New Fork Seals And Fluid, Front Wheel Problem

Hey er'body...

Quick overview - 1998 VFR800fi, ~38,000 miles... Mid last-week I noticed some fork fluid on my left fork, obviously a blown fork seal. Took the front end apart, replaced the seals, fluid - Everything was measured twice when torquing, all proper torque specs. followed.

The problem is this - I went to install the front wheel - The left brake rotor scrapes on the inside of the left fork. I made sure that all of the spacers were in place, proper torque on all bolts... even re-measured for height on suspension... Still no luck.

Has anybody ever encountered this problem before? I've taken the wheel off 2.1 million times, have never had such a problem o.O

Thanks much, please ask for more info if needed

-Equin

This seems obvious, but are you sure that the spacers are on the correct sides?

[image: View Post]Equin, on May 7 2007, 07:00 PM, said:

Hey er'body...

Quick overview - 1998 VFR800fi, ~38,000 miles... Mid last-week I noticed some fork fluid on my left fork, obviously a blown fork seal. Took the front end apart, replaced the seals, fluid - Everything was measured twice when torquing, all proper torque specs. followed.

The problem is this - I went to install the front wheel - The left brake rotor scrapes on the inside of the left fork. I made sure that all of the spacers were in place, proper torque on all bolts... even re-measured for height on suspension... Still no luck.

Has anybody ever encountered this problem before? I've taken the wheel off 2.1 million times, have never had such a problem o.O

Thanks much, please ask for more info if needed

-Equin

Yup, they are. Thats one of the first things I checked as I have made that mistake before =)

I am going to go out and triple check how far the forks rise from the top clamp... The way its rubbing suggests to me that the left side is maybe a millimeter or so too low....

i know this is also really really obvious, but are you sure you put the fork legs on their respective sides? ;)

Seeing how you've said you've done it many times I wouldn't think of this, but did you make sure the axle is aligned right with the ring line at the left leg edge ?
That is what sets the wheel correctly to keep rotors centered in the calipers! :thumbsup:

Forks are on the correct sides, yup - My inspection sticker is on the left fork, so I just used that as a reference ;-) - All of the fork components are on the same sides as before as well, I took them apart and put them back together one after the other.

As for the ring on the axle - No, that is not lining up on the left side..... Interesting...

wheel on backwards???? bearing came out?? too tight????

Wheel is on correctly, double checked to make sure all bearings and spacers were in place.

The little ring on the left side of the axle, the one that is supposed to line up with the fork leg, misses it by a few millimeters... I can gently pull the fork leg out to the correct place, and of course everything lines up then. I also checked for correct 41 mm at the top of each fork, made sure that there was no difference between the two. I've gone through, torqued everything right, and still have this weird problem o.O

I'm going to keep poking around... It just seems like the answer is more than likely obvious :-P

Thanks for all the help, any further suggestions are more than welcome
-Equin

It's almost as if the distance between the two fork legs has somehow decreased - I'm not sure if this is really possible, though, considering the mostly simple procedure that I did

I measured the distance between the inside of the left and right fork leg at the bottom (where the axle goes through). I got 160 mm - Does this sound about right?? The only thing I can think of at this point is that there is something wrong with the fork(s) and/or their installation

-Equin

I guess this is one of those times when one would have to see it with his own eyes before saying "Wait a minute, why are you trying to install forks in the rear of the bike?" (J/K)
Seriously though, I've tried to imagine a scenario that would cause what you describe and failed miserably. I just don't see anything that would cause this to occur. Both spacers are not on the same side, right?

I once had that happen to me, I had the wheel in backwards, had to turn it around.

[image: View Post]Equin, on May 7 2007, 08:01 PM, said:

As for the ring on the axle - No, that is not lining up on the left side..... Interesting...
I think that is the problem right there. I think you are supposed to insert the axles as far as it will go, then clamp it in the left fork before you torque the axle bolt on the right.

[image: View Post]RolandHTG, on May 25 2007, 03:41 PM, said:

I think that is the problem right there. I think you are supposed to insert the axles as far as it will go, then clamp it in the left fork before you torque the axle bolt on the right.
That would increase the odds of binding while you tighten the axle.

[image: View Post]ShipFixer, on May 25 2007, 11:21 AM, said:

[image: View Post]RolandHTG, on May 25 2007, 03:41 PM, said:

I think that is the problem right there. I think you are supposed to insert the axles as far as it will go, then clamp it in the left fork before you torque the axle bolt on the right.
That would increase the odds of binding while you tighten the axle.

I don't see how. But I could be wrong. I will retract my statement and say be sure to follow the re-installation sequence specified in the shop manual. I thought that I was accurately paraphrasing what it says but I don't have the manual in front of me so I ain't going to argue the point. Equin, if you don't have the manual I will look it up and quote it for you.