idge
Sunday Rider
Warm the tyres...
Posts: 5
|
Post by idge on May 22, 2006 12:37:03 GMT
Hi guys and gals, I recently had my Rex 1200s MOT'd and it was pointed out that the rear wheel alignment was far out, though the eccentric adjusters were in line. A quick visual check certainly seemed to confirm this, though I hadn't notice any unusual back end behaviour. I moved adjusters independently so the rear wheel looks aligned, but the adjusters are now 1 mark apart . Has anyone seen anything like this before I go to the trouble of measuring up the swinging arm to check it is true? Also, any advice on measuring up the swinging arm would be of great use. Thanks and happy biking, Idge.
|
|
|
Post by ZRX Gremlin on May 22, 2006 13:47:30 GMT
I take it she wasn't Mot'd by a kwak dealer then? Rear wheel alignment on Rex 1200 is meant to be about 12mm offset although I forget to which side. Kwak designed it this way which was why I asked if Kwak dealer Mot'd it. Difficult to actually notice a 12mm offset but becomes immediately obvious if you use the string method. Like I said it's designed that way so you shouldn't notice anything amiss. Don't forget that some 'Hardly Movinsons' with their belt drives have their rear wheels offset by a lot further than 12mm to accommodate the width of that belt. My advice is to move them back immediately. I made that mistake when my Rex was a lot newer and wrote off a perfectly serviceable chain in the process. Your rear wheel is now aligned with the front but you are now having to steer slightly to the left (i think) to get the bike to go in a straight line. Your chain and sprockets are now out of alignment which is where my problem arose, and if you sit and think about it, your rear wheel is no longer vertical either. Straight from the horses mouth: My Kwak dealer advises ensuring that the alignment marks are the same on both sides for the above reasons. If, come mot time they find that the rear wheel isn't offset 12mm to the right (remembered now, it's to cater for the drivetrain) then further examination of the swingarm will be in order. Get yer bike Mot'd somebody who knows what they're doing. If anybody has a Rex that fails an MOT for wheel alignment in this way, refer them to Kawasaki UK for guidance. If you really want to double check your alignment is correct (12mm) by the string method or similar, let me know and I'll ferret out the info for you.
|
|
|
Post by ZRX Gremlin on May 22, 2006 13:58:22 GMT
The above ONLY applies to the 1200, before everybody rushes out to their garages with bits of string.
The 1100 wheels are in perfect alignment.
For whatever reason, when the 1100 evolved into the 1200 and was given a wider rear wheel and swingarm, the rear wheel was offset to maintain chain alignment rather than rework any gearbox components.
|
|
|
Post by floog on May 22, 2006 14:42:31 GMT
GREM, As a complete technical dunderhead I bow to your obvious, and superior knowledge A question sir..... With the rear wheel 12mm adrift so to speak, are there any problems or disadvantages which arise from this set up? Rapid tyre/chain wear? I've never, to my knowledge had a bike with wheels that are not totally in line, so I am curious.... Thanks me old matey
|
|
|
Post by ZRX Gremlin on May 22, 2006 15:27:16 GMT
Excessive chain wear won't be an issue because this setup ensures that both front and rear sprockets are in alignment.
During the time my eccentrics were set up incorrectly, i.e. one mark adrift from one another, tyre wear increased. I'm pretty sure that the handling was improved once the setup was put right.
With the eccentrics incorrectly set to align the wheels with each other with the handlebars turned slightly to the left, riding in a straight line now has the effect of scrubbing the rear tyre, as it is being dragged along out of its true axis, trying to follow the front.
As Harley and other manufacturers of belt driven machines have proved, a little offset makes no difference, provided that both roadwheels are aligned parallel to the centreline of the bike but not nescessarily along the same centreline as each other.
I've seen this explained a little better but don't have the time to dig it out now.
|
|
|
Post by floog on May 22, 2006 17:05:31 GMT
Excessive chain wear won't be an issue because this setup ensures that both front and rear sprockets are in alignment. During the time my eccentrics were set up incorrectly, i.e. one mark adrift from one another, tyre wear increased. I'm pretty sure that the handling was improved once the setup was put right. With the eccentrics incorrectly set to align the wheels with each other with the handlebars turned slightly to the left, riding in a straight line now has the effect of scrubbing the rear tyre, as it is being dragged along out of its true axis, trying to follow the front. As Harley and other manufacturers of belt driven machines have proved, a little offset makes no difference, provided that both roadwheels are aligned parallel to the centreline of the bike but not nescessarily along the same centreline as each other. I've seen this explained a little better but don't have the time to dig it out now. Many thanks, spoken in words EVEN I can understand. If ever you need any technical questions answered on Bananas, I'm yer man....
|
|
|
Post by Les on May 22, 2006 20:23:06 GMT
If ever you need any technical questions answered on Bananas, I'm yer man.... As it happens, in conjunction with a post ive just posted, why is a banana a berry and not a fruit like what I thought it was
|
|
|
Post by floog on May 22, 2006 20:36:53 GMT
If ever you need any technical questions answered on Bananas, I'm yer man.... As it happens, in conjunction with a post ive just posted, why is a banana a berry and not a fruit like what I thought it was Ah, now.....Anyone who knows the FLOOG, knows that I am a complicated little MOFO..... I am in fact not a Berry.....I am a FALSE BERRY Only the female flower produces the Banana fruit, which is botanically speaking, a berry as each flower bears fruit only once. The seeds are in fact sterile and propogate their stocks from rhizomes. I am the product of a false berry with an inferior ovary. The Floral tube, stamens and Sepals each ripen along with the ovary, forming a false berry.....
|
|
|
Post by Les on May 22, 2006 20:39:17 GMT
|
|
|
Post by ZRX Gremlin on May 22, 2006 21:33:46 GMT
Serves ya right for asking, trucker. :mut:
|
|
idge
Sunday Rider
Warm the tyres...
Posts: 5
|
Post by idge on May 23, 2006 7:20:23 GMT
Thanks for all the incredibly quick and precise responses. I'll check everything over again and see what goes. Don't you just love places like this where you can talk to people who have been there and done that!
|
|
|
Post by lightspeed on May 23, 2006 17:14:35 GMT
There was a "many pages long" discussion/debate over on the OA about the pros and cons of aligning the rear wheel to the same track as the front wheel, aligning it with the chain/sprockets and whether the alignment marks were only added to confuse the issue. Got some folks pretty hot under the collar.
|
|
|
Post by ZRX Gremlin on May 23, 2006 18:20:41 GMT
Yes, I think I remember that. Wasn't that the thread that began with one of the members attempting to make a warranty claim from Kawasaki for a suspected bent frame on a new(ish) bike.
I learnt a lot about Rex wheel alignment from both that thread and subsequent conversations with my dealers.
:mut:
|
|
|
Post by lightspeed on May 23, 2006 19:23:35 GMT
Might well have been. It went on soo long that the origin is a bit "misty". It appears that at least one of the debaters, Vincent, seems to have been put off by it and hasn't been heard from much lately. That was too bad because he was a wealth of experience. Glad we've been able to avoid that kind of heated dialogue here.
|
|
dave
Sunday Rider
Posts: 32
|
Post by dave on Aug 29, 2006 20:49:54 GMT
|
|