| Author | Message | ||
     Anders_m2 |
Advice needed! When I have aligned rear wheel to engine, belt pulley alignment, (measured at rear of swing and checked with laser)the wheel alignment is way of. The bike is terrible to ride. When front and rear wheel are aligned (string technique) the rear wheel/engine alignment is way off. In order to have the bike rideable I have set the alignment in between these two, which means none of them are good. All tie rod's, isolators and other parts in connection with this look just fine. No cracks or anything like that. I'm getting to the point of starting to adjust the tie rod , with rear wheel and engine aligned, in order to get the rear wheel aligned with the front. I know it says not to in the manual but I am willing try it. I don't see any other way to get it sorted. I need strong advice not to do it. Or if someone has done it with success, how did you do it? /Anders | ||
| Phelan |
Checked your rear isolators? | ||
| Anders_m2 |
The one in the front and the two rear. All looks fine. | ||
| Blackm2 |
Tie rods are set at the factory and never need touching. If these were messed with, you will cause a problem. Rear wheel is pretty easy to set. Front forks could be off, but if it is the conventional M2 forks, the fork brace should have everything aligned correctly, unless it was wrecked. You need to show or explain how it is you are attempting to align with your laser. What do you mean by the rear wheel and engine alignment? These motors are not symmetrical by any means, so I am not getting what you are saying. (Message edited by blackm2 on August 20, 2014) | ||
| Anders_m2 |
Rear wheel and engine alignment: the position of the rear wheel in swing. In other words the normal rear wheel alignment. Measured with caliper like the manual says. Also checked with one of those cross laser pointer from behind the rear pulley towards the front pulley. If you set it up properly the beam will hit both pulleys. How do you check if the fork is straight? | ||
| Anders_m2 |
OK. Fork is checked and is straight as far as I can figure out via comparing different measurements. | ||
| Ratbuell |
What change did you make that sent it out of alignment in the first place? | ||
| Anders_m2 |
No change. Have not had the bike that long. Had to fix the gearbox and change the front pulley. When I put it back together I started to check things more carefully. That's when I realized that something is off. I don't know the history off the bike and it's 16 years old..... | ||
| Blackm2 |
Why not post some pictures. Hopefully it was not wrecked before and the frame is bent. | ||
| Lakes |
Have you also checked wheel bearings? | ||
| Blackm2 |
Good point Lakes. | ||
| Anders_m2 |
No signs of major crashes. In this case a picture wont say very much.  | ||
| Anders_m2 |
I will check bearings and get back to you guys tomorrow. Bed time in Europe now. | ||
| Charlies_s1 |
Be sure of spacers in rear wheel, I would think it is something with the wheel. Or something with the front pulley. (Message edited by Charlies_s1 on August 21, 2014) | ||
| Anders_m2 |
Bearings checked, with wheels still on the bike. No play and I know that it does not take much. However in order for bearings to create the offset off alignment the bearing must have to be totally gone. No more work on the bike today. Have been ordered by the wife to attend a wine festival. I don't object. | ||
| Hootowl |
"Have been ordered by the wife to attend a wine festival" Please don't throw me in the briar patch! | ||
| Anders_m2 |
I know that many more owners beside me have had he same issue with their bikes but there are not that many suggestions on how to proceed. If you guys don't wont to write it on the forum, send me an email with your experiences. I probably won't have the time to do anything with the bike during the weekend so I am still open for every suggestion that you may have. I would like to know the result from people that have adjusted the tie rods. | ||
| Buellistic |
Anders_m2: PM me so that "i" can get your email address ... Would like to communicate with you ... | ||
| Anders_m2 |
PM sent Buellistic | ||
| Anders_m2 |
Ok fellow Buell riders. Tomorrow I will start to straighten things out with adjusting the front tie rod. Last chance to stop me or advice me..... | ||
| Akbuell |
Take VERY accurate measurements of the tie bars lengths as they are today. Write that info down, and store in a safe place. That way, should the situation get 'out of hand' you have a baseline to return to. Hope this helps, Dave | ||
| Ratbuell |
Do NOT adjust tie rods. There is something else going on. Tie rods are never adjusted. Verify your isolators are centered and not worn. Verify nothing is bent. I don't think its a matter of nobody wanting to help...I think this is extremely unusual. What / how are you measuring to come to the conclusion something is "out of alignment"? What points are you measuring to/from and what symptoms do you have? | ||
| Arizona_buell |
Before you adjust the tie bars maybe a check of front suspension and rear shock set up should be addressed?? Possibly someone has "adjusted" these to fit a smaller or larger rider than yourself?? Tire pressure as well should be checked if not done already.. | ||
| Anders_m2 |
It's done. Tie rods adjusted. Since it is a bit late here in Europe now I will test it tomorrow and let you all know how it went. Original measurements written down. Like I stated earlier: I don't know the history of the bike. It is 16 years old and some previous owner might have played around with the tie rods, so they might actually be off. More info to come after test...... | ||
| Jayvee |
Are these tie rods adjusted individually for each bike at the factory? Or do they all come with the same length? | ||
| Oldog |
Anders, an obvious question, are the spacers on your wheels in the right places? in that you don't know if the PO's fiddled the tie bars you may have to adjust IIRC 1313 told me the tubers were set up at factory and bars adjusted there, no mention of a jig or how, the FSM is specific though about not moving them. it makes some sense in that there would be small variations in the frames [ manufacturing tolerances ] in any case good luck .. | ||
| Anders_m2 |
Summary Things checked: Checked isolators (3) for wear and cracks. OK Checked tie rods (3) for wear and cracks. OK Checked that engine is centered in frame at rear isolators. Measured on both sides between engine and frame. Same distance. Checked wheel bearings for play, front and rear. OK Checked fork bearing for play. OK Checked frame for any signs of crash. No signs of scratches. Original paint with no signs of touch up paint. Rear shock set for weight. Tire pressure Things not checked Wheel spacers. If in the wrong place, this would shift the wheels sideways and or maybe create a gap/play for the bearings. Rear shock pre load How did I notice wheel alignment was off? After changing the front pulley I aligned belt. With belt center on rear pulley the bike was not a good ride. Used the string method (both sides of rear wheels from rear of rear wheel up to front of front wheel) the alignment was between wheels was of quite a bit. Before the pulley fix I also discovered that, in my opinion, the rear wheel was wearing down a bit too fast. 1.7mm in 3500km. Dont ride it that hard or use the rear brake much. I have not had the bike that long so I dont know how good belt or wheels was aligned before I picked it apart. On a bike that is that old I cannot be 100% sure that everything is straight and aligned as when it came from the factory. If everything would be 100% good out of the factory the tie rods would not be adjustable. Most guys that own a car knows that when your wife is bumping ever so lightly into sidewalks now and then it changes the setup of your car. Then you have it serviced and tie rods are adjusted, they dont straighten out the frame. I am not saying that you should ignore the fact that the frame and other things can be off, but with all that checked I just had to give this a try. Several small offsets in different places can set the wheels off. Things adjusted: Belt tension. Buellistic method. Belt alignment. Centered in rear pulley. Front tie rod (with top rod one bolt out) to align rear and front wheel. String method to check. Top tie rod in order to correct the sideways tilt after fastening the front tie rod. Needs to be done. Checked with spirit level on brake disc on rear and front. Fork measured straight after wheels aligned. After a test ride for 130km I can only say that the bike feels just great. Straight and balanced with great handling. I can only say that I am pleased with the result. I am not stating that this is the best or the correct way to do things. I would not do it without checking the above things in order to rule them out. This is just the way that I did it. Feel free to ask questions or comment. Thanks Buellistic for your inputs. | ||
| Tod662 |
Can anybody confirm if motor is supposed to be centered on frame? I'm not sure it is originally. A previous owner may have changed it. I have rebuilt two wrecked tubers and every thing just lined up. | ||
| Oldog |
What condition are the swing arm bearings? My thinking is that if the bearings are worn or loose you try to center the belt then you have to skew the axle on the swing arm to line the belt up just a passing thought.... a re-liable source told me that when the tubers were built the frames were placed on the motors with NEW isolators, bolted down and if the tie bars did not match to make small adjustments to make them fit. | ||
| Anders_m2 |
Oldog: Good thought. It would have to be the bearing on the left side in that case. It is actually the only thing that would make sense in regards to how things was off and how I had to adjust. Will keep an eye on it. Thanks |
