Yamajank

On 3/17/2024 at 10:27 PM, Yamajank said: But from the beginning I’ve heard that the shock is not serviceable.  I can’t seem to confirm this anywhere.  

Shock serviceable or not?

I don’t know if it’s my weight (150) but I’ve found the stock shock on my 19 tracer gt to work very well for what I do.  When not using the side cases I can have all the preload out and it sits in a good spot.  Then with full side cases I can put about 3/4 in and keep it in a good spot.  But from the beginning I’ve heard that the shock is not serviceable.  I can’t seem to confirm this anywhere.  It looks like the OEM shock costs about $750. Ohlins with remote res, $1150.  I don’t mind spending extra but I don’t want to have to change out the forks if that would get things out of “balance”.  I’d be happy getting my original shock serviced.  It’s has the original oil and I’m getting to where I’m at two more clicks of rebound before it’s done.

1 hour ago, jthayer09 said:

As stated elsewhere in the thread: the axle keeps the wheel aligned to the axle, that's it. It doesn't guarantee true alignment of the forks to the wheel, or the handlebars to the wheel

As you have stated: the forks can still move rotationally as there is enough slop to do so. Issue is that if everything's torqued down it is one body that moves together (you turn your handle bars, which turns your forks, which turns your wheel) that makes up the front-end. Unless you loosen things to move independently of each other they will continue to move as one system.

If @Yamajank's handlebars are not aligned with the wheel then either the steering head nut needs to be loosened or the front axle needs to be loosened so the wheel and handlebars can move independently of each other so they can dial them back in. Just loosening pinch bolts for the forks isn't going to let him move his handlebars or wheel independently from the rest of the front end. If you are correct and the triple trees are twisted, the only way they're gonna move back into alignment is if that 110Nm nut pressing them together is loosened.

It's highly unlikely the triple tree clamps got twisted when they're held together with the steering neck stem through the frame of the bike and torqued together with the steering head nut (110Nm) on top of 2 steering bearing rings (52Nm and 18Nm). I don't think a tip over has enough force to twist the triple trees, and he'd be seeing other issues first like notchy steering from shot bearings, jittery ride from uneven suspension due to the twist, or at minimum shaking handlebars; but apparently the bike rides fine.

@Yamajank are you sure you don't have a bent fork? Or... this may sound dumb, but are you sure the handlebar holders didn't get rotated a bit separate from the rest of the front-end?



If the handlebar holders got rotated together to throw off your handlebars there are just nuts on the bottom of the triple tree you can loosen up and move them back in alignment.

I was looking at those.  I’ll look a little closer.  Thanks!

So I’ve been procrastinating this project because I have to take so much of the body work off to get to the lower triples.  Anyway I’ve gone ahead and done the whole thing.  Lower, axle, fender, calipers, stem nut.  I took it out and it rides just fine.  I don’t know that it’s really any different than when I put it in my knees and cranked, but I suppose it should be.  I bought this new, and I’ve always thought the handlebars didn’t exactly square with the wheel.  I’m not sure if it’s just an illusion caused by the dash maybe not being exactly square, or some other reference point but I thought maybe doing this little exercise would possibly straighten that out also.  It didn’t.  Could a fork height difference of .25mm cause the bar to track just a slight bit one way?  Is it a matter of just loosening the stem nut and trying to center it carefully?  I’m virtually certain the bars aren’t bent.  Like I said, I’ve noticed this off kilter thing long ago.

3 hours ago, betoney said:

I don't understand that idea either.  Whether the axle is loose or tight the wheel will ALWAYS be correctly aligned in the forks unless the wheel bearings are completely destroyed, its physically impossible for the wheel to be mis-aligned in relation to the fork bottoms and axle, however it is possible for the top portion of the forks in the triple clamps to get slightly tweaked as the top triple clamp moves independently on the steering stem.

As mentioned above, I would try the method of holding the wheel between your knees and giving the bars a quick jerk (as I wrote above, I have used that method on bicycles and my dirtbikes for over 40 years), you just might tweak it back in place in less than 10 seconds.

I did yank it back while on that particular ride.  But I guess I’m being a bit of a perfectionist and want it to be as straight as I can get it.

I still don’t understand what loosening the axle has to do with the alignment.  Can anyone explain?  It’s getting warm enough to throw a space heater in the garage and give this a try.  Also some are suggesting that’s it’s only going to work if you loosen the top stem nut. Thanks

On 1/3/2024 at 9:41 PM, mikerbiker said:

From an earlier post:

 

Got around to straightening my Bars/Forks. Took a whopping 15 min   

- I loosened the front axle 1st  

- loosened the lower triple clamp retaining bolts 

- left the top triple tree bolts alone 

- stood in front of the bike and held the tire between my knees and turned the bars in the direction I wanted. I didn't feel any movement or hear any creaking, but looking at the bars from the back showed they were pretty straight. 

- tightened front axle Then lower triple tree. Took her for a ride and she's perfectly straight now.  

Still wondering why the dealer couldn't handle this easy fix.... 

https://www.tracer900.net/topic/1303-handlebars-crooked/?do=findComment&comment=14356

So only loosen the axle, and not the axle pinch bolts?

1 hour ago, mikerbiker said:

From an earlier post:

 

Got around to straightening my Bars/Forks. Took a whopping 15 min   

- I loosened the front axle 1st  

- loosened the lower triple clamp retaining bolts 

- left the top triple tree bolts alone 

- stood in front of the bike and held the tire between my knees and turned the bars in the direction I wanted. I didn't feel any movement or hear any creaking, but looking at the bars from the back showed they were pretty straight. 

- tightened front axle Then lower triple tree. Took her for a ride and she's perfectly straight now.  

Still wondering why the dealer couldn't handle this easy fix.... 

https://www.tracer900.net/topic/1303-handlebars-crooked/?do=findComment&comment=14356

So you’re suggesting that’s there’s nothing wrong with the steering stem?

I misjudged the incline on a weird street that I stopped on and the bike tipped over.  Very embarrassed and angry, but live and learn.  Anyway the bars were “off” when I picked it up.  I had my buddy hold the tire and we managed to re-align the bars but that makes me think something in there is not as tight as it should be.  Or is it normal for this to happen?  I have the ability and the time to dig into it this winter, but I’m hoping for some pointers as to what I might be looking for during the process.  Thanks

23 hours ago, Grumpy Goat said:

Absolutely - https://rswasserboxer.com/R1200RSforum/

Do you have an RS?

Not yet! But I think I’m leaning that way for a track bike.  I know it’s probably overkill in terms of price for a track bike, but I’m not getting any younger so…

ooops, I thought you meant aprilia RS 660  😂😂

Do you mind sharing what your RS forum is?

https://www.relive.cc/view/vAOZnJEGmoO

Scenic app for creating routes. 

Relive app for saving and sharing. 

On 5/12/2023 at 8:53 PM, Wintersdark said:

 

If everything is set up correctly it shouldn't be an unreasonable problem, the stock feelers shouldn't touch till around 45 degrees of lean, the bike can handle 52 degrees.

 

How do you know this is the limit?  Just curious 

Anyone tried the Rosso 4 on the front?  I have been using S22 and have a T32 on the rear. The S22 is needing to be replaced. Not sure if I should cross match brands like that but the reviews of the Rosso have me wanting to try it. 

Size?

On 3/27/2023 at 7:41 PM, kilo3 said:

I don't even bother to look at price, model, features, brand... I just go to my local shop and start putting on helmets till something just clicks with me. Did that this weekend, ended up in a HJC rpha 11 pro. I just hope it rides as good as it fits.

I tried one of those on the other day.  I also liked the fit.  I wasn’t ready to plop down $650 though.  I’d be curious to know if you find it quiet.

Turns out I think the vacuum bleeder was pulling air from the bleeder.  Maybe I was opening it too much?  Maybe it was slightly loose.  But with another set of hands we just did an old school bleed and it all worked out.  I wish I would have done a back to back comparison but it’s so damn cold and wet here that I just wanted to get them on and be done with it.  STG claims they won’t take them back anyway so I figured what’s the difference.  It would be hard to believe that I’d prefer the stock lines.  I had my buddy who is an instructor and ex racer do the ABS and he actually did a stoppy before he could find some gavel and get the front ABS to kick in.  Off to the Dragon in a few weeks!  Thanks everyone 

I did nothing with the bleeder nipples.  The one that is giving me trouble does seem kind of loose though.  I'm thinking of ordering a set of speed bleeders.  I did nothing over night because it was so strange that the right caliper was bleeding properly and the left one wasn't.  I talked with the Spiegler people.  They don't think I damaged anything in the fitting by going past 180 or moving a little back the other way.  So I think it's down to crud in the caliper and maybe a bad bleeder screw.  

So install went ok.  Took way longer than I wanted.  However, I'm getting mostly air from the left caliper using a vacuum bleeder.  The right caliper is good which is really weird to me because they are basically connected it seems.  The rear is good to go.  I noticed in the directions for pivoting the end piece that it should only be one direction and no more than 180 deg.  Well, I had to do one of those in that area because they weren't labeled and I had to flip the over fender line and I'm wondering if I damaged something internally on that line?  Otherwise a knowledgable friend of mine thinks there's maybe something clogged in the bleeder screw or caliper.  Thoughts?

2 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

Maybe you gotta returned set they shouldn't sent out again

It's been so long since I replaced him with the Speiglers I don't remember when I have to look And even then I maybe can't tell

Maybe email them and ask them to send you a photo of a set with the labels on it so you can figure it out.

Did you get the little end fitting vice pivoting tool?

Pivot tool yes. Thanks. I'm figuring it out by process of elimination. 

I kind of disagree about Spiegler being a great company.  I'm in the middle of trying to do this job (with the correct kit), but none of the lines are labeled as they claim they should be in the installation directions.  There are no labels at all.  Anyone have pics that might help me figure out which line is which?  There's one end with a 90 deg angle on it that doesn't match up with any of the existing lines, so that's confusing also.  I also got one fitting that is not the correct color, so maybe that's my clue that it's the rear ABS?

Anyone else had trouble getting the ABS to not "flush out" after the change of lines?  I don't want to have to take this to my dealer.  They are kind of idiots.

Is it necessary to change the pressure switch when performing this task?  I'd probably go with the Spiegler lines.

I’m ignorant on these.  How would one know if he needs a new CCT?