Tweaked front forks / how to diagnose and fix

Drennan57

Drennan57

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Hey guys/gals so i had suspicions that my 6R had been down by the previous owner and the ticking from my forks has all but confirmed that. When standing still if you move your bars back and forth and hear a ticking noise apparently it means the forks are tweaked from being laid down.

So i was wondering if anyone can give me some advice to remedy this. I was thinking about loosening the lower triple clamps to relieve the pressure but my 6R requires a very large Allen to do this and i don't have one big enough.

I've never made fork adjustments so any help is appreciated.
 
I would make first sure that it's not your steering bearing what you hear ticking ....

Why did you have a suspicion in the first place? Based on hearsay, fairing scratch etc., or based on you riding it and feeling some symptoms you felt were wrong? If so what were those?
 
This could get involved. The wheel has to come off, springs out to check fork action for stiction. Before you do that, loosening axle and top triple clamp bolts might allow forks to take relaxed set. You'll have to use a logical sequence of retightening everything so as to not bind the forks. This can be accomplished in part by holding the bike upright facing a wall where you can stroke the fork thru it's travel without using the brake. Doing this will allow the fork to take a natural set.
 
mxs said:
I would make first sure that it's not your steering bearing what you hear ticking ....

Why did you have a suspicion in the first place? Based on hearsay, fairing scratch etc., or based on you riding it and feeling some symptoms you felt were wrong? If so what were those?
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It's quite difficult to check the head bearing on the 6R. The pipes run directly under the entire bike to the exit so jacking it up isn't an option without a center stand to get the front wheel up. Is there a way to know for sure without lifting the front end off the ground?

An there is evidence of the bike being down. Bit of fairing and case rash, the handlebar is nearly flush to the tank when full locked to the left and raised about a full inch on the right side at full lock. It looks kinda like the left side of the bar is slightly pulled in when straight but that could just be my eyes.

As far as riding goes it does seem a little stiffer to lean it too the right but that could also be my inexperience, i feel more comfortable leaning left for whatever reason. Always have i think.

Wish i was a bike mechanic but i'm not :(
 
mxs said:
I would make first sure that it's not your steering bearing what you hear ticking ....

Why did you have a suspicion in the first place? Based on hearsay, fairing scratch etc., or based on you riding it and feeling some symptoms you felt were wrong? If so what were those?
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+1. This.

Tweaked forks will not cause ticking. Its most likely your bearings.

If you want to check if the forks are twisted, this is an old trick taught to me by John Crombie. Get a 6x8 or 8x10 picture frame (I normally use my wedding picture), take out the glass and place it across the fork uppers. If it sits perfectly flush on both legs then everything is in alignment. If not and it rocks on a diagonal then they are twisted in the clamps. Can be used with USD or regular forks and takes literally 5 seconds

If you want to see if the forks are bent, take out the wheel and push a dial gauge up against the bottom of the fork and rotate the bottom of the leg. There should be no more that a few thousands run out. Some kind of a pointer that doesn't move can also be used. Its normally pretty obvious if they are bent.

Saves a lot of time pulling stuff apart before you know if there is an actual problem
 
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Forks are more likely to get tweaked from crashing into something rather than just a low side or a driveway drop. Actually, I've never heard of forks getting tweaked from either of those.

Like the other two guys above me said, most sport bikes need a rear and stem stand.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbmF26_xPi8

This Dave Moss guy seems to know what he's talking about. Completely worth a watch if you want to get the correct info on it.

From my understanding you can fix this by basically loosening everything south of the top triple tree and shoving the bars down so that everything seats in it's natural position of least resistance (how it came from the factory).

I'm sure the track guys would know a thing a two about this.
 
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Drennan57 said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbmF26_xPi8

This Dave Moss guy seems to know what he's talking about. Completely worth a watch if you want to get the correct info on it.

From my understanding you can fix this by basically loosening everything south of the top triple tree and shoving the bars down so that everything seats in it's natural position of least resistance (how it came from the factory).

I'm sure the track guys would know a thing a two about this.
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Doesn't fix anything if something is bent. Suspension guru's use the glass pane method already mentioned. Or do your own thing, whatever.
 
unL33T said:
Forks are more likely to get tweaked from crashing into something rather than just a low side or a driveway drop. Actually, I've never heard of forks getting tweaked from either of those.

Like the other two guys above me said, most sport bikes need a rear and stem stand.
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I bent the forks on my RD400 race bike from a Low side at corner 4 (pro layout at shannonville)

Used the good old 2x4 between the forks to straighten things out.
 
Where are you located? I have a set of larger Allen sockets I could maybe lend out.
 
unL33T said:
Where are you located? I have a set of larger Allen sockets I could maybe lend out.
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That's very kind of you but I'm nearly 3 hours East of the city. I don't know why Yamaha would make them Allens when everyother bike seems to have normal bolts. Oh well I'll get it sorted eventually.
 
Drennan57 said:
That's very kind of you but I'm nearly 3 hours East of the city. I don't know why Yamaha would make them Allens when everyother bike seems to have normal bolts. Oh well I'll get it sorted eventually.
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If I remember correctly the front axle on my 650R was also a large Allen.
 
Drennan57 said:
That's very kind of you but I'm nearly 3 hours East of the city. I don't know why Yamaha would make them Allens when everyother bike seems to have normal bolts. Oh well I'll get it sorted eventually.
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Maybe investigate using a threaded rod coupler from Home Depot or Lowes.
 
unL33T said:
If I remember correctly the front axle on my 650R was also a large Allen.
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Oh the axle on the FZ is a hex bolt so i can get that but the triple clamps are large Allens. I was also thinking ther might be a small amount of play between the brake rotors and the carriers. I tried to pay attention to the bobbins for movement but i can't really tell by eye.



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