Steering seems crooked?

[shoboat90]

Wiped out last week on my 02 426 and now my steering seems crooked. When I'm riding, visually, everything doesn't seem to 'line up', i.e, handlebars, front wheel, etc. Where should I begin to look to diagnose the problem.

thanks

jim

[grayracer513]

Loosen the lower triple clamp pinch bolts. The forks are twisted in the clamps, causing the wheel to point off to one side. If they don't simply return to their proper alignment on their own, put the front wheel up against a pole or door jamb, etc., and turn the bars against it to push them back where they belong.

Be careful retightening the clamp; the correct torque is 14 ft/lb.

[mkporn]

Loosen the lower triple clamp pinch bolts. The forks are twisted in the clamps, causing the wheel to point off to one side. If they don't simply return to their proper alignment on their own, put the front wheel up against a pole or door jamb, etc., and turn the bars against it to push them back where they belong.

Be careful retightening the clamp; the correct torque is 14 ft/lb.

What he said^^^^ common with YZ's when everything is torqued correctly. Its just like when you use to wipe out on your BMX bike, go smack the thing against a tree to bump it back in place.

[shoboat90]

Kind of what I thought....just wasn't sure of the procedure. You guys rock and thanks for the info.

Oh...still have gnarly scars on knees and elbows from those BMX days!!

[Yamahafan]

Be careful retightening the clamp; the correct torque is 14 ft/lb.

Gray,

I notice when torqueing the triple clamps if you torque the bottom bolt, you can go back and torque the top bolt again because by torqueing the bottom bolt you have removed some of the torque from the top bolt. I usually set my torque wrench to 13 ft/lb and iterate back and forth between the top and bottom bolt until they both cause the torque wrench to click. I also lube the threads with lithium grease, Bel-Ray waterproof grease, or assembly lube (but I don't like Bel-Ray assembly lube as much because it is charcoal grey and stains everthing in sight).

Am I overtightening with this method?

[grayracer513]

Yes, you are, because the torque spec is given for clean, dry threads unless otherwise specified. Adding lube to the threads, even in the form or Loc-Tite will increase the applied clamping tension on the bolt by as much as 20%, or more.

With any application in which a part is held by more than one bolt, torque must be applied evenly in successively larger steps up to the limit in order to assure that the torque on all fasteners is equal. This is particularly noticeable with clamping parts, like the triple clamps, axle lugs, etc.

[skipperlantz]

You probably twisted your forks. Loosen your clamps and make sure everything is straight. Also, if you have rubber bar mounts, they may have twisted. Loosen them at the bases and twist them back also, if that is the case.

B

[Yamahafan]

Yes, you are, because the torque spec is given for clean, dry threads unless otherwise specified. Adding lube to the threads, even in the form or Loc-Tite will increase the applied clamping tension on the bolt by as much as 20%, or more.

With any application in which a part is held by more than one bolt, torque must be applied evenly in successively larger steps up to the limit in order to assure that the torque on all fasteners is equal. This is particularly noticeable with clamping parts, like the triple clamps, axle lugs, etc.

OK, so do not lube threads, but do iterate until all bolts are torqued the same. I think you mean successively SMALLER steps.

Thanks for the info.

[grayracer513]

OK, so do not lube threads, but do iterate until all bolts are torqued the same. I think you mean successively SMALLER steps.

Thanks for the info.

Successively higher torque values, and yes, each higher step should be a smaller step up from the last, i.e., 5-9-12-14, or so.

[CaseyWR450]

Wiped out last week on my 02 426 and now my steering seems crooked. When I'm riding, visually, everything doesn't seem to 'line up', i.e, handlebars, front wheel, etc. Where should I begin to look to diagnose the problem.

thanks

jim

Same with my 01 yz250f

[00 Kracker 00]

Good info, fixed my crooked wheel. THANKS !

[jk9270]

I have the same problem on my XR. Just a little crash caused it. Kind of embarrasing more than anything else.

Do I just loosen the lower clamps? I don't see how the bars/wheel can turn without moving everything.