15lbs? Yikes! -Kyle
On Fri, Dec 3, 2010 at 3:17 PM, Kurt Nolte <[email protected]> wrote: > It was a long standing joke of mine that I could go six months without > seeing the sun, but then I started back at school last fall. > > Did some checks today, spacer looked good, the rim spun straight, and the > two wheels are aligned as per my flourescent tube, so... > > But! It's the little things that get you. Perhaps my tire having only 15 > pounds of pressure might have been exacerbating the handlebars being off, so > we shall see how it does today. > > On Dec 3, 2010 2:57 PM, "surfswab" <[email protected]> wrote: > > 10-4 on the vampire shift. I'm the night guy for a 24/7 trucking > company and get frequent flak about the neccessity of getting back to > my coffin before sunrise (!) > > I had a similar problem with my '95, but with complications. Some > troubleshooting tips from Dennis Hammerl (the fluorescent tube > alignment guy) helped identify it. Too bad he's not around anymore. > The guy knows his stuff. > > Wish I could tell ya the solution is quick and easy, but it's not. > Fork tubes are relatively fragile, meaning easily bent, especially > below the lower fork pinch clamp. > > Testing for that involves supporting the bike so that the front wheel > just barely touches the ground, loosening upper and lower pinch bolts > and twisting both tubes by hand, to see if either of them bind in > their clamps. That would indicate a tube that's bent above the lower > clamp. > > If that's inconclusive, remove the wheel and repeat the exercise, > looking for off-center movement of the lower part of the tubes and/or > the clamps, indicating a bend in the tube below the lower clamp. > Kinda like you would roll a billiard cue across a table to see if > it's warped. > > A further test is to remove the fork legs entirely and compare the > tubes against a known straight edge. I used a steel carpenter's > square. > > Mine turned out to be complicated by a missing axle spacer, bent > forks, triple tree clamps AND the steering head, clues that the bike > took a hit severe enuf to bugger all that up, although none of the > damage was immediately visible. > > I had bought the bike during a driving rain, so did not test ride it > first. My bad, and I wish I had. When I did finally ride it, it > steered steadily left and had the same hard left turn issue you are > describing (thanks to the missing spacer, compliments of the PO.) > > Subsequent inspection, particularly paint flaked off the frame around > the steering head confirmed the extent of the damage. > > Hopefully, yours is not that severe. It doesn't sound like it is, > since the bike tracks straight. But those are just a few suggestions > to help narrow down the problem. > > > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Nighthawk Motorcy... > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<nighthawk_lovers%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en.
