spacer loose on rh font wheel

[Anonymous]

It is so good to have the forum back up. i was goig trhough withdrawals...

I was changing my fork seals adn all went well. When I put the front wheel back on there is some play in the front wheel. It looks like the spacer on the right hand side (as you're facing the front of the bike) is loose. It will actually move about 2 mm if you tip the wheel. This results in some instability when going slow on soft dirt roads.

So my question is how do I tighten this up. I do not have any spare parts. The spacer fits between the wheel and the fork. Have I put it in backwards? It is T shaped. the larger end fits in the well of the wheel. It doesn't look like it can go any other way. It just does not fit tight. It's like it is the wrong size for the well.

Thanks for th help.

[Anonymous]

Check for bent forks.

Keep everything in place, support the bike with the front wheel off the ground, loosen the axle nut and one set of triple clamp bolts, and revolve the upper fork tube within the triple clamp. Does your mysterious 'extra clearance' change? Repeat with the other fork leg.

[KW]

Check for bent forks.

Keep everything in place, support the bike with the front wheel off the ground, loosen the axle nut and one set of triple clamp bolts, and revolve the upper fork tube within the triple clamp. Does your mysterious 'extra clearance' change? Repeat with the other fork leg.

I had a similar problem as when I tightened my forks/wheel the forks locked up! Sure enough bent forks. I turned them round 180 degrees and had the same loose spacer problem.

[Anonymous]

not bent forks

I tried yoru suggestion of rotating the forks one at a time. It did not make a difference. The same space is present no matter what the oreintation of the forks.

I guess that is partly good news. At least I don't have bent forks. But the question remains. What else could it be? Does that spacer have any bearings associated with it?

This whole thing started when I got my tire changed. It's like some piece is missing or not where it should be. I know it will only get worse if I ride on it. Please help.

[redliner1973]

Squeeze the forks towards each other slightly enough to take up the clearance - provided you have ALL the parts installed in the axle setup. I had to do this with mine and has been well ever since.

[Anonymous]

how do you squeeze the forks?

So how exactly would I squeeze the forks together? They seem pretty strong. Would I use a clamp? 2 large men?

[KW]

Slacken the clamps at the bottom of the forks, tighten your wheel spindle bolt fully then retighten the clamp bolts.

[Anonymous]

There should be a piece of pipe inside the wheel and inbetween the wheel bearings. Did you have a bearing fall out? This spacer sets the width of the rim on the axle and prevents sideload on the bearings. Perhaps you should check the parts diagram for your bike on bikebandit.com

Steve

[Anonymous]

Squeeze the forks towards each other slightly enough to take up the clearance

The only problem with this is that it will introduce a bunch of stction to the forks and make the suspension action poor to terrible. The reason for the change really has to be sorted properly. Forks/axles/spacers.etc. should go together without forcing anything to line up. If not, something is wrong and needs to be corrected.

Mark

[Anonymous]

Squeeze the forks towards each other slightly enough to take up the clearance

The only problem with this is that it will introduce a bunch of stction to the forks and make the suspension action poor to terrible. The reason for the change really has to be sorted properly. Forks/axles/spacers.etc. should go together without forcing anything to line up. If not, something is wrong and needs to be corrected.

Mark

Surely I had to do the same, and no, mine didn't stick, but I am talking about 1/16th to an 1/8th gap too.

Both my 81 GS750 (sold) & my 81 GS1100 (in garge) had this occur, neither has ever been down.

Peace,
Ron