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Front end

Discussion in 'Motorcycle Tech Talk' started by skull2007, May 10, 2008.

  1. skull2007

    skull2007 Active Member

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    should the front tire be centered in the middle of the for tubes. about an 1/8" off. seems that the brake calp. is slimed to make up the difference:confused:
  2. SPORSTERBOY

    SPORSTERBOY New Member

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    Depends On The Hub Of Your Rim, The Tire Is Center, The Spacers Could Be Differn't Sizes, My Stock 21" Spoke Took Even Sized Spacers On Both Sides, If You Put It On The Axle With Out Spacers You Can Center The Tire And Measure Your Spacer Differnce If Any. If Your Switching From A Narrow Glide To Mid Or Wide, The Brake Caliper Will Require Spacers Also. Once You Get Your Tire Center, You Can Put The Caliper On The Roter And Measure The Spacer Difference.
  3. chucktx

    chucktx Moderator Staff Member

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    yes the tire/rim should be centered within the tubes..................:)
  4. skull2007

    skull2007 Active Member

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    sounds like i'll to needing some axle spacers
  5. skull2007

    skull2007 Active Member

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    it's worse then i thought, have 2 7/8" on one side and 3 9/16 ' on the other. it's one of those hidded axles, ever messed with one of those:confused:
  6. Art_NJr

    Art_NJr New Member

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    I'm not familiar with which axle you're referring to, but there are a couple things I can tell you which should help - one is that 2 independent shop owners I've dealt with keep a whole bunch of axle spacers on hand because wheels being off-center is such a common problem. I can't speak for any other shop, but if those 2 guys know about the problem, it's reasonable to assume every other experienced wrench does too.

    The other is that I had to have some spacers made for a custom application & there's a little machine shop not 5 minutes from my house. I took the bike over there & measuring from it, he made the spacers I needed on his lathe in about 10 minutes - charged me like $15. Little shops like that often don't advertise 'cause they don't need to, but if you ask around, I'll bet you find one in your area.
  7. skull2007

    skull2007 Active Member

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    need to move it about 1/4'' which will make it 3 5/16 on the left and 3 1/8 on the right. is that close enough you think
  8. Art_NJr

    Art_NJr New Member

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    There is no such thing as "close enough" & dealing with axle spacers I'll measure to the thousandth of an inch. The difference you're talking about might as well be a mile. And since machine shops can make spacers so quickly, easily & inexpensively, it makes no sense to me to just throw a couple on that are somewhere in the ballpark.

    Having both wheels centered & tracking exactly the same makes a world of difference in handling, believe me. One place I used to go to had 2 long strips of "angle iron" bolted to the floor *exactly* parallel with each other - so you could roll a bike between them, stand it up straight, hold the handlebar straight & measure to see if the front & rear tires were on the *exact* same vertical plane. If not, get that coffee can of axle spacers off the shelf over there & let's go to work. Yes it is that important.
  9. SPORSTERBOY

    SPORSTERBOY New Member

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    3/16 Sound To Be Still A Little Much When You Can Split That Down To Within A 1/16, I Have A Hidden Axle On Mine Also, With Mine I Think I Was At 2 7/8 On Each Side, With The 21" Stock, You Could Also Measure The Distance Between The Fork Legs With The Tire Off, Take Some Calipers, Measure Through The Hub End To End, Or Some Thing You Can Put Through And Mark It, Then Read With A Tape. Subtract That From The Other Measurment, And There Is Your Distance, Then You Can Take About Another 1/4 A 1/8 From Each Side To Make Sure You Have Some Play In The Leggs To Tighten Up The Axle Bolt. The Caliper Placement Is Dependent On Where Your Tire Is Sitting, If Your Going With A Wider Front End You Will Have To Space The Caliper Off The Fork Leg.
  10. skull2007

    skull2007 Active Member

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    i'm starting to wonder if maybe i should turn the axle around. so theses hidden type axels can be worked with? i really need to get that wheel off and look things over good. and re-read your posts a couple of times:witsend:
  11. skull2007

    skull2007 Active Member

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    your're dead on. i have a 1" on one side and 1 1/2" on the other. what i nedd is 1 1/4 " on each side:devil:
  12. skull2007

    skull2007 Active Member

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    wel that got it centered within thousands:p . now the damn rotors to far over for the caliper to line up properly:gah: anything like "brake rotor re-location kits"? or do i need to take the hub down:witsend:
  13. Art_NJr

    Art_NJr New Member

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    Doing my "Foghorn Leghorn" impression, "Son, I say son - didn't I tell ya to go find a local machine shop? Y'know them good ol' boys are pretty darn good @ making stuff like that & you don't want one of them-there mail-order things."

    Hope you got a laugh & no disrespect is intended, but I hope I made the point - somebody probably not 10 minutes away can get you squared away by making spacers or whatever else is needed to get everything lined up. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt - but you can too.
  14. skull2007

    skull2007 Active Member

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    as a matter of fact i ran into one thats just opening he has a cnc machine and is going into making custom bike wheels so i'll see if he can skinny the hub a bit:eek: what luck
  15. SPORSTERBOY

    SPORSTERBOY New Member

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    ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS MAKE OR GET SPACERS TO PUT YOUR CALIPER OUT FURTHER, DEPENDING ON HOW FAR YOU NEED TO GO, SINCE YOU'VE NEVER SAID WHAT KINDA FRONT END YOU HAD AND WENT TO. THINKING THAT ITS A WG. ANYWAY IF YOU SIT YOUR CALIPER ON YOUR ROTER, YOU CAN MEASURE THE DISTENCE TO THE BOLT HOLE, THE BOLT SHOULD BE A 5/16 I BELIEVE SO YOU WILL HAVE TO GET LONGER BOLTS ALSO, PROBLEM I HAD WAS THAT MY NEW FORK LEG MOUNTING HOLES WHERE WIDER CENTER TO CENTER THAN MY CALIPER MOUNTING HOLES, SO I HAVE TO MAKE A SPEACIAL BRACKET, OR GET A NEW CALIPER, I JUST LEFT IT OFF:roflmao: DON'T FORGET THAT YOUR OLD FENDER PROB WON'T SIT ON RIGHT EITHER, SO I CAN GIVE YOU A EASY FIX FOR THAT ALSO IF YOU NEED IT.
  16. hotroadking

    hotroadking Super Moderator Staff Member

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    I wouldn't turn down the hub,

    I agree get spacers made for the caliper, my 6 piston PM's on the front require spacers and shims to line them up in the center of the rotor perfectly,

    albiet one tiny thin shim does the trick the spacers are maybe 3/8's or so thick and it shims the caliper just fine.

    Easier to make a couple of small spacers at that machine shop,

    If he fubars the wheel it could get expensive. JMO
  17. skull2007

    skull2007 Active Member

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    problem is that the disk is too far out towards the slider, slims would make it worse. need to have the hub taken down (where the disk bolts on) by around 1/4 - 5/16, so i have some room to play with. the wheel still needs to go that way by as much as?.10. i want that wheel within a couple thousands. it's a WG front end on a hertitage:banghead:
  18. skull2007

    skull2007 Active Member

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    it was never done right to begin with. instead of doing what i'm going to do; the right way. what this HD trained clown did was push the tire over 1/2" so he could work with the caliper. when i'm done it will be right. in all fairness, i doubt this rectum was tought this through HD. something he learned on his own. called greed:cussing:
  19. SPORSTERBOY

    SPORSTERBOY New Member

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    MIGHT BE JUST CHEAPER TO BUY A NEW RIM:roflmao: I'M STILL TRY'N TO PICTURE HOW THIS ALL ISN'T WORKING YOU GOT A PIC.
  20. skull2007

    skull2007 Active Member

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    all started out with a stock hertiage, had a trained professional put all chrome front end, started with a custom chrome rim (16)" went to 21 which is what i have now. once the tire is centered the brake disk is over to far, only a 1/4" from the leg/slider, but needs to be at least 1/2" before the caliper will even think about centering up. my plan is to take about 5/16 off the hub where the disk mounts with this done everything should mount up correctly. beats putting the tire over 1/2" out of the centerline. i'll see if the wife knows how to do pic's, because i'm going to need help figuring what brand my sliders are:gah:

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