Ok, so I've finally managed to get all the parts I needed in and repaired - have now reassembled the front end with straight forks and new head stem bearings..

Thought it'd all be smooth sailing from there and it was - till I came to put the axle back through. Everything aligned perfectly, however the axle now appears to be about 5mm too long! I checked the fiche for the front end and I haven't lost any parts so I really can't understand what the s*** is going on with it. It can't be the forks as I had them repaired and reconditioned - they're straight. There's no way I'm riding this thing with the wheel shifting about between the forks.

Is there something I'm missing here? I'll post a picture when I get home to take one - but thought I might ask, in case someone has encountered something like this before. 




P.S In better news my new headlight beam arrived from the States. Ended up being 80 dollars cheaper to ship it from San Diego than to buy it locally, here in Aus. Same OEM product.

A picture of what you have so we can identify the parts and see what is missing. Most likely a spacer is in the wrong place.

Did you loosen the clamp bolt at the bottom of the right fork slider?  Loosen it and retighten the axle nut with it loose and then tighten the clamp bolt.

Here are some images... My immediate thought was that I'd lost a washer or something but i'm certain that everything is on there.

Appreciate the help guys!

Looks fine to me that's how mine looked

Quote from: slipperymongoose on August 19, 2012, 04:26:44 AM
Looks fine to me that's how mine looked

Does your front wheel fit without moving around between the forks?

I think it'd all be fine if it wasn't a stupid acorn nut - not sure if I should kludge it like that though, rather fix the problem, whatever it is.

Thought that was an acorn nut in the pic.  Should be a castle nut and cotter pin here in US but other markets use self locking nuts and they clamp down tight.   

I had an acorn nut, loosen that little 10mm bolt and tighten your acorn and that will push that sleeve in and take up the slack.

That's what I suggested above before I saw pic, can't believe they don't have a cotter pin/castle nut or at least a self locking nut for safety.  What do you have on the rear axles over there?

Self locking nut.

From wiki torque chart:

Front axle nut - Normal nut with cotter pin (US models) 36 - 52 26.0 - 37.5
Front axle nut - Self lock nut (UK models) 40 - 58 29.0 - 42.0

Sorted! Thanks for the help guys... It's been a bit of a process getting this thing back on the road!

Looking forward to a ride.