front wheel straight, top yoke a bit skew

my top yoke is a bit skew when the front wheel is pointing straight ahead. stanchions are straight & slide though the yokes fine when loosened. the lock-stops are okay but the clip-on one side is definitely closer to the tank on one side than the other when on full lock

does this sound like something I can adjust out - & if so, how? - or is something likely to be bent?

ta




.

Have you binned it???? if your sure it's all straight then loosen off the bottom yoes and wheeel spindle bounce it up and down and then tighten it all up again - see where that leaves you.

[jambo]

If it's just one bar that's out then you can probably adjust it, if the top yoke is not pointing straight ahead then it's possible something's bent. Taking the front end appart is fairly simple and quickley shows if a fork or yoke, or the front wheel spindle is bent.

[TSM]

Its possable that you have damaged the lockstop which is making the bars turn that little more to one side. Even 0.5-1mm of damage translates to a CM or two at the bar end.

Originally Posted by TSM

Its possable that you have damaged the lockstop which is making the bars turn that little more to one side. Even 0.5-1mm of damage translates to a CM or two at the bar end.

I agree, this is the most likely scenario

Originally Posted by andy

I agree, this is the most likely scenario

nope, the lcokstops are fine

the yoke is definitely skew when riding along in a straight line. when I try to ride holding the yoke square to the centerline of the bike it turns

I've had the front end apart a few times & it always ends up still skew when it goes back together

I think a previous owner may have crashed it - I replaced a stanchion a few months back as it didn't slide thru the yokes smoothly (& rolling it on a flat surface showed a definite bend)

so ... if the two yokes are out of line, is there something that holds them in line that may be broken bent? if not, what else migth be broken/bent?

[TSM]

Nothing holds them together in a set way, top and bottom move seperatly. Seems like you answered the question yourself, one of the tubes are bent. But seriously the headstock can have very little damage (compressed metal) and it will show. More likley that the forks are the issue though.

But thats a minor issue compared to what i have at the moment.

Originally Posted by TSM

Nothing holds them together in a set way, top and bottom move seperatly. Seems like you answered the question yourself, one of the tubes are bent. But seriously the headstock can have very little damage (compressed metal) and it will show. More likley that the forks are the issue though

no, no - both the stanchions are straight. I guess I'll have to have the front end apart again & see if I can line up the yokes properly

Originally Posted by weazelz

no, no - both the stanchions are straight. I guess I'll have to have the front end apart again & see if I can line up the yokes properly

If the stanchions are straight then the 2 yokes MUST be inline with each other already.

Therefore your problem must be that the front wheel is not inline with the 2 yokes - a common problem usually sorted by releasing all clamps and giving the front end a good bounce to line it all up.

[jambo]

loosen the headstock top yoke nut, and the front wheel spindle as well as the bottom yoke clamps and have a bounce as suggested by those above. Please note if you loosen the top and bottom yoke fork clamps, or just the bottom and take the top nut off the bike comes apart or slides down the forks... Not that I've ever seen that happen