Front Fork Gap

[Brandad]

So having been inspired by those of you who change your own tires, I took a shot at it myself. Everything went well with the exception of how my front wheel fit back in the forks. After I torqued the front axle to the appropriate specs, there was still about 1/8 inch of space between the right collar on the wheel and the inside of the fork. I was able to squeeze the fork & wheel together by hand (using very little force) to butt them together, then keep it secure with the axle pinch bolt. It seems to ride fine so far. Once the brakes were back on, it didn't seem like there was any room for the wheel to slop around regardless. Is this gap normal? Maybe it was like this when I took it apart and just didn't notice?

 

[Gosling1]

Both spacers in place?

 

[mglowe]

I was thinking on the same lines as Gosling1. Look at possibly the spacer or oil seal/bearings not set (?) correctly.

It's a bit late but I always take "before" photos from various angles to reference if things don't look right.

 

[Nelly]

It sounds very much like a spacer issue.
Can you post a picture of what of what we are looking at?

Nelly:thumbup:

 

[Brandad]

Both spacers in place?

I don't see spacers, do you mean collars (#7 in the manual drawing)? I was unable to do anything with the bearings as I don't have a bearing puller, so they are unchanged. I did try swapping the left & right collars, no change. I also tried turning the collars around - definitely only one way they go on. I will try to post up pictures later today.

 

[Brandad]

Here's my first attempt at posting re-sized pictures. So far every time I email pictures from this camera, everyone complains they're too big. Got my fingers crossed....

Here's a straight on shot (with a bit of fun tire color from rolling over kids' chalk drawings).
View attachment 13379

Here's a shot of the left side (if sitting on the bike).
View attachment 13380

Here's a couple shots of the right side, squeezed together, pinch bolt torqued.
View attachment 13381
View attachment 13382

And here's a shot with a slider gauge inserted in the gap once the pinch bolt is loosened and the fork spreads open slightly. I'm somewhat glad to see my paranoid estimate of 1/8" is too high, but my slider gauge adds up to about 0.0445" (1.13mm). That's somewhere between 1/16" and 1/32".
View attachment 13383

0.0445" sounds trivial as I write it, but in comparison the rear was a dead-on fit. I had been assuming that with the front axle bolt there was a risk of over-torqueing and smashing bearings. But that appears impossible (I tried).

 

[fxclm5]

have u crashed before, are your forks straight?

 

[Brandad]

have u crashed before, are your forks straight?

Good question. I know that I have not crashed or dropped the bike, but I can't vouch for the previous 3 owners. It's obviously been dropped on both sides sometime in the past, but damage all looks like minimal driveway drops.

I wondered about the forks as well. I'm pretty sure they're good. Have skimmed posts on checking forks for straightness, but have never seriously checked them. Forks operate smoothly on the road or when sitting still & holding the front brake while bouncing them up & down.

 

[wrightme43]

My forks open up when I pull out the bolt, and close up when the axle bolt is tight.

When in doubt, dissasemble and reassemble is my motto.

 

[wrightme43]

Is the wheel rotating the same direction as it was? I am sure you have the tire arrow going the right way, but did you mark the wheel?

 

[Brandad]

Is the wheel rotating the same direction as it was? I am sure you have the tire arrow going the right way, but did you mark the wheel?

I didn't mark the wheel, but my spokes are rounded in the direction of rotation and flat on the other side of the spoke. It's possible it was on wrong before I started and I didn't notice. I'm tempted to pull it off and put it on backwards to see if it fits better, but then that will be a much bigger problem.

 

[reiobard]

can't really tell from the pictures, but are both collars on the "Right" side of the bike, back to back?

 

[Brandad]

can't really tell from the pictures, but are both collars on the "Right" side of the bike, back to back?

There's one collar on the left side of the wheel, one on the right side of the wheel, each oriented the correct way. I think if both collars had been on one side of the wheel, there would have been an 1" gap on the other side.

I think I'm going to take wrightme's advice and take it all apart again and put it back together (again) and see if that gets me anywhere.

 

[mglowe]

have u crashed before, are your forks straight?

Wouldn't the front wheel axle not insert if the forks were off?

I do think your on target with the crash/drop thought. Something is not right but we'll see when he re-assembles it.

 

[Brandad]

Well, I'm embarassed & relieved. I'll go ahead and explain this since several of you tried to help ol' misguided me. Also, I don't want other folks to find this "problem" & try to "fix" it now that I've brought it up.

When I went to the dealer today, I made a point to check other Yamaha's front forks/axles to see if there was something I'd missed. Turns out the the shop's used '05 FZ6 & the new FZ1 (could have been an R6, I was only concentrating on front wheels) both had similar gaps between the right (from rider's perspective) fork & wheel collar, just like mine. FZ6R's have changed their front axle design, so couldn't make a comparison. So I come home perplexed, take the axle apart a few times, and finally - Eureka! The hole on the right fork has the same diameter all the way through - the axle could go completely through it if the left fork wasn't in the way! To show you what I mean see photo with axle put in backwards through the right fork.
View attachment 13574
Sorry it's a bit dark but if you look closely, you can see the largest part of the axle going all the way through the fork, only stopping because the wheel is in the way. So theoretically, our bikes don't even need the right fork (if you drove on an ultra-smooth road with a super strong axle). The axle is built to hold the wheel together using just the flared end on the right side of the axle and the threads in the left fork. The right fork is basically for stability and balance(and for the FZ6's beautiful symetry ). Soooo... don't worry about the gap if you have it.

Thanks all for the suggestions and help.

"When in doubt, dissasemble and reassemble is my motto." wrightme 43

And special thanks to wrightme43.