Is there a trick to straightening out front end after laying it over?

[red7]

I'm just curious what you guys do to get everything dead centered again after a minor get off. I came hauling into a tight, steep berm and hesitated just enough before getting on the gas that I lost my balance and went down. I was at the top and the thing is probably 10' tall so I did one of those "I think I can move my legs fast enough to run out of this....oh no I can't, roll, roll" type things. Anyway, it was no big deal and I was surprised that my bars were tweaked in the clamps given that I've slammed way harder without tweaking them in the past.

So I know how to loosen things up and move them but is there a trick to sighting them and getting them perfectly straight?

Thanks!

[Drav]

Put it on the stand, loosen the pinch bolts, spin the wheel upward hard enough to get the wheel spinning at a decent speed....will track it perfectly, tighten up the bolts and you're good to go.

My tech told me this trick and ive done it plenty of times =)

[BlackWidow]

I learned this from plenty of spills on the H/S track.

Kinda sit on your tire, knees touching your forks. Grab your bars and tweak your bars a little bit at a time until straight again, Make sure you take it apart and adjust it with the proper tool when your in your shop/garage

[red7]

Put it on the stand, loosen the pinch bolts, spin the wheel upward hard enough to get the wheel spinning at a decent speed....will track it perfectly, tighten up the bolts and you're good to go.

My tech told me this trick and ive done it plenty of times =)

Is it best to loosen all pinch bolts, spin the tire and quickly tighten all of them up or do you just do one side at a time? That does sound cool if the gyro of the tire straightens it out.

[crayztwentyseven]

Put it on the stand, loosen the pinch bolts, spin the wheel upward hard enough to get the wheel spinning at a decent speed....will track it perfectly, tighten up the bolts and you're good to go.

My tech told me this trick and ive done it plenty of times =)

This works really well on the trail, I do it all the time. I try to find a rock or something to put it on.

[____Kurt____]

Put it on the stand, loosen the pinch bolts, spin the wheel upward hard enough to get the wheel spinning at a decent speed....will track it perfectly, tighten up the bolts and you're good to go.

My tech told me this trick and ive done it plenty of times =)

this sounds like a good idea but i don't get it:confused: , im not 100% sure on how this is suppose to work or how im suppose to do it. i would love to know though, a video would be the best, like a deminstration.

[yamarider628]

Be gental but tough it is a dirtbike so we know its use to taking hits. so just roll it to something sturdy a clean tree or the side of your barn or something then turn the front wheel away from the object then smack it up against it it will work may have to reapeat process and you can do it w/out tearing any thing up:prof:

[Drav]

Is it best to loosen all pinch bolts, spin the tire and quickly tighten all of them up or do you just do one side at a time? That does sound cool if the gyro of the tire straightens it out.

Loosen them enough to let them straighten out but not enough to where the tubes fall out of the clamps...just gotta find that point =)

The first time I did it I loosened the tubes and spun downward and yanked the tubes right out

After that mishap I got it and it works like a charm

[grayracer513]

Simpler to loosen only the bottom clamp.

Also, on any bike with removable bar mounts, like the '06+ models, and especially those with rubber mounts, don't miss the fact that these can get twisted sometimes, so loosening and straightening here is sometimes needed

[flintlock28]

Gray, how are the fork tubes able to rotate when only the lower clamp is loosened?? Is it because the pressure holding the inner tubes in position is only with the bottom?? If the bottom clamp only is loosened, than obviously the outer fork tubes can't rotate because they are being held from rotating due to the locked upper clamp??

I'm just trying to visualize what's happening.....

[grayracer513]

If you were to try to hold a torsion bar in a twisted condition, how would you do that if you could only hold one end?

What actually happens when the forks get "twisted" is the the triple clamps get forced out of line with each other and slip some on the fork tubes. Release the torque on either of them and you release all the trapped tension between the two. Push it back where it belongs and re-tighten it, then carry on.

[flintlock28]

Ahhh, grasshopper understandeth now......

[red7]

Gray, how are the fork tubes able to rotate when only the lower clamp is loosened?? Is it because the pressure holding the inner tubes in position is only with the bottom?? If the bottom clamp only is loosened, than obviously the outer fork tubes can't rotate because they are being held from rotating due to the locked upper clamp??

I'm just trying to visualize what's happening.....

Yeah, I wasn't understanding this either but I took Grays advice and it seemed to have worked so I'm happy.

[LIL ROG]

i just hold bars and kick the tire

[Merc1212]

Small variation to the spinning tire technique... loosen only the bottom as Gray mentioned, but once you get it spinning hit the front brake hard. Repeat a few times and it should be perfectly centered (I figure the jerking motion accomplishes the same thing as simply spinning it, but you won't need to loosen the pinch bolts quite as much).

I had read this in one of the mx rag online how-to's for headset greasing ... can't remember which one.

Marc