It looks like my rear tire is off to the left side. It doesn't look pronounced as it does in person. It bugs me, not only on an aesthetic level, but also as a potential mechanical problem. Pics may take a while to load.
(http://www.potade.net/tilt1.jpg)
(http://www.potade.net/tilt2.jpg)
Thoughts?
sub frame totally ruined.
buy an 07 and let me test ride it/break it in for you.
make sure your spacers are in correct. There should be a hat shaped one on the brake side and just a straight circle on the sprocket side. I'm new to this bike and am only going off the bike I have no book or anything. But my rear wheel lines up just fine and doesn't look like that. Hope this helps.
alex
Also make sure the rear wheel isn't cocked in the swing arm.
There are little "tic" marks on the swing arm that provide an alignment guide for the axle adjusters. The two nuts on the threaded parts sticking out the end of the swing arm are part of this assembly.
Have you, or someone else, taken this apart lately? If so, the previous post about spacers would apply also.
I have not taken her apart at all. I am the 4th owner and have only had her about a month now. Here are pics of the tics.
Right hand side:
(http://www.potade.net/tilt3rh.jpg)
Left hand side:
(http://www.potade.net/tilt4lh.jpg)
If you look closely in the second pic the frame, swingarm, or both are actually skewed. Does it track straight going down the road? It may be as simple as replacing the swingarm though it looks like it would take a very serious crash to bend one.
I think it tracks pretty straight down the road. However, when my friend helped ride it home for me, he kept saying it wanted to go off to one side, can't remember which side though.
It also looks like the LH passenger foot peg is pressed in -- as compared to the RH one that also supports the exhaust.
That swing arm has seen some rattle can paint jobs for sure.
I don't have any pics up of my project's rear end or I would show some for comparison. Anyone else want to show their butt end?? ;)
Quote from: potade on October 09, 2006, 06:26:21 PM
I think it tracks pretty straight down the road. However, when my friend helped ride it home for me, he kept saying it wanted to go off to one side, can't remember which side though.
I'd like to mention that at the time of purchase, I had only had the 10 hours of MSF experience while my friend had several years of riding experience.
Ok, I scanned the OEM page showing the rear wheel assembly breakdown.
CLICK HERE (http://vtxstar.com/sitebuilderImages/Rear%20Wheel1.JPG) for a view of the proper assembly.
Feel free to right-click and save as so that you can resize it with Photo Editor.
At least you will know if the thing is assembled correctly.
Me thinks yon GS has been treated with less respect than due her.
Typical for a third or fourth owned GS. Sad, but typical.
I'm not sure what to make of it all. As far as the assembly goes, wouldn't it act up if it weren't put together correctly? And if she were laid down real gently (like I did on my first day with her), the swingarm shouldn't be affected (as much?) since the brunt of the weight would sit on the exhaust and the swingarm itself is a pretty meaty chunk of metal anyways; am I correct in my logic? I've taken her up to 90 mph with nary a hitch. But now that I'm aware of this off-centeredness I'm wary of riding her anywhere.
As far as her history goes, the previous (3rd) owner had it serviced maybe a month or two before I bought her (new carbs, new battery). I'm thinking she might have learned about the problem and then offed the bike. All I know about the owners previous to her is from the mods they did. There's a dragon emblem epoxied to the right side of the frame. The handlebars sport aftermarket grips, new mirrors, the lamp was changed to an HID and there's a wind deflector that sits above the instrumentation.
This is like one of those games where they give you two pictures side by side, and you have to circle the parts that are different ...
On my bike, the castle nut is on the left side of the bike, along with the sprocket. The right side has the head of the axle. Since those two parts are switched on your bike the spacer may be off, too ...
Dropping the bike shouldn't bend anything; maybe you'd bend a mirror or something. Nothing like that.
you need to remove the wheel and swingarm and examine them. Either your frame or swingarm are bent badly out of alignment. Once you have them stripped down you'll be able to see which it is.
500 people eyeballing it is worth about one quarter of one actual measurement...
Measure
Measure
And measure some more.
Hi there,
Something is not right here.
It looks like a previous owner is trying to hide damage to the bike.
Note the silver spray paint bubbling up on the chain adjusters and axle nut. NONE of those parts should have paint on them. Someone sprayed them silver, I bet to hide damage from a crash.
And you say a dragon emblem is epoxied onto the frame?
I'd bet there's a bend there on the frame they were trying to cover up. I'd start looking there first.
Let us know how you are doing.
Yours,
Todd
I wouldn't give a shaZam!. Go get a chain and a ratcheting come-along and find a couple trees in close proximety. Park by one tree, opposite the other, and strip the tail. Tie the chain to the tail, the comolong to the steering head, then hook the chain and come-along together around the 2nd tree...then get to ratcheting and bend it back.
Makenzie, I'll take that as a joke to cheer me up. But the geometry of the wheel needs a little more precision than that. It is off by a couple degrees as well as an inch to the left.
Trwhouse, I will take the dragon off to check for damage. I would laugh if the bike were to just up and fall apart when I pry it off.
Umm guy your subframe's tweaked...not anything remotely reletive to your wheel.
...why are the noobs always looking at it the hard way?
Yep. basically the part that carries your seat is off. It does affect weight distribution, but that's about it.
^Exactly. This is why the bike has a tendency to pull to one side: weight distribution is tweaked because your ass is an inch or two too far to the right. If the wheel were misaligned it'd have an undeniable effect...offset tracking, when severe, gives a feeling similar to height induced vertigo. The bike will naturally center and will actually become lethargic, if not fight you, when trying to lean. It'll stand out as odd even to a noob.
Quote from: makenzie71 on October 11, 2006, 01:47:53 AM
Umm guy your subframe's tweaked...not anything remotely reletive to your wheel.
...why are the noobs always looking at it the hard way?
Cuz umm... I'm a noob? :icon_mrgreen:
But thank you for your input. That makes two for the tweaked/totally ruined subframe category.
Still, this is a good learning opportunity. So please bear with me while I un-noobify myself. :icon_mrgreen:
Definatly a bent subframe, the wheel looks cenetred in the swingarm.
It pretty easy to fix, grab some tiedowns, a tree and a 2X4
PLace bike next to tree, place 2X4 where you want to bed it, attache the tiedown to the end of the subframe and crank away. It will rotate it around the 2X4.
Twist action is to stick a very long pipe or even handle of a shovel through the supports and have a fiend help you twist to where you want it.
The paint will chip where it gets bent and such so you will have to touch it up.
We did this on my buddies Bandit 1200 when he crashed and bent his subframe up and to the left about an inch, with a 5 degree twist.
It came out like brand new, less the marks from the 2X4
Where are the frame covers and grab rail?? If tthe previous owner never gave them too you then odds something happened too it
Frame covers and grab rail were removed for inspecting and repairing some cracks in the plastic, which I now believe were from the crash, probably the same crash that bent the subframe. It's starting to come together in my head.
If I bend it back, how will it affect the strength of the structure? I can't expect a return to 100%, can I? And what kind of damage am I looking at having put almost 1k miles on her with her subframe bent like that?
I really appreciate all your responses so far.
well you can bend it back as they said, or keep your eyes peeled here or on ebay for a titled frame, and go that route, sure it will never be 100%, but it should be safe tho :thumb:
The frame will be more brittle at the bend, but it if it were me I would not worry about it, since we are only taking a few degrees of momvement. It can be bent back to 100% it just depends on how much time you have, and how creative you are
The subframe doesnt move so 1K or 100K miles it fine.
Now what other things were damaged in the crash is something i would want to investigate.
A good test is to get some string and tie it to the key in the on/start position(so it is centered) and run it along the bike lining up in the center of gas cap, seat, and tail light. Compare that to ceter line of wheel and stand back a cupple of feet to see which is better centerd. i had the same thouhts when i got my gs(bent swing-arm) but it was just the sub frame. ;)
your axle bolt is on the wrong way..(if someone hasn't mentioned that yet)
Finally got her on the center stand
(http://www.potade.net/tilt5.jpg)
If I sold her as a parts/project bike, how much do you think I could get for her?
depends on how she runs. If she's in perfect running tune than in the grand area.
Found a shop (within walking distance, too).
Admitted for: tweaked subframe, tweaked front tire.
Released into care of owner after four hours.
(http://www.potade.net/true.jpg)
I'd say that that is much better than before. :icon_mrgreen:
and I bet they didn't have to go near the swingarm.:D
As far as I know, he just did the front tire and subframe.
Love your (new?) Avatar btw. You drive a Mazda, too?
I've had it for a long time but my putfile account went bye bye...so I had the little red X. I kept the X for a while because...welll..little red X'es are pimp. I got bored last night and copied the url from my supraforums avatar.
I'm an RX-7 nut...