Tweaked fork tubes?

The Mountain

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How hard is it to tweak the forks on the S10? I went for a ride today down an unmaintained road, kind of rocky and bumpy but I didn't hit anything square or go down, at most I just bumped over some rocks (and not that big). Yet after my ride, the front wheel isn't lined up with the triple clamp anymore. Did I bend something, or is it likely that the tubes got twisted in the clamps?
 

bigbob

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If everything was tight before then not usual without a drop. However it’s an easy fix.

Can someone post the link to the process? Loosen stuff when on the center stand, get on and bounce the front suspension a few times and tighten it up. As I remember the issue is the order to torque the bolts.
 

The Mountain

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If everything was tight before then not usual without a drop. However it’s an easy fix.

Can someone post the link to the process? Loosen stuff when on the center stand, get on and bounce the front suspension a few times and tighten it up. As I remember the issue is the order to torque the bolts.
So you think I just got the fork tubes turned in the clamps?

Unfortunately, I just moved, so I don't have proper tools right now anyway. I've already got an appointment for service next week, and I'll have them sort it out. I just want some reassurance that I'm not going to be buying new forks.
 

Don in Lodi

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Put the wheel against a door jam and give the bars a shove in the right direction.
 

RCinNC

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That video the BigBob posted from Delboy's Garage is the method I use to realign my forks after doing a fork service. If you want the step by step, these are the directions that I made to keep in my service manual:

HOW TO ALIGN THE FORKS

1) Loosen the large cap nut on the top of the upper fork clamp. It's that big nut in the center of the clamp, right below the ignition. This allows the upper clamp to move. DO NOT loosen the pinch bolts on the upper clamp that hold the fork tubes.

2) Loosen the four pinch bolts on the lower fork clamp.

3) Loosen the front axle.

4) Loosen the fender.

5) The bike has to be perpendicular to the ground for this, but don't use the centerstand. The centerstand wont allow you to put enough weight onto the front of the bike. Either secure the rear wheel in a paddock stand, or have a helper hold the bike upright.

6) Get on the bike and bounce the front end a half dozen times.

7) Get off the bike while the helper holds it vertical. Don’t put the bike on the center stand or sidestand yet.

8) While the helper holds the bike, snug down the cap nut on top of the upper fork clamp. Hold the forks so the clamp doesn’t move while you tighten it. You don’t have to tighten it all the way at this point, just get it snug.

9) Snug down the pinch bolts on the lower fork clamp. Work side to side to keep it even.

10) Snug down the bolts on the fender.

11) Snug down the axle.

12) Now torque the cap nut on the upper fork clamp.

13) Now torque the pinch bolts on the lower fork clamp.

14) Now torque the bolts on the fender

15) Now torque the axle.

16) Now torque the axle pinch bolts.

17) Done.


I attached a PDF copy of the instructions I use, if you want a copy for yourself.
 

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The Mountain

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I took it up to the shop back on the 18th for a scheduled service on the 21st. They sent me a message on the 20th saying they'd started the service. I called them yesterday and they were still waiting on the fork seal kit, and hadn't started taking it apart yet because the forks have to come off and they don't want to tie up a bay until they can do the whole thing. Gonna be $400 to get it all done, and I still don't have an ETA a week later.
 

WJBertrand

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I tweaked mine a couple years ago in a get off on a two track road. Didn’t notice in until I got back on pavement. I just stopped turned the handle bars against the stop a couple times until everything looked straight. This was no more than an in the field fix but the bike ran straight on the road afterward. I loosened, bounced and re-torqued everything when I got home a few days later. Nothing seems bent at all.


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Don in Lodi

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I'd go get the bike while they wait on parts. Why are they doing the seals? Did you wind up with a leak?
 

The Mountain

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Talked with the dealer on Sat. The parts are backordered with Yamaha, and they won't warranty the repair if I use third-party stuff. So the bike is redlined until around May 21. Both fork tubes leaking; I must have bottomed out harder than I thought on that off-road jaunt. Gotta be more careful if I'm ever gonna ride up to Ladakh on this thing.
 

The Mountain

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Final update: the bike should have been ready yesterday, but one of the bottles of fork oil they opened turned out to have a broken seal and "things" floating in the oil. So they had to send a guy an hour and a half away to another shop that had the (apparently) special oil the Tenere's forks require, and it'll be ready in the next hour or so. I asked if they seriously needed to get that exact oil, and they gave me a song-and-dance about how the Tenere uses some special high-detergent racing grade oil, and only Yamaha makes it (or something). Is this legit? Does the Tenere really need some unique oil that isn't widely available? Note that my bike has the standard suspension, not the electric.
 

WJBertrand

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Not legit. All decent brand fork oils should meet requirements. I used Red Line synthetic in my forks.


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The Mountain

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Got the bike back finally. They went two hours past their 12pm deadline, but finally finished. They were kind enough to completely waive the bill due to the length of time they had the bike, which was nice. However, on the ride home I discovered that they apparently didn't actually correct the problem I originally brought it in for, which was that in order to get the bike to go straight, I have to have the bars angled slightly to the right, and if I take my hands off the bars on a level road, the bike gradually veers off to the left, so something's still wrong even after they supposedly had the front end all apart. Either that or they got so hung up on the fork seal debacle that they forgot they were supposed to be straightening out the front end. So I gotta go *back* again, so they can see what's going on.
 

EricV

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What year is your bike? If it's a '14-on Gen II, are you sure it's not just the anti-vibration risers twisted? And how much crown is on the road you are testing no hands with?

Next question is have you set up the suspension for your weight? You shouldn't be bottoming the forks that easily if you have it dialed in for your sag/weight.
 

The Mountain

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What year is your bike? If it's a '14-on Gen II, are you sure it's not just the anti-vibration risers twisted? And how much crown is on the road you are testing no hands with?

Next question is have you set up the suspension for your weight? You shouldn't be bottoming the forks that easily if you have it dialed in for your sag/weight.
It's a 2017. I am pretty sure it's not just the anti-vibe risers because I can see that the top of the triple-clamp is skewed. The road I checked on was a level multi-lane highway, and I tested the effect in all lanes, and even on the rightmost lane which should slope to the shoulder the bike still drifted left. I immediately have to shift my weight to the right to counter the drift if I release the bars.

And yes, the suspension is set for my weight. I was on a completely unmaintained road, which had deep ruts, exposed rocks, and roots etc. More like a jeep trail.
 

The Mountain

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Checked the bike in better light today, and the top and bottom triple clamps are pretty clearly not aligned. The shop claims they pulled the fork tubes off the bike, but they didn't touch the tree itself, so when it went back together it had the same misalignment. The easiest solution would be to loosen everything per the steps listed upthread and straighten it all out. Unfortunately I don't have all the tools I would need. So I'm either going to have to send it back to the shop to do the work I originally asked for and hope they actually do it this time, or find someone locally who has the tools. I especially need the wrench for the top nut on the spindle for the tree, the axle nut, and a torque wrench to make sure it's all properly tightened when I get it back together. I think I have the wrenches to loosen the pinch bolts on the tree, the axle and the fender.
 
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