rear wheel seems off center

[martinkh]

My 94 750 katana is in the bed of the truck and going to Utah this weekend for cpr and a rebirth.

When looking at it from the back, the rear tire always seemed a bit off center from the fender. Now, at eye level, it is about an inch off. I had previously had it up to 140 on a straight, and I put a few hundred miles on it in canyons with no shake nor signs of balance/stability problems. The right axle clip thingie (tech term) is on the third notch, the left is about 3 1/2.

Anyone deal with this before? Does this mean the previous owner bent the frame? I can try to remember to take a pix of it tomorrow.

I'd hate to spend around 2K bringing this thing to life again and have a bogus machine.

thx

[The CyberPoet]

It's a matter of simply aligning both sides with the axle bolt loose, using the adjusters at the end of the swing-arm and checking chain tension to make sure you're not pulling the chain too tight. At least it is, if there aren't any damages involved, such as a broken adjuster or a bad swingarm bearing (on the center stand, you shouldn't be able to wiggle the swing arm left-to-right at all).

Unfortunately, the chain adjuster plates are notoriously inaccurate, since they pretty much "float" in place. You can gain some accuracy by pushing them all the way forward while you're working on the adjustment, but the better method is to use a tool called a chain alignment tool (most mail order vendors, any cyclegear store). The cheap one on the market everyone uses is by MotionPro Chain Alignment tool and runs somewhere between $20 and $25. The top-of-the-line one is way overkill for most people, but is a Profi Laser Chain Alignment tool (shoots a laser beam down the chain to show you the alignment), somewhere between $80 and $100. You can also use a pair of 2x4" boards or some string to align the rear tire to the front (cheaper than a chain alignment tool, but more difficult to get "just right"). A search here on KR and/or on google should net you the string or board method.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[rwcreigh]

It's a matter of simply aligning both sides with the axle bolt loose, using the adjusters at the end of the swing-arm and checking chain tension to make sure you're not pulling the chain too tight. At least it is, if there aren't any damages involved, such as a broken adjuster or a bad swingarm bearing (on the center stand, you shouldn't be able to wiggle the swing arm left-to-right at all).

Unfortunately, the chain adjuster plates are notoriously inaccurate, since they pretty much "float" in place. You can gain some accuracy by pushing them all the way forward while you're working on the adjustment, but the better method is to use a tool called a chain alignment tool (most mail order vendors, any cyclegear store). The cheap one on the market everyone uses is by MotionPro Chain Alignment tool and runs somewhere between $20 and $25. The top-of-the-line one is way overkill for most people, but is a Profi Laser Chain Alignment tool (shoots a laser beam down the chain to show you the alignment), somewhere between $80 and $100. You can also use a pair of 2x4" boards or some string to align the rear tire to the front (cheaper than a chain alignment tool, but more difficult to get "just right"). A search here on KR and/or on google should net you the string or board method.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

+1111 listen to CP.he knows his stuff

[rwcreigh]

It's a matter of simply aligning both sides with the axle bolt loose, using the adjusters at the end of the swing-arm and checking chain tension to make sure you're not pulling the chain too tight. At least it is, if there aren't any damages involved, such as a broken adjuster or a bad swingarm bearing (on the center stand, you shouldn't be able to wiggle the swing arm left-to-right at all).

Unfortunately, the chain adjuster plates are notoriously inaccurate, since they pretty much "float" in place. You can gain some accuracy by pushing them all the way forward while you're working on the adjustment, but the better method is to use a tool called a chain alignment tool (most mail order vendors, any cyclegear store). The cheap one on the market everyone uses is by MotionPro Chain Alignment tool and runs somewhere between $20 and $25. The top-of-the-line one is way overkill for most people, but is a Profi Laser Chain Alignment tool (shoots a laser beam down the chain to show you the alignment), somewhere between $80 and $100. You can also use a pair of 2x4" boards or some string to align the rear tire to the front (cheaper than a chain alignment tool, but more difficult to get "just right"). A search here on KR and/or on google should net you the string or board method.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

+1111 listen to CP.he knows his stuff