Much appreciated Mr Brown, you are most welcome!
Overheating HELP!!
- Thread starter jeffgordons24
- Start date
jeffgordons24
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Okay so got the bike out today finally for a road test and need some more brain picking lol.
I don’t know how the bike was wrecked so I don’t even know what was hit, where it happened etc. I went into the repair blind after fighting to get it back for 2 years which didn’t help either. I know my chain is in desperate need of some resurrection.
Now when I was riding it just up and down our lot it felt odd in the front. Almost as if it wanted to low side or side step. Forks measure true and compress / decompress fine and seals have maybe 1,000 miles on them. Only thing I can attribute is it has to be front rim related. Maybe even rotors because it did kind of feel as if the brakes were hanging.
Any suggestions guys? Is it common for rotors to bend in accidents? There is a good deal of rash on the rim and I do have a new to me used rim that is true (I just have to order in the powder to powder coat it).
As many truck and car rims I have pulled I have never pulled a motorcycle rim before so this is all new to me. I’m a little nervous and skeptical as to how I am going to suspend the front and get the rim off.
Man it felt good to ride again even for the few mins, I took up one of the side blocks and steering is straight and as the speed picked up to maybe 25-30 the shitty feel in the front diminished.
I don’t know how the bike was wrecked so I don’t even know what was hit, where it happened etc. I went into the repair blind after fighting to get it back for 2 years which didn’t help either. I know my chain is in desperate need of some resurrection.
Now when I was riding it just up and down our lot it felt odd in the front. Almost as if it wanted to low side or side step. Forks measure true and compress / decompress fine and seals have maybe 1,000 miles on them. Only thing I can attribute is it has to be front rim related. Maybe even rotors because it did kind of feel as if the brakes were hanging.
Any suggestions guys? Is it common for rotors to bend in accidents? There is a good deal of rash on the rim and I do have a new to me used rim that is true (I just have to order in the powder to powder coat it).
As many truck and car rims I have pulled I have never pulled a motorcycle rim before so this is all new to me. I’m a little nervous and skeptical as to how I am going to suspend the front and get the rim off.
Man it felt good to ride again even for the few mins, I took up one of the side blocks and steering is straight and as the speed picked up to maybe 25-30 the shitty feel in the front diminished.
jeffgordons24
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Thank you Mr. Brown, I am going to give those a go tomorrow I am hoping I can reach a resolution. I was just shopping rotors, damn those suckers are pricey. Was trying to save up for some new or lightly used seats lol so much for that 
Mathewrussell52
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Take the rotors off and test drive it. Will eliminate that as a problem.
jeffgordons24
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Wait? I can do that??? I actually didn’t think of that. I guess that would still allow me to keep the calipers in place too. I may give that a go after I make sure the rear brake is putting out decent oomph. Still means I have to face my fear of pulling the front wheel off the bike lol.
If you do take the rotors off as suggested by MathewRussel, I would recommend putting a brake hose clamp up on the hose near the master cylinder, just to prevent an absent minded pull on the brake lever
Removing the front wheel is no biggie,
1) BEFORE raising the front wheel, just remove the caliper mounting bolts and slide the calipers off the discs,
2) hang the calipers out of the way using string, rope, bungies, whatever,
3) loosen off the right hand lower fork pinch bolts (2 of them)
4) loosen off the axle (hex head) on the right side of the fork
5) Now, this is where it gets 'interesting', raise the front wheel, best to have the bike on a 'paddock stand'
You could use a wide plank of wood under the exhaust headers with a trolley jack or a scissor jack, I personally use a front paddock stand under the fork bottoms.
You'll need to raise it high enough for the wheel to clear the front fender, then pull the axle!
Simple. Good luck.
jeffgordons24
Registered
As always, kiwi for the win, thank you. Gonna give it a go tomorrow. Keep you posted
No no no, come on. You’re not gonna remove the rotors to check to see if they’re warped are you? A micrometer will do that. I’m sure Kiwi isn’t recommending to check rotor warp that way but is just giving you the correct way to remove the wheel.
Yes, you're dead right there mate, taking off rotors is way too much work, as you correctly said, there are easier ways to check the run-out on rotors and the preferred method is a dial indicator gauge
but most people don't have one, they are expensive, and most people don't have access to the use of one, or even know how to correctly use it to measure rotor run-out.
If the rotors do have excessive run out the brake lever will "pulse" when applying the brake, and you can actually see the run out if you look closely as the rotor spins moving past a close fixed object such as a caliper.
If the rim has 'rash'on it, I would be checking for run out in the rim itself.
The wheel alignment may be a bit out of true as well.
Do the handlebars look straight when riding straight ahead??
If not, the front end is twisted and needs looking at to ascertain what's causing it to be out of true.
Mathewrussell52
Registered
Listen to them be a lot safer.
Mr Brown
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Will likely eliminate any other problems that bike has also.
jeffgordons24
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I do happen to have a dial indicator which we use for checking the pinion depth and backlash on rear ends in trucks when we rebuild them.
I will give it go with that and see if I can determine any run out from the measurements.
Bike drives straight down the road and while riding at 30 ( that was the fastest I felt safe taking it to at this point....I don't need the bike getting wrecked again before I even finish).
It is is the oddest feeling and I don't even know how to effectively describe it. It almost feels like when you grab a fist full of front brake and the front tire is plowing looking to lowside.
Have you checked the fork settings?
Are they both the same?
I have set up suspension for people and found each fork set far off from the other.
If one is stiff and one is soft, it will give the sensation of pushing to one side, and feel like it wants to lean over on the other side, as if the front end is fighting itself, which it is. As when the front end dives under braking, the stiffer set side is doing the majority of the work for both forks(and it will feel, brake and handle badly).
Count the turns or clicks and wind the compression and rebound all the way clockwise and count.
Back each out 3-4 turns, just as a reference point.
Also make sure the preload is even.
If they are the same, but are set very soft, the front end will also wander some.
Regardless, the suspension sag needs to be set correctly, front And rear, otherwise, it's not just handling that suffers, but braking and traction also.
If your front brake hose are oem rubber, clamp off one at a time, with the front wheel raised, and check braking efficiency left and right, you may have a caliper issue. . .
Excellent advice! Good place to start too re handling problems
jeffgordons24
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Thank you guys for all the input. So checked my rotors with the dial indicator and they seemed slightly off. I pulled the calipers to begin to try and drop the wheel and while on the paddock stand I gave the front wheel a spin and it has more waves than the Atlantic. From the looks, the rotors were measuring off slightly due to the rim wobble. I already have another front rim now I have to powder coat it. I have another question, do for the hex head on the axle what do I use to get that out?
I’m thinking of pulling the other rim and test fitting the replacement to make sure it all measures up right before I spend 2 days powder coating
I’m thinking of pulling the other rim and test fitting the replacement to make sure it all measures up right before I spend 2 days powder coating
jeffgordons24
Registered
Hey while we are at it I was torn between powder coating my rims the blue to match my engine covers but I just think that it
may tip the scales on the blue and subsequently become “gaudy”
For a more subtle approach I was thinking “Cadillac Grey” any input?
may tip the scales on the blue and subsequently become “gaudy”
For a more subtle approach I was thinking “Cadillac Grey” any input?
jeffgordons24
Registered
My engine covers, rear set bolts, grab bar, and bootleg sliders are all this color
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