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  5. #5
    Senior Member LiononaLeash's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    If you have a worn front tire. That's one thing that can cause it. one of about a million things.. But its a start.

    If you go along... ahem... I mean... if your friend goes along... can you let go of the bars and it won't shake? Or will a resonance start and increase if you let it?

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  6. #6
    I'm mildly retarded. JeffL's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    Wierd thing. if I let go of the bars between about 4000 and 6500rpms, it nearly instantly starts wobbing the front end, once the rpms (in all gears) drops below 4000rpm it stops the wobbing. Its a pretty steady wobble, never really getting worse or better. And if I let go with it up in the RPM's, once it hits the 6000-6500rpm mark again, it will wobble its way down to 4k where it smooths out again.

    :shrug:


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  7. #7
    Senior Member LiononaLeash's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    tire imbalance and/or worn tire(s) is my first guess... but that's all I can offer.

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  8. #8
    I'm mildly retarded. JeffL's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    Gobs of tread left on both the front and rear, might end up having them both replaced and balanced this winter anyways. We'll see how it goes next year.

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  9. #9
    Super Moderator OreoGaborio's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    so it doesn't oscilate w/ speed it oscilates w/ RPM's? Sounds like it's just a harmonic imbalance w/ the engine.... If it's not a biiig wobble don't worry bout it.

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    Don't bother me! R7's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    go buy yourself a role of string, hard to really explain but tie it to the rear tire and project it out to the front wheel (the string must touch the sidewall of the rear tire at 2 points on each side) then measure the distance from the string to the front wheel on both sides, it should be equal measurements

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  11. #11
    Lost in my own mind... 01YZF6's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    you can always measure from the swingarm Pivot center to the rear axle nut center on both sides...

    never had an issue with it....

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  12. #12
    Freestyle Street Rider Brian_C6's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    use your good eye.... it doesn't need to be perfect anyway.

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  13. #13
    Lifer ZX-12R's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    Originally posted by R7
    go buy yourself a role of string, hard to really explain but tie it to the rear tire and project it out to the front wheel (the string must touch the sidewall of the rear tire at 2 points on each side) then measure the distance from the string to the front wheel on both sides, it should be equal measurements
    That is exactly what I do. Here is a link with pictures that shows you how the string method works.

    http://www.yamahafz1oa.com/sportryde...ntmethod.shtml

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  14. #14
    Lifer ZX-12R's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    Originally posted by 01YZF6
    you can always measure from the swingarm Pivot center to the rear axle nut center on both sides...

    never had an issue with it....
    That process aligns your rear wheel with the swingarm, not the front wheel. Properly aligned motorcycles have the centerline of the front and rear wheels in the same plane. Welding during the manufacturing process can slightly twist and warp the frame enough to move the swing arm out of alignment with the front wheel. This is also the reason why the alignment marks on the swingarm are not always accurate.

    You can however string your bike for proper alignment and double check the swingarm nut to axle nut distances and if both the figures say the bike is aligned, then you can save yourself a bunch of time in the future by measuring the swingarm axle nut distances. It should be noted that through normal usage of the bike, it is possible that the swingarm can fall out of true alignment with the front wheel making this method inaccurate. The string method will always give you a true alignment.

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  15. #15
    I'm mildly retarded. JeffL's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    Thanks for the info guys. Truly appreciated.

    Now I know and can do it correctly.

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  16. #16
    Lifer richw's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    jeff

    there should be nothing loose back there

    if there are loose parts something is fcked
    and sounds dangerous

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  17. #17
    I'm mildly retarded. JeffL's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    Originally posted by richw
    jeff

    there should be nothing loose back there

    if there are loose parts something is fcked
    and sounds dangerous
    Nothings loose, everything is torqued to spec. I just get some mild headshake at certain rpms feeding back through the handlebars. Whether its associated with a mis-aligned rear, I dont know, I'll just have to double check the rear alignment and experiment from there.

    I saw in my service manual it might be the bearings in the steering head are loose and it can be fixed by retightening/torquing it back down, but I'll wait and see. I'll either run out of time to run it, or I'll put new tires on it this winter and it will be good to go in the spring.

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  18. #18
    Super Moderator OreoGaborio's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    Originally posted by OreoGaborio
    so it doesn't oscilate w/ speed it oscilates w/ RPM's? Sounds like it's just a harmonic imbalance w/ the engine.... If it's not a biiig wobble don't worry bout it.

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  19. #19
    Soul Rider Paul_E_D's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    It could easily just be a tire profile issue. My duc will do something very similar with Dunlops mounted, but not with other brands.

    Do check the steering head bearing torque though. Read the manual...

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  20. #20
    I'm mildly retarded. JeffL's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    Hey, whats the worst that could happen? I go into a horrific tank-slapper and highside? I mean, other than that......

    Its really not that bad, just annoying enough to make me want fix/alleviate it.

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  21. #21
    Lost in my own mind... 01YZF6's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    Jeff, on your bike the easiest way to check the steering head bearing is to simply have someone sit on it ( to keep it stable )
    and stand in front of it with the wheel straight....

    then grab both grips and push and pull it, if you FEEL
    the bars move freely even a tiny bit then you need to tighten it or replace it...


    sort of the same effect as a bmx or other bicycle when the head nut breaks loose between the forks and the gooseneck....

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  22. #22
    I'm mildly retarded. JeffL's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    Originally posted by 01YZF6
    Jeff, on your bike the easiest way to check the steering head bearing is to simply have someone sit on it ( to keep it stable )
    and stand in front of it with the wheel straight....

    then grab both grips and push and pull it, if you FEEL
    the bars move freely even a tiny bit then you need to tighten it or replace it...


    sort of the same effect as a bmx or other bicycle when the head nut breaks loose between the forks and the gooseneck....

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  23. #23
    Super Moderator OreoGaborio's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    or even easier.... get on the bike, roll back, hit the front brakes... roll forward, hit the front brakes.... does the same thing.

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  24. #24
    First name on the shit list.... SVRACER01's Avatar
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    If "someone" needed to straighten their rear tire.......

    do a big standup and while your up there move bars side to side (like steering and see they feel notchy and then push and pull forward and back and see if you feel any movement or "knocking". then chop the throttle and jam on the rear brake at the same time and that should realign everything

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  25. #25
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    wobble

    I have the same shaking problem. Mine started about 200 miles before I replaced the front tire. I have 6950 miles on my 2004 ZX-12R. I had the dealer replace both tires at 6700 miles but I still have that wobble. (Dunlop208ZRs)It only happens sometimes though. When I am at lower RPMS i can take my hands off and sometimes it doesn't wobble. I need advice too. I took it back to the dealer and he rebalanced the front tire but it still wobbles. Before I did notice that it took alot more counterweights on the front rim for the new tire to balance than the original tire . I didn't notice how many ounces but I saw about 7-8 times as much lead for the new tire. The service tech said that some weight fell og so he put even more weight on the front rim. I don't think that he knows what he is doing. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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