How do I mount the frontwheel correct?

Hallo!

I was out riding noticing my frontsuspension worked much smoother than before...


I was wondering why,

1, could it be that when I fitted the forks I didn´t mounted it so hard as I use to do... the screws at the lower tripleclamp... ?

2, Was it that I mounted the front wheel correct?

Could anyone tell me how to mount the frontwheel right... how and it what order...


From what I´ve heard these two things affect how the frontforks works, and it seems true... the minor thing was that the frontwheel easily pointed in the wrong direction after a fall!

ok, maybe you can give me some advices or give me some oldthreads on the topics.

thanks!

/Rikard

Mount the front wheel with the pinch bolts loose on both sides.

Tighten axle nut on caliper side as much as possible until axle just spins.

Tighten one Right side (as you sit on it) axle pinch bolt to 7 ftlbs.

Torque axle nut on left side.

Torque axle pinch bolts on left side to 7ftlbs, tightening one then the other repeatedly until you get no more movement out of either.

Loosen Right side axle pinch bolt you tightened in 3rd step.

Drop bike off stand.

Apply front brake, and pump front suspension up and down 5 or 6 times.

Lightly tighten Right side pinch bolts and put bike back on stand.

Torque right side axle pinch bolts to 7ftlbs tightening one then the other repeatedly until you get no more movement out of either.

Thanks Dale!

Am I right that these two things, tripleclampscrews and to mount the front wheel correct, affects how the front suspension works?

/Rikard

You are correct.

The lower triple clamp bolts should be torqued to 11.5 ftlbs. If they were significantly tighter it could very well indeed affect the action of the forks. As well as having the tubes lined up properly on the front axle.

Here's how I set up my tripleclamp, and axle clamp pinch bolts. While everything is apart, I use a contact cleaner and compressed air to clean out the female threads of these bolt holes, and the bolts themselves, as well as the inside of the tube holders. Then I sparingly coat the portion of the bolts that go into the threads with a copper based anti sieze compound. It's much better than grease as it appears to impervious to moisture. I've also never had a problem with the bolts coming loose as some might suggest, and you get the proper torque applied to the bolts as there is a lot less mechanical stiction.

Then whenever necessary, I will clean and lube the bolts again upon disassembly.

I also treat my swingarm pivot, front and rear axles and nuts the same way. I also use a torque wrench on just about everything.

DaleEO said:

Mount the front wheel with the pinch bolts loose on both sides.

Tighten axle nut on caliper side as much as possible until axle just spins.

Tighten one Right side (as you sit on it) axle pinch bolt to 7 ftlbs.

Torque axle nut on left side.

Torque axle pinch bolts on left side to 7ftlbs, tightening one then the other repeatedly until you get no more movement out of either.

Loosen Right side axle pinch bolt you tightened in 3rd step.

Drop bike off stand.

Apply front brake, and pump front suspension up and down 5 or 6 times.

Lightly tighten Right side pinch bolts and put bike back on stand.

Torque right side axle pinch bolts to 7ftlbs tightening one then the other repeatedly until you get no more movement out of either.

Click to expand...

Just so Daleo.Rather than pump the suspension up I've always left the bike on the stand and given the wheel a hard spin then applied the front brake hard.Done this 3-4 times then the last time held the brake on while tightening the pinch bolts.My old 00 KTM was prone to leaking seals if this wasn't exact and I just found this method to be more consistent to centre the wheel/rotor/forks.

ford832 said:

DaleEO said:

Mount the front wheel with the pinch bolts loose on both sides.

Tighten axle nut on caliper side as much as possible until axle just spins.

Tighten one Right side (as you sit on it) axle pinch bolt to 7 ftlbs.

Torque axle nut on left side.

Torque axle pinch bolts on left side to 7ftlbs, tightening one then the other repeatedly until you get no more movement out of either.

Loosen Right side axle pinch bolt you tightened in 3rd step.

Drop bike off stand.

Apply front brake, and pump front suspension up and down 5 or 6 times.

Lightly tighten Right side pinch bolts and put bike back on stand.

Torque right side axle pinch bolts to 7ftlbs tightening one then the other repeatedly until you get no more movement out of either.

Click to expand...

Just so Daleo.Rather than pump the suspension up I've always left the bike on the stand and given the wheel a hard spin then applied the front brake hard.Done this 3-4 times then the last time held the brake on while tightening the pinch bolts.My old 00 KTM was prone to leaking seals if this wasn't exact and I just found this method to be more consistent to centre the wheel/rotor/forks.

Click to expand...

I've heard of this method as well but never tried it. What's important as your old KTM can attest, is that the tubes are lined up correctly. I have also read that some pro's mechanic's just slide that outer fork leg back and forth on the axle until they feel it's centered.

I also use the front brake method, somewhere in the middle of Dale's routine, but supplement this with driving a hard wood shim into the right fork leg pinch casting to open it up - this lets it float free on the axle to find its own centre. To me there is a enough drag normally that it is easy to leave the right leg 'tweaked'.

It is interesting to do this and spin the right fork leg in the triple clamps and watch the pinch area wander left and right a bit. I am assuming the forks take on a 'set' over time....

Cheers

Mark

I agree with everyone above. Just want to add if you have an axle pull handle make sure the axle fits thru the fork leg easily as the handle tends to stretch the end a bit. I regularly polish the axle a bit with fine sandpaper and the bore in lower leg clamp too. You should be able to move the RH leg on the axle w/o driving anything into the split line on the WP forks. Some of the Jap forks DO require something driven in to them though.

Thanks alot for your input!

I´ll try these things out...

As I mentioned earlier I noticed a big difference in how the front suspension worked... And I draw the conclusion that I must have done thing better when I fitted the wheel... but as always when you do things by accident I didn´t know what I had done right...

Your points is taken and I´ll will see if that will make the same effect on the suspension.

I knew that these things would make a difference in how the suspension worked... but that it was THIS MUCH difference... I had no clue...!!!


I´ll get back to you when I´ve tried it out!

Thanks!

/Rikard