Ok hi all, I'm trying to find out where the axle spacer on the front axle is suposed to go.  I have noticed that the headlight/front guard do not line uo exactly with the tyre.  They seem to be a couple of degrees off.  A mate reckons that the spacer on the front axle has been put back in the wrong place.  He said this could be also effecting the brakes.  Can you guys/girls have a look at the attached pic and let me know?  It's a GS500K3.

Cheers,

Andrew
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f70/pd1578/ForkSpacerwtf.jpg

The castle nut (in your case the nut) should be flush with the outside of the damper tube. The wide section below your nut should be inserted into the brake rotor area. There are two spacers on that side of the wheel. It looks like the one under the nut is 180-out and in the wrong place.

I recommend an online parts fiche for the proper breakdown.

I'm looking at the one at MR Cycles (click on me) for the K3, 2004 - 2005 and it shows the front wheel, sans damper tubes, in assembled order.

Just scroll down the page and enter the pulldowns for your bike. Heck, any GS from 89 to today will have the same set up.

I shall check that out.

Cheers,

Also, rotate the axle to see if that helps line up the brakes.  I don't want to say it, but it might be bent (not a lot).

Your pic looks right to me, that spacer sleeve thru the right fork slider is to make it all comes out right.  After tightening the axle nut, did you loosen that sleeve pinch bolt and bounce the front end up and down a few times and then retighten it?  Makes sure there is no binding in the fork tubes.

The axle nut washer doesn't touch the fork slider, it's locked up tight against the sleeve and should be a bit away from the fork tube slider.

As far as the front brake is concerned, it is a pin slider type caliper and will align itself properly to the disc as it is actuated a few times.

runsilent, thanks for the reply. 

The brakes seem to work fine, no binding, no excessive noise nothing that would seem to be a worry except that the triple clamp is a couple of degrees off 90 to the tyre if you know what I mean.  I will loosen the sleeve pinch bolts and try the bouncing then retighten.  The bike may have been dropped on the right side as there is some scratching of the case cover on that side and a couple of chips out of the ducktail on the same side.  The stock bar end was also bent on that side. The right hand side of the bars may also be a little bent but it's not obvious and quite hard to tell for sure.

I'm having a hard time reconciling this diagram:

http://www.psndealer.com/fiche/images/Suzuki/2001/Motorcycles/2102_47.gif

with the photo you posted here:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f70/pd1578/ForkSpacerwtf.jpg

Have you disassembled the wheel yet to check to make sure that everything is in order? I can't count the number of times I've seen wheel bearings and spacers reassembled in the wrong position; it seems that some people think that as long as everything "looks" correct, the wheel is properly installed.

Please remove that ridiculous acorn nut, and check the end of the axle for damage; scars on the end of the axle will indicate that the GS has been down on that side. The parts diagram shows that the short (shouldered) spacer (#5) is installed next to the wheel bearing, with the shoulder-side to the bearing, followed by the long spacer, then the fork tube, the castle nut, and the cotterpin.

I get the feeling that the washer shown in your photo (black arrow pointing to it) is there only to prevent the end of the axle from punching through the acorn nut. Time to get a proper castle nut and cotter pin, so you can eliminate the washer and acorn nut.

Don't forget to roll the axle on a flat surface to check it; if it is bent enough to be noticeable when it rolls, replace it as well.

Good luck; let us know what you find when you disassemble the wheel...

Quote from: Doggy on March 14, 2006, 10:34:05 PM
runsilent, thanks for the reply. 

The brakes seem to work fine, no binding, no excessive noise nothing that would seem to be a worry except that the triple clamp is a couple of degrees off 90 to the tyre if you know what I mean.  I will loosen the sleeve pinch bolts and try the bouncing then retighten.  The bike may have been dropped on the right side as there is some scratching of the case cover on that side and a couple of chips out of the ducktail on the same side.  The stock bar end was also bent on that side. The right hand side of the bars may also be a little bent but it's not obvious and quite hard to tell for sure.

OK, I think you must be referring to the triple clamp being off a couple of degrees to the wheel as viewed from the top, ie while sitting on the bike.  This is very common on a GS500 and many bikes that have been dropped.  When the handlebar hits down it slams the steering assembly against the stop and puts a twist in the whole assembly.  Usually nothing is bent it's just twisted and held in the twisted position by the fork brace and tripple trees.  Just loosening the four screws that hold the fork brace to the sliders can allow it to pop back in place.  It can also be helpful to loosen three of the four triple clamp fork clamp screws while the fork brace is loose.

Quote from: Cal Amari on March 15, 2006, 07:35:45 AM
Please remove that ridiculous acorn nut, and check the end of the axle for damage; scars on the end of the axle will indicate that the GS has been down on that side. The parts diagram shows that the short (shouldered) spacer (#5) is installed next to the wheel bearing, with the shoulder-side to the bearing, followed by the long spacer, then the fork tube, the castle nut, and the cotterpin.

The castle nut and cotterpin used in this country are not used in many others.  That acorn nut has a nylock insert (self locking) and works quite OK.  Needs replaced after it's taken off and on a few times though.  Like the acorn nuts that hold the oil filter cover on, they keep dirt and other foreign matter from getting into the threads.

runsilent, Thats exactly what I'm talking about.  The front wheel looks very slighty off line when view from on the bike.  The front guard appears to be online with the triple but it looks like the tyre is a couple of degrees off.  It's possible the area pictured in the photo may not be to blame after all. So if the bolts are loosened and then retightened it could straighten up? 

Other than the annoyance of it being a couple of degrees off (more noticeable cause I have a windscreen fitted) it behaves fine. Except for the excessive vibration (original bar ends were removed and alloy ones inserted, need heavier ones) and soft front forks, the bike rides well.  No one that ridden it has comented on anything except the above.