wheel not centered inbetween forks

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wizard69

Member

May 3, 2001

251

0

• Mar 5, 2004

• #1

I am pytiing my 02 kx back togetther after stripiing it down.when I put my front forks on I looked straight down the wheel and it doesn't sit centered between the forks there is probably 3/4 of an inch differance between the gaps.why is this happening?I can't think of anything I could have done to do this

 

Patman

Pantless Wonder

LIFETIME SPONSOR

Dec 26, 1999

19,765

1

• Mar 5, 2004

• #2

Did you put all the piece back together the way they came off? A space misplaced or located incorrectly perhaps? You did leave the axle pinch bolts a little loose and bounce the fork a bit right? You could check an online parts fiche to be sure you put all the pieces in the correct places.

Best tool you can have is a factory manual for your bike. They ain't cheap but they are worth every penny.

 

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wizard69

Member

May 3, 2001

251

0

• Mar 7, 2004

• Thread starter
• #3

I didn't take the wheel off when I took the forks off I just unbolted the triple clamps and pulled the forks out.I have a factory manual but it doesn't say anything about the space being different and I didn't notice it before

 

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BlazinBoy

Member

Feb 13, 2004

35

0

• Mar 8, 2004

• #4

Did you pull the front forks off with the bottom triple clamp still attached or did you just pull the tubes out of both clamps with wheel attached? I would take the front wheel off, loosen your fork tubes in the clamps and just reset everything.

 

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wizard69

Member

May 3, 2001

251

0

• Mar 8, 2004

• Thread starter
• #5

ya I will try that i just don't understand how my caliper can line up with the disc since its so far off.this is confusing.

 

Reesknight

~SPONSOR~

Oct 31, 2002

942

0

• Mar 8, 2004

• #6

Are you looking at the distance between each fork leg and the tire or the fork legs and the hub? What are you looking at to say its off center? Maybe the missing or extra spacer is on the right side so your caliper will still line up. I bet your forks are binding up too.

 

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wizard69

Member

May 3, 2001

251

0

• Mar 8, 2004

• Thread starter
• #7

I am looking at the tire and it it closer to the fork leg on one side.I tried loosening everything but that didn't help.I will take it apart to see if there is a wrong spacer in there.but I didn't have the wheel off the forks at all.someone please help i want to ride.why would my forks be binding?

 

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billtx

~SPONSOR~

Dec 22, 2002

221

0

• Mar 8, 2004

• #8

try swapping the spacers on the axle that go between the fork and the hub

 

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TravisP

Member

Sep 11, 2003

30

0

• Mar 21, 2004

• #9

if i am understanding you correctly the tire is closer to one fork than the other? that is normal

 

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BJAWES

Member

Mar 22, 2004

59

0

• Mar 23, 2004

• #10

I doubt that is normal? did you check to see if you have the spacers on the correct sides? sometimes they use two different sizes to compensate for disc and caliper assembly. Try switching the two spacers from side to side. hope this helps- bjawes

 

S

SULLY

Member

Apr 17, 2002

147

0

• Mar 25, 2004

• #11

Hang on, you say you didn't take the wheel off, but go on to say that the caliper will not align with the disk???,now I'm confused.
I would say sit back, at least 8 feet away from it, have a cup of tea and take good long look at what you have done. Sounds to me like you have a fork leg swiveled round the wrong way or something??.
Whatever you have done , one thing is for sure - you will laugh at it one day

 

B

BJAWES

Member

Mar 22, 2004

59

0

• Mar 25, 2004

• #12

Yes, sorry about missing the part about not taking the wheel off. I just read your first comment about wheel alignment, sully has a good point. again sorry- bjawes

 

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DougRoost

~SPONSOR~

May 3, 2001

720

0

• Mar 25, 2004

• #13

Patman gave you some great advice. Go to buykawasaki.com, enter your serial number (or year and model) and look at the online exploded parts list for the front end. This tool is a wonderful thing for Kawi owners. Since you didn't remove the wheel I can't see how the spacer would have gotten swapped to the other side. But with the axle bolt and pinch bolts tight, I can see how things could bind or be off-center when you put the fork tubes in.

So after checking that everything is in the right place, loosen those axle components and bounce the front end a couple times to let things settle to the right places and line up. Also make sure you don't overtighten the bottom triple clamp pinch bolts (18 lb-ft. if I recall correctly, which isn't much) else you'll cause binding inside your forks.