Problems with front forks and finger pain (rmz-250)

antoniberg98

Member
Dec 10, 2018
5
0
Hi guys,

I have a question regarding my front forks on my Suzuki RMZ-250 2013. Earlier this year I had a crash which resulted in a skewed front wheel. The front forks had gone out of alignment, so I followed the usual procedure and loosened the clamps in order to get the forks and front wheel aligned again. However, when I was about to take off the front wheel in order to change a flat (which also occured during the crash), I was unable to get the axel rod out. It was completely stuck, and I had to use considerable force before it finally came off. I noticed that the culprit of the stuck rod was one fork being slightly longer than the other. I did some research and found out, however, that this was normal and that sometimes one fork can be longer than the other. In order to mount the front wheel again, I actually had to loosen the clamps on the longer fork just to be able to get the axel rod back in and mount the wheel. Once the wheel was mounted, I applied pressure to the handle bars and tightened the clamps when both forks were on the same point.
I figured this was normal and continued using the bike without further consideration. After a few days on the track, I noticed that the front wheel did not spin freely any more as it did after I mounted it as well as before the crash. So I went ahead and took the wheel off again (same procedure as last time, had to loosen the clamps on one fork just to get the axel rod out), and I lubed the bearings as I thought this might be the culprit. This helped a bit, but after a few laps on the track the wheel once again stopped spinning freely. Additionally, I noticed some harsh pain in my fingers after riding a few times. I had never experienced this pain before. I googled it and found out that this might be related to my front forks not being adjusted correctly. This leads me to believe that I have an issue with my front forks/front wheel or something along those lines.

So my question is, do you think there is a problem with my front forks? Is it normal that one fork is longer than the other? I find it kinda weird that I have to loosen my clamps every time I want to take my wheel off just to get the axel rod out, considering that this has never been the case with my previous bikes. Also, do you think the finger pain I’m experiencing is related to all this?

I’m thinking about removing the forks and handing them into a shop so they can take a look at them. What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance
 

Okiewan

Admin
Dec 31, 1969
29,555
2,237
Texas
Have the forks done, if there's a problem, they will find it. I can't say I've ever experienced one fork being longer than the other, at least not so much that I ever noticed it / had difficulty with the axle.

Either way, I cant see the forks causing your finger pain, at least not the forks alone. It's more likely a combination of things... bar bend, grip size/type and grip (too much/tight).
 
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