Front wheel not sitting straight

tunr4life

XS650 Enthusiast
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What's going on fellas I just recently started rebuilding my Xs and at the point I'm putti g the front end together. I replaced the bearings with a set from all balls everything was going smooth until I out the wheel on. The wheel doesn't sit straight it has a lean to the right when looking at it sitting on the bike. I'm run I g out of solutions and any help would be appreciated thanks fellas
 

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What's going on fellas I just recently started rebuilding my Xs and at the point I'm putti g the front end together. I replaced the bearings with a set from all balls everything was going smooth until I out the wheel on. The wheel doesn't sit straight it has a lean to the right when looking at it sitting on the bike. I'm running out of solutions and any help would be appreciated thanks fellas
 

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What did you do to the neck structure? Has it been crashed or welded on?

Neck looks kicked over to the left in that pic.
 
no haven't welded anything on the frame except the visual impact brat kit in the rear. I bought the bike bone stock and it rode straight when i bought it. I tried 2 sets of forks and i get the same result
 
The steering neck tube sure looks cocked over in all your pics. you can check your symmetry and alignment with a plumb bob by first ensuring the bike is stable and level across the lower loops, and fore and aft at the lower loop tube, then dropping a line off each frame tube outboard side in front of the motor, and off each swingarm pivot hole. Connect the points on the ground into a 4 sided shape. The resulting quadrilateral form should measure the same dimension diagonally from either front corner to the opposing aft corner, indicating that the lower frame tubes are parallel to each other. With that estabished, measure and mark both lateral lines' centers, and draw a line through them, which should intersect with criss-cross lines from opposing corners. Extend the plane of these 3 lines forward on the floor about 2 feet. This represents an extended centerline of the frame. Remove the steering stem and drop a plumb bob through it, letting it rest naturally to the lowest point on the lower bearing, and this will represent where the bottom of the stem is located relative to the centerline. If it does not fall on the extended centerline on the floor, you have a frame issue at the neck. If it does fall on the centerline, and the tube can be verified to be perpendicular to the level plane (I'd use an optical level and a machinist's scale for this, but I'm like that. Hard to explain how it all works, but it's a place to start. If that steering tube is on center and vertical, then I would look to the clamps, the lower bearing installation, or even the stem installation next.
 
Ya the clamp could be out a bit. Too bad you didn't have another set to try. You said it ran fine before though. Do the trees turn freely? Maybe the bearings shifted on ya. Sometimes the bottom race can be put in cock-eyed.
 
Are the tubes straight? Bent triples is my first guess. A shot from the side would help.

Bent lower triple is very common, the tubes and wheel get replaced after the accident but the triple is still bent. remove it and place it on a flat surface.
 
Sure looks like the lower triple tree is bent, as Gary says. The bike has been in a front end accident.

You need to sit the triple on a sheet of glass to see the twist.

One of my PO's had been in a front end accident, and my lower triple was twisted. The good news is that they can be straightened, because they are steel not cast iron.

I straightened mine by having the fork tubes clamped in the triple, and then using a lever of some type (I used a wood 2X4) to twist the fork tubes in the opposite direction. It was not difficult to restore to flat. The sheet of glass will tell you when its true again.
 
Yeah if they aren't bent bad you might straighten them. What could go wrong? Some guys and shops even straighten bent tubes...... But straighten what you got or buy used ones that someone else may have straightened. (Or not) which you never find out about til they arrive in the mail.
 
+1 for likely bent fork and or lower triple... +1 for the glass trick. Roll the stancheons etc over the glass and you will see if they are straight or not. There are shops that specialise in these kind of repairs and it doesnt actually cost much.
 
Why are there 2 threads for exactly the same question??? If you have tried 2 sets of forks, are you sure they are both straight? They can bow over time under braking. What about lower triple. Do the forks slide up easily into them? Did you change anything on the wheel - bearings, tire, hub?
 
Sorry for the two threads I wanted to post more pics but could figure out how to do it. I figured out it is the lower triple I put together the front end off the bike and laid it on a level surface and the tire leans to the right and the clamps are on the ground when I straighten the wheel one side of the clamps comes off the floor. I'm going to get another set of lower triples and hopefully I'm right. I'm going to post pics in a bit just have to upload them
 
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