Rear Wheel Alignment 101

[Busa Dreamin]

Thanks for the post.

Just used your idea today, mine was off a little.

And yeah the factory marks are not correct.

I was always wondering since the first time I adjusted the chain and noticed it wasn't set to the marks, which is were I set it to like the manuel said.

[KRASH]

http://www.accumate.co.uk/it030006.html
These are fuggin awsome...
Used it on my GIXXER and found I needed to shimm front sprocket quite a bit

[buffalojoe]

Can this be done with the front wheel off the
ground?? I have a front and rear stand.. the
front stand sits under each side of the front
forks... not a triple tree style .....

Joe....

[The Oracle]

(buffalojoe @ Apr. 24 2007,10:32) Can this be done with the front wheel off the
ground?? I have a front and rear stand.. the
front stand sits under each side of the front
forks... not a triple tree style .....

Joe....

Absolutely. If you notice in picture #2, my front tire is in the air.

-Rip

[06BUSA]

Wow. Now that is tracking a topic. Way to go Oracle.

[The Oracle]

(06BUSA @ Jun. 22 2007,13:07) Wow. Now that is tracking a topic. Way to go Oracle.

I still poke my head in from time-to-time.

(:

[vin]

Hmmm,
I must be a simplton. I just adjust the chain a hair tighter than normal on the chain side first. Then I use a 100th (.01) degree scale (steel ruler) to measure the distance from the adjuster to the most aft adjustment mark on the chain side of the swing arm. Then I adjust the right side to match the left. As the axle pivots it loosens the chain slightly, and this usually brings the chain within a tolerable adjustment. My tires have always been straight. Wear and wear patterns are always awesome.

[vin]

dunno about the cupping.  That is weird.  A lift prolly won't work, since it would place the weight of the bike on the exhaust.  Perhaps someone else knows a solution.

Have you dealt with the dealer about your cupping issue??  Something about funky wear on my tires would bother me during 150+MPH runs!

DOo.oOD, get that sh!t checked out.

Sorry,
Rip

I live in the CA desert. My tires "cup" on the left side as well. It only occurs when the tire is nearly out of tread. In the desert the road engineers decided to severely crown the center of the roads... all of the roads. It helps to create a faster runoff for severe rain. I always ride on the left side of the lane and I always attributed this wear as being caused by the road crown. I have tried Bridgestone's, Perelli's, and am currently using Tomahawks... they all wear the same way. It doesn't seem to impair the handling of the bike, and it sure ain't a prob at 180mph.

[ANRKY]

Hmmm ? I just put a straight edge on the sprocket and adjust untill it lines up with th inside of the outer links this ensuers that you have a straight chain run & therefore (barring an inpact shock or manufacturing **** up) correct wheel alignement

[sebastianbucher]

this post is just the best -

everytime I went to the goddamn swing arm markers with my mirco meter and did it like suzuki wants me to,
it drove funny,
took me always 45min every time to "align" it suzuki style, I did it really exact with 0.5mm tolerance,

YET THE SPROCKET TEETH WERE ALL THE TIME ON THE RIGHT EDGE OF THE CHAIN,


"oh, I m not using the string method" I thought,
now I did try it yesterday,
at first I thought I did it wrong SO MUCH OFF IT WAS,

it is ONE MARK OFF,
the bike is new, no accident, got it with 0 miles, and one string had a gap over half an inch at front of the tire -- with EXACTLY aligned swing arm markers!

I dont know what I shall think of this
its not a little bit off, it a l o t
now the sprocket teeth are of course in the middle where they belong (I guess >

[bud123]

I used the factory marks on swing arm for my chain adjustments and I always thought my bike handled different in a left turn versus a right turn at highway speeds. I used a 6 foot straight edge and checked the alignment of my rear tire the other day to my front wheel (with the front wheel perfectly centered) and the factory marks are incorrect. The swingarm marks are atleast half a mark off from one side to the other and after a test ride Im convinced. i will try the string method next time im bored...

[cosmic_ocean]

Checking the distance between the adjuster base to the axle collar, with a digital vernier is what I do. I then adjust both sides to an equal value (with the right chain slack). This is valid assuming that you do not have a bent swing arm or frame