Wheel Alignment Pain!

[galahs]

The chain on my new GS500F was starting to get abit loose.

Being farely technically minded, I thought no worries I'll tighten her up.


first mistake.

Lookedat the owners manual, seems easy enough, loosen the axle nut, adjust both sides  tensioner nuts, ensure wheel is aligned and tighten it all up. Piece of cake.

When I attempted to looses the axle not, the retainer piece on the opposite side of the axle bent, and and turned up scratching my swing arm.

F & $ % !!!!


Ok, got the axle bolt loose, adjusted the tensioners an equal amount of a half turn each side, checked the alignment guides....

hmmm, the right sides further forward than the rear, wiggle wiggle, now its the other way......


Arrrrrrrrrr!



4 hoursand alot of swearing later!


Got it good enough close enough.


I must thank the members of this forum as a few searches of this forum provided a few tips. 

The question I have...

The alignment indicators on each side have abit of play, I can't see how they can be used to accurately determine correct alignment. Is there a more accurate way? ie. is the string line method any good?


Also, I later thought the chain still needed to be tightened a notch or two, so I just tightened the tensioners on each side a quarter of a turn without undoing the axle nut. Is this an easier way of doing it ensuring you maintain correct wheel alignment?



finally, how spot on does the the two sides have to be? Like is 4 notches from the end on one side and 5 on the other real bad?



thanks guys in advance for any help on this, as atm I'm not looking forward to having to do this again, and I know if I take it to an expert to get done, I wouldn't be able to call myself a proud GS owner 

[Trwhouse]

Hi there,
Yes, the chain adjusters on the GS500 are the worst of any bike I've owned in the last 31 years. I have written about them here on the forums before. Ugh.
But as bad as they are, you need to get the wheels aligned correctly. The 4th notch on one side and the 5th notch on the other side of the swingarm is NOT acceptable because it will not handle correctly as you ride down the road.
You just have to take your time, loosen the axle and turn the adjuster nuts while pushing up on the FRONT BOTTOM of the chain adjusters to help get it all correctly set. Add to this that you must do the chain adjustments with the bike OFF its centerstand (it tensions the chain differently when the bike is off the centerstand and that's how Suzuki specifies this chain be adjusted), so it is quite literally a ballet in metal and adjusters as you adjust the adjusters and keep the bike up. I use the sidestand, set the adjusters, then check it by holding the bike upright. Then tighten the axle, tighten the adjuster locknuts, and check the chain tension as you hold the bike straight. There should be .8 to 1.2 inches of play in the middle span of the chain. If it feels right, then now you have to push the bike forward and back to be sure there are NO tight spots in the chain, where the adjustment is too tight. If one spot is too tight, then loosen the axle again and readjust the chain to make it properly tensioned at that place in the chain. 
It is a hassle, believe me, but you need to do it right so the bike handles properly while you are on it.
I also recommend using a torque wrench to tighten the axle when you are done. Then you won;t have issues with damaged wheel bearings and bent brackets from overtightening.
Take your time, and good luck,
Yours,
Todd

[galahs]

Its a nightmare of a job.

I had alot of problems that when I had the indicators lined up perfectly both sides, the adjuster plate on one side would be loose (as in not pushing hard against the swing arm).

So I tightened it so it was just in contact with the swing arm, but then my alignment went out again.

I also find that when I tighten the axle nut, it can also throws the wheel out of alignment.

Is it best to just loosen the pressure of the axle nut just enough to adjust it using the adjuster nuts only?

[red_phil]

ok chain tightening is pretty easy once you know how.

1) with bike on sidestand feel the chain tension.
2) roll forwards a bit then recheck. repeat until the tightest point is found.
3) put bike up onto centre stand.
4) loosen Axle nut until the adjuster plate is free to move. use a spanner on the other end to stop the axle spinning.
5) turn the adjuster nuts on either side through the same number of faces to tighten the chain. (guess)
6) put the bike back onto the side stand and check the tension.
7) repeat steps 5 and 6 until the tension is correct.
put the bike back on the center stand then tighten the axle nut.

As you turn both adjusters the same amount the wheel will stay in alignment.
The alignment marks are prettmuch useless and should be ignored.
Trying to adjust the alignment with the axle nut tight will just damage the adjuster mechanism.

To initially align your wheel you measure from the centre of the end of the axle to the swing
arm pivot on both sides. These lengths should match.
On my bike this handily means that the length of thread sticking out beyond the adjuster nuts
is the same length on both sides when the wheel is aligned. I don't believe that this is the case
on all GS500s though so check it out 1st. if the threads are the same length then alignment is
really easy.

Good luck.

[galahs]

thanks mate.

I did this measurement (read an earlier post of yours I believe  ) and mine was equal both sides, so I aligned mine by counting the exposed thread ends on each adjuster bolt and made sure they are the same.

So in theory my wheel should be in alignment even if the alignment indicators are slightly off? (half a notch)

[red_phil]

Should be.
As you said, those plates are a pretty loose fit and can get twisted. you could probably
move the alignment marks about a full notch just by pushing the plate around.
I'd measure from the ends of the axle to the swing arm pivot just to make sure.
As the nut on either end of the axle is a different size, remember to measure from the
centre point of the end face rather than the edge of the axle nut.

[Blueknyt]

also the Backing PLate that the adjuster nuts hold against are really flimsy and will bend allowing the wheel to slide ever so much with hard accerleration/wheelies or hard brakeing.  ive tryed doubleing the plates and still didnt work, finnaly i used 1/2" angle Iron welded to the backing plates witha hole drilled through it for the adjusting bolt.  ive not had it bend yet and the adjustments seem to stay abit better.

[galahs]

I'm guessing you ride your bike pretty hard then 

[scratch]

Chain slack should be .8-1.2inches, as per the manual; measured just aft of the centerstand foot.  .5-.75" is way too tight.

[Queso]

What does the clymers manual call all these parts you are referring to? I can find a "swingarm pivot" or "adjuster plate" on the illustrations in the Clymers...

[Kerry]

Swing arm pivot

See items 8 and 11 in

this MrCycles diagram.

In the picture below, the left-side "swingarm pivot cap" is directly above the rubber end of the gear shift lever.  It looks metallic, but it's plastic.

[/list]


Adjuster Plate

See item 21 in

this MrCycles diagram.

In the photo below, the adjuster plate is the rectangular piece that "caps" the end of the swingarm, with a bolt protruding out of it.

[/list]

[Queso]

Awesome, thanks! My swingarm pivot cap is kinda bent outta shape it looks like...