Front wheel binding when tightening castle. Xs650f

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79f standard, single disc, new pads, brake caliper piston moves freeley.

I am using the speedo, that fits fine, I put my axle through my wheel and forks. I notice on the right (caliper side) there is a 4mm gap between the lower fork.

When I go to tighten the castle nut I can see the lower fork tube move inward closing the gap. But as I am even finger tightening the castle nut the front wheel binds up and will not spin!

So I can't tighten it without binding, I decided to finger tighten it and put the cotter pin in. I apply front brake and tighten fork tube bolts. I go ride the bike around the block and it makes a grinding noise off and on and it actually gouged my rotor and I see metal dust after I'm done.

Are my fork tubes bent? Am I missing a part?
 

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This is where you Fu**ed up.............The front wheel you bought.........Post #21 in your build thread, is for a 34mm fork with the 34mm rotor and you are using it with the 35mm Caliper and they don't work as a pair............Need to install the original Rotor that came with the bike
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Good catch Doug.... and Gary... looks bent to me too.

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Good catches guys. *scratches head* it looks like I'll swap my rotor, then figure out if my tubes bent and how to address that.

If the rotor is 1mm to big in diameter maybe it was grinding on the inside of the caliper That explains metal shavings.
 
Swap the original rotor in and retry ..............I wouldn't worry to much about a bent fork yet...If it binds again then maybe further investigations are called for.....

gggGary has a good post, (somewhere), showing how to check for bent forks and just about all of these old XS's have some bend in them due to their age. Having just the one rotor brakes does put a twisting stress on to the front forks...........If it is minor then it is a matter of turning and aligning the fork so it is parallel to the other fork and the bend faces to the rear.......
 
Thanks for catching the disc rotor swap interchangeablity (albeit a few months late) , that is actually good news to hear because that could very well be the solution!
 
Another question before working on this front end tomorrow. Should I be trying to close the gap on the rotor side? Possibly by rotating fork tubes? Or is some gap normal?
 
Thanks for catching the disc rotor swap interchangeablity (albeit a few months late) , that is actually good news to hear because that could very well be the solution!

Ha, ha, .........Gates open and the horse has bolted ....and problem soved..... but to be fair i did post the year of the XS650 that those wheels fitted in post #24
 
Another question before working on this front end tomorrow. Should I be trying to close the gap on the rotor side? Possibly by rotating fork tubes? Or is some gap normal?

Don't look for problems until you find one..........change the rotor, then see
 
Another question before working on this front end tomorrow. Should I be trying to close the gap on the rotor side? Possibly by rotating fork tubes? Or is some gap normal?
No gap,all the parts are held stationary when the large section of the axle draws everything up tight to the RH fork tube. Gotta be tight (to torque spec).

changed LH to RH
 
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Thanks for catching the disc rotor swap interchangeablity (albeit a few months late) , that is actually good news to hear because that could very well be the solution!

I don't sign in every day unless i see something i want to add to..............Just realized you thread is posted through the clubhouse so it isn't available unless your signed in...............That's why i missed your question about the wheels..........
 
I'm pretty much positive the front wheel you have there is from a TX750. As far as I know, it was the only one with both a D.I.D. flanged alloy rim AND that alloy cover for the left disc mount. A '73 TX650 also used that alloy cover but it's wheel rim was chromed steel, not alloy. If both the wheels you got are like this then boy, you scored big time. Personally, I'd be going back to that scrap yard and looking for the matching rears, lol. The TX750 rear wheel is a nice upgrade for the 650. It bolts right in and has a bigger brake. This is one on the right, next to a stock 650 rear on the left .....

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Yes, your clearance and binding issues are due to not changing the disc. The early 2 piece disc on your "new" wheel has a different offset than the later one piece disc. It is offset 5mm more .....

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Tightening the axle will pull the disc towards and bind it against the outer side of the brake caliper. The stepped end of your axle acts as the spacer on the left side. Tightening the axle nut while the axle clamp on the left fork lower is still loose pulls the axle through just the right amount to push the wheel over against the right fork leg. You should end up with a small amount of the axle shoulder showing between the fork leg and speedo drive .....

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