None of this is isolated,your comparing the rear to the front and visa versa.Yes its far from easy check the whole bike, wheels centred and true.Frame straight in both planes and raked to correct angle.Swingarm not bent,swingarm pivot flogged out and not square,found that in an XT500 and the chain run straight.And thats where standard there is no in built offsets with the bike made that way.Or bent frame members std like the one to miss the headers on Laverdas
Sacrilege,...According to Some....
- Thread starter ghwallice
- Start date
blab
Hero member
- Location
- Adelaide South Australia
Ahh, thanks Mark, the penny has dropped. I was trying it with a straight edge -touching both sides of the rear tyre and then trying to measure both front and back of the front tyre, hence my question on -is the front wheel straight.
T
Terry Dymond
Guest
I wrap the string around the rear of the rear tyre and adjust the string so that it just touches the front of the rear tyre, then measure the distance between the strings through the wheel, a 120/90 BT45 it should be 120mm. Then, at the front tyre, measure the distance again to ensure the strings are still 120mm apart, thus confirming the strings are parallel. If everything is hunkydory, the strings should have 10mm clearance either side of the front tyre (assuming you have a 100/90 fitted).
If not, time to tweak the adjusters and do it all over again. Simples
Lots of ways to skin this cat.
If not, time to tweak the adjusters and do it all over again. Simples
Lots of ways to skin this cat.
For what its worth for me reckon you should be looking more at the rear end more so that worrying about the front end, check the rear wheel alignment, make sure the swing arm and axle is tight... after a full on rebuild it is amazing how everthing can work loose and need retentioning after a few 1000 K's of riding after it all settles in...blab said:
What size rear tyre are you running I remember back in the day when I fitted a 130 to my 80 Jota it started to do that real bad remember going down Ousley on a run down to Tilba Tilba and trying to keep up with Chris Mooney and Co......man I near crapped myself... anyways the next week went back to a 120 and problem was solved.
Also if the rear suspension is too stiff it can cause issues too if you are a light weight like me
remember following John K on the old road and his thing was bucking and weaving like there was no tomorrow, he got the rear shocks softened right up and a new rear tyre and on the Snowy run he was rock steady at 140K plus.... The Cico has a set Marzocchi's pogo sticks on the rear on the softest setting, a 120 on the rear and it dont have any noticable or disconcerning weave.The front forks are still stock also though have some valves that one day will get around to fitting... . it aint a precise as the 3C mind you but those early Ceriani sprung triples are in a league of their own..
...........oh and note dont compare it to they way you Dukes handle as a Laverad it aint a Ducati and never will be so wont handle like it is on rails...
Ian D
Hero member
- Location
- South Australia
Brett said:
Guess that explains why my Series 2 sits on the road so well, .... eat more burgers.
have identical front end to blab-best handling bike with marzos ive ever ridden-and ive had a few-also have the same gazi,s-rosie tracks true even when thrown on her side at 200kms hr-surely shes good now blab with the new front end red sent you?i see youve been out and about in the hills-how is it mate?was contemplating throwing some yam/suz 43 mm forks on her-changed me mind after phillip island-would be a waste of dough for little improvement I reckon-although they would help a bit extreme braking-Ill live with the rear in the air a bit when they bottom!ive also got the forks through the yokes 8 mm for sharper turn in-was concerned shed be a bit weavy at top speed-but tracks perfect-ive also lifted the rear 15mm this week and raised the forks 5 mm-will be testing in 3 weeks at ec
Its been a while since I rode a Bevel but my Pantah does have the edge on for want of a better discription than HANDING.My Laverda feels fantasic layed over,very very planted and thats with it setup to steer as fast as I can make it with standad frame. Forks through and longer shocks.Its a bit vague bolt upright, I am not completely sold on the new T30 Radial Bridgestone front tyre. The Pantah is a step above,I don't know how to describe why though.
My memory of Bevels is so utterly stable you could run over a brick in a sweeper and other than rock stiff suspension they wouldn't react at all. Bloody hard to push in tight stuff and bastards to do U turns on,hit the steering stops mid turn gets your attention.Describing poor handling is easy,describing good but different handling is a bit harder.Maybe you just don't like the way it handles
My memory of Bevels is so utterly stable you could run over a brick in a sweeper and other than rock stiff suspension they wouldn't react at all. Bloody hard to push in tight stuff and bastards to do U turns on,hit the steering stops mid turn gets your attention.Describing poor handling is easy,describing good but different handling is a bit harder.Maybe you just don't like the way it handles
motoddrob
Hero member
- Location
- S/W Australia
Hey Blab, you might find the triple handling disappointing due to the fact you've been riding Ducatis probably for years. When I brought my 1st triple, a 1200 after having owned 750s for over 10 years and at the time was hooning around on the 750SFC. That 1200 would scare the shit out of me compared to the SFC which was rock solid. My solution to sorting the 1200 out was to change the frame for a Mk3 Motodd. Finally a triple that handles. Way more fun to ride than the SFC, comfort levels probably help too.
Shajota
Hero member
- Location
- Whitsundays Qld
Yeh, I remember when I first rode a mates Ducati 860 (in the 70's), had it leaned over in a fast sweeper and bang, hit a pothole, nothing, no shake, no deviation, just kept going (I was used to the elastic framed Honda 4 at the time). The lav certainly rides differently to a Duc, but I have always felt planted on mine and certainly feels surefooted as speed grows. They are top heavy and need to be man handled in tight stuff. Minor things can make a big difference however so worth methodically checking as has been suggested before.Vince said:
Dellortoman
Hero member
- Location
- Tasmania, Australia
Blimey, you guys are high tech wheel aligners. Bits of string, bricks, planks of wood ...
I just do the fucking thing by eye. Sight along both sides of the rear tyre to make sure it's pointing somewhere in the direction of the front tyre.
I just do the fucking thing by eye. Sight along both sides of the rear tyre to make sure it's pointing somewhere in the direction of the front tyre.
AndyW
Hero member
Dellortoman said:
Luckily the roads in Tassie are as bent as your bikes then so you can't tell how badly the wheels are aligned
Actually, Cam, I have to agree with you as, although I have a whizzbang laser alignment tool now, I always used to do it that way. Once I'd finished I'd go for a ride down the road and take my hands off the bars at, say, 40mph and as long as it didn't drift left or right reckoned I had it bang on: ah, the good old days.. :
AndyW 8)
When I first started looking at my bikes handling I visited Laurie Alderton,
the Sydney frame straightening guru.He is in his 70s and is old school before they built the class room. I asked him if he had one of those Motoliner frame straightening machines that were about 20 years ago but have disappeared since beam frames arrived,cannot be straightened and now the cannot be repaired write off law we have now.He said no but would love one. He did it all by eye, heat and big levers and chain blocks.He has a fantastic reputation.and does a brilliant job on 2 stoke expansion chambers that get crushed in the bush all the time. Wheels as well ,fixed road race bikes all the time and they still point right. I like it a bit more Scientific and measureable but but what do I know compared to 40 years of doing it.Happily for us Sydney blokes his son is next in line but Laurie still does jobs that interest him, even in his 70s.;
the Sydney frame straightening guru.He is in his 70s and is old school before they built the class room. I asked him if he had one of those Motoliner frame straightening machines that were about 20 years ago but have disappeared since beam frames arrived,cannot be straightened and now the cannot be repaired write off law we have now.He said no but would love one. He did it all by eye, heat and big levers and chain blocks.He has a fantastic reputation.and does a brilliant job on 2 stoke expansion chambers that get crushed in the bush all the time. Wheels as well ,fixed road race bikes all the time and they still point right. I like it a bit more Scientific and measureable but but what do I know compared to 40 years of doing it.Happily for us Sydney blokes his son is next in line but Laurie still does jobs that interest him, even in his 70s.;
T
Terry Dymond
Guest
Yeah but! My eyeballs aren't calibrated to the millimetre
.I do get carried away with the string aligning thing, down on my hands and knees checking out clearances to the nth degree.
In the process of fitting new YSS shocks; what with threaded pre-load adjusters and 50 damping settings, they should provide me with hours of 'entertainment'.
Dellortoman
Hero member
- Location
- Tasmania, Australia
String is not reliable as a straight-edge. It can deviate where it touches the edge of a tyre. Sighting is much better. Light generally travels in straight lines.
I usually do my bikes when they're on the lift table with the font wheel clamped in the wheel clamp. As it happens, the rubber jaws on the wheel clamp are about the right thickness to pad the front tyre out to the same width as the back tyre. All I do is look along the sides of the rear tyre to make sure they're aimed at the outer edge of the rubber jaw liner on each side of the front wheel. It's quite accurate You can pick a fraction of a turn on the rear wheel adjusters.
I haven't worked out how to align the rear wheel on the Guzzi though. I haven't found the chain adjusters yet.
I usually do my bikes when they're on the lift table with the font wheel clamped in the wheel clamp. As it happens, the rubber jaws on the wheel clamp are about the right thickness to pad the front tyre out to the same width as the back tyre. All I do is look along the sides of the rear tyre to make sure they're aimed at the outer edge of the rubber jaw liner on each side of the front wheel. It's quite accurate You can pick a fraction of a turn on the rear wheel adjusters.
I haven't worked out how to align the rear wheel on the Guzzi though. I haven't found the chain adjusters yet.
mcnicol
Hero member
- Location
- Safety Harbor, Florida, USA
Cam, that's what the turnbuckle on the driveshaft is for. I thought everybody knew that :Dellortoman said:
. Ken
Shajota
Hero member
- Location
- Whitsundays Qld
Yeh, me too but wasn't game to say anything..................Dellortoman said:
(Is there a high level of OCD ism in Lav ownership - reading the Forum at times would suggest so
- or maybe I'm just a slack bastard 
)
T
Terry Dymond
Guest
Slack bastards . Everybody is pernickety about horsepower, valve clearances, (paint schemes :) etc.etc. Why not wheel alignment?
. Everybody is pernickety about horsepower, valve clearances, (paint schemes :) etc.etc. Why not wheel alignment?
motoddrob
Hero member
- Location
- S/W Australia
I made a big set of dividers out of some scrap MDF with a couple of nails as pointers. Check the centres between the rear axle and the s/arm pivot and away we go.
But then again the Motodd will out handle a triple any day even with a mis-aligned wheel alignment!!
But then again the Motodd will out handle a triple any day even with a mis-aligned wheel alignment!!