1983 GS650G Shaft Drive Rear Wheel Alignment / Offset

[JonnyC]

Thanks for the advice Steve. Something is definitely up. Pivot point is slightly lower on the right side compared to the left (center stand might not put it perfectly parallel to the ground), and the rear axle is slightly higher on the right side compared to the left, for a difference of about 3mm. Going to head across town to get the swingarm, see if that will make a difference. Otherwise my frame is messed up.

I'll get another pic now that I centered the swingarm. The offset is obvious.

Also, too much crap gets in the way (center stand, exhaust) for me to do an accurate wheel alignment. I'll put it on the side stand later to do the measurement.

EDIT: Also, I threw a level on the front and rear tires vertically and they seemed to match up, so there isn't an obvious cant to the rear wheel.

[nejeff]

Nope. The wheel goes all the way to the left, against the final drive, then a spacer to get the caliper in the right place, then another spacer to fill in what the caliper doesn't. There are no screw adjusters on the ends like you have on your chain-driven bikes.

Those adjusters are there to get the proper amount of slack in the chain. With a shaft drive, you want to keep the axle centered in the hub, so that is where the hole is machined, that is where it STAYS.

That is one of the reasons that a shafty is so much easier when it comes to rear wheel removal/replacement.

.

Also the OP needs to consider there is a spacer in the hub on the left side, it's about 2 1/2 long or so and can fall out, if it's not there that can make it look goofy. Make sure you have that in there properly. My son did took his rear off to have a new tire fitted and put it back together without it, made life interesting, never did find that spacer and had to get another one

[JonnyC]

Also the OP needs to consider there is a spacer in the hub on the left side

You mean a spacer in the hub of the wheel between the two wheel bearings? It's in there. If there was anything to space the left side, it would cause the shaft drive to be spaced out from the wheel, which wouldn't be right either. Right?

[nejeff]

You mean a spacer in the hub of the wheel between the two wheel bearings? It's in there. If there was anything to space the left side, it would cause the shaft drive to be spaced out from the wheel, which wouldn't be right either. Right?

Check out this


spacer.jpg

[BigD_83]

Check out this


[ATTACH=CONFIG]41453[/ATTACH]

Perhaps you are thinking the way I was, that parts #5 and #7 could be swapped around, causing the wheel to be pushed off to the right a little bit? Looking at your diagram, it seems that's not possible without completely breaking down the hub.

[JonnyC]

Well it wasn't the swingarm. But for $18 I got a boot that wasn't torn, and the tapered bearing races are in better condition. The guy had some pretty nice bikes too...

http://www.jeffsmotorcycleparts.com/page05.html

I don't know much about classic bikes, but he has a 1974 Suzuki GT750 and 1975 Suzuki RE5 Rotary.

Anyways, this is with the swingarm centered. I'm just going to toss this thing together and ride it.

[posplayr]

I see you put a sting on the back tire, were you able to confirm if the front was in line?
You are correct at least that the wheel can be very offset and still be reliable. The point of the string test is to just confirm that the bike is aligned despite the appearance.

[JonnyC]

The string method was frustrating me, so I just eyeballed it. Took me about 10 minutes of lying on the ground and moving the front wheel, but it looks to be pretty spot on. I'm just going to try to stop worrying about this and get the seat done so I can take it for a spin. Got my Carbtune today too so I'll be able to sync the carbs.

Thanks for the advice guys!

[posplayr]

FYI, next time

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?147705-Wheel-Alignments&highlight=wheel+alignment