Front Fork Problem

[Mike_H]

So, This is my first post here, So Hi everybody! Now, without further adiou, I have a 1982 GS650GL that I am working on restoring, in between riding days. Lately it has been leaking fork oil, so I thought I should change the seals. I started this last weekend, and the forks were very difficult to get out of the tree. I didn't really think anything of it, cuz the bike is 23 years old, and its probably the first time the tubes have been pulled. Well, turns out that the upper tubes are slightly bent, not enough to cause the forks to bind, but enough that the tube does not line up with the upper clamp of the triple tree when both forks are on the bike. My questions are:

1) It is normal to have some "bow" in the upper tubes? The runout is probably only .0625"

2) If not normal, is this OK? Do I just need to screw with the forks until I get the bow the right way? I looked in the Factory Service manual, and didn't see a spec for this.

As a side note, this probably explains why the bike pulled to the left with no steeering input from me. Thanks in advance for any info.

[beby99]

1) No..not normal.

2) No..not ok...What you can try is to seperate the tubes and lay the
bent tube an a flat surface. check for bowing. If there is you can bend
them back by leaving something very heavy on them for a few days.

[Mike_H]

I'm thinking, if I can find a hydraulic press, I can support the ends in V-Blocks, and put an indicator in the middle of the shaft. When I find the high spot, I will load the shaft, and put a little bend on it. Repeat until straight.

[Mike_H]

Ok, So I tried the press thing, and there is still a bow to the forks. I was too chicken to really put the coals to her, all I could see is the fork folding up right before my eyes. I was able to get a good measurement though. Looks like one of them is 0.020" out of whack, and the other is 0.035" bowed. Now this is taken in the middle of the fork, with both ends on a granite plate. Considering this is only 5-10 pieces of human hair, I think I'll be ok...

[duaneage]

Rotate the fork tubes in the triple tree before you tighten the clamps. you maye be able to straighten the front wheel out a bit. I did this trick before I found my parts bike with two perfectly straight fork tubes.

Tires will wear funny on this bike, I would look for a donor bike.

[SqDancerLynn1]

You should be able to put a metal straight edge on the fork tube & you should NOT see any gaps .020 .035 that is major