Wheel Alignment on my 961.

I have some 43mm conventional fork tubes from a CBR600 F4i lying around, I can take measurements such as length and top thread size tomorrow.
 
kommando said:
I have some 43mm conventional fork tubes from a CBR600 F4i lying around, I can take measurements such as length and top thread size tomorrow.
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Thanks for the offer. I already have F4i forks that I pulled the cartridges from to convert MK3 Commando forks. If I don't find another solution, I'll pull them out and see if they can be made to work.

Ken
 
I've sent the tubes off to Gerry at GP Frame and Wheel in Sacramento. I talked to him at some length today, and asked him to take a look at them, and see if he could repair them. He has tools and dies specifically for straightening 43 mm tubes, and lots of experience. He gave me a lot of insight into what can and can not be done to straighten tubes safely. I was impressed by his knowledge, and he was recommended to me by a very sharp guy in the motorcycle suspension trade.

Ken
 
lcrken said:
I've sent the tubes off to Gerry at GP Frame and Wheel in Sacramento. I talked to him at some length today, and asked him to take a look at them, and see if he could repair them. He has tools and dies specifically for straightening 43 mm tubes, and lots of experience. He gave me a lot of insight into what can and can not be done to straighten tubes safely. I was impressed by his knowledge, and he was recommended to me by a very sharp guy in the motorcycle suspension trade.

Ken
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In case that doesn't work out , give this place a look :

 
Ken, bearing in mind the previous history of failed triple trees do you think it would be worth getting yours x-rayed ?
 
I would Cliffa. Those 43mm stanchions take some bending. Where else did the stresses potentially go?

Ken whilst the front end is out why not make up a long straight rod with a point on the end that you can mount squarely into the head stock? Using your wheel alignment jig will tell you if the steering head center line is aligned with the rear wheel centre line and at least rule out / in the possibility of a frame issue.
 
Fast Eddie said:
I would Cliffa. Those 43mm stanchions take some bending. Where else did the stresses potentially go?

Ken whilst the front end is out why not make up a long straight rod with a point on the end that you can mount squarely into the head stock? Using your wheel alignment jig will tell you if the steering head center line is aligned with the rear wheel centre line and at least rule out / in the possibility of a frame issue.
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"Those 43mm stanchions take some bending" My thoughts exactly.
 
Good suggestions. I hesitate to pull the triples because of all the other bits that have to come off to get them out. Swapping the fork legs is pretty easy, so I think I'll probably just do that (with whatever fork combination I end up with) and see if the wheels line up properly. If not, then I'll have to get serious about the rest of the chassis bits. I've checked the triples visually for cracks in the usual places, and nothing is visible so far.

Ken
 
Got a nice reply from Ollie:

"Hello Ken,

the Öhlins fork FG 333 is not longer available from Öhlins.
Prices from Norton are astronomic, 1705.40€ each side without taxes.
I can offer you a comlete fork from one of our demo bikes for 2200.-€ without taxes.
The bike has 500 Miles on the clock.
Before you go further check your lower and upper yokes if they are OK.
If not:

upper yoke:518.40€ new
Lower yoke:499.20€ new
Steering shaft: 66.48€ new

As a set from the demo bike 750.-€

All prices without taxes and shipping costs.
The taxes you have to pay in your country.

Kind Regards
Ollie"

Interesting to see the price form Norton. $2023 per side is pretty steep! I haven't received a reply from Norton yet, but at that price I'm for sure not interested.

Ollie's slightly used set at $2611 is not too bad, but with shipping added it is considerably more than I would have to pay here for the latest version of the FG43 forks, so I would probably go with those instead. But still hoping to get the original tubes straightened.

Bearing in mind Ollie's comment about the yokes, I may go ahead and pull them off and see if they are still true, as well as testing for cracks, as cliffa suggested above.

That's the thing about owning a 961. It's always an adventure.

Ken
 
Just got the tubes back from Gerry, and they look great. Well worth the $205 cost, including shipping.

This is the side that had the fold lines. Almost invisible now, although there is a little wear on the TiN coating there.

Wheel Alignment on my 961.


And this is the reverse side.

Wheel Alignment on my 961.


They are straight, and round, and most of the repair will be hidden if I raise them 1/16" in the yokes. I don't expect that to cause any problems with handling. It should make it just a little quicker to turn in, and I was thinking about raising the forks a little even before the accident. If I don't like it, I can lower them back and not worry about the cosmetic effect. I do plan to fit them with the bend direction at 90 degrees to the direction of travel of the bike.

Should have the bike back in service tomorrow.

Ken
 
lcrken said:
Just got the tubes back from Gerry, and they look great. Well worth the $205 cost, including shipping.

This is the side that had the fold lines. Almost invisible now, although there is a little wear on the TiN coating there.

View attachment 81543

And this is the reverse side.

View attachment 81544

They are straight, and round, and most of the repair will be hidden if I raise them 1/16" in the yokes. I don't expect that to cause any problems with handling. It should make it just a little quicker to turn in, and I was thinking about raising the forks a little even before the accident. If I don't like it, I can lower them back and not worry about the cosmetic effect. I do plan to fit them with the bend direction at 90 degrees to the direction of travel of the bike.

Should have the bike back in service tomorrow.

Ken
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Put on gaiters !
 
I used Ariete gaitors for the BMW K100 on my CBR600 4i forks with 43mm stanchions, you will need to check size where it goes over fork lowers, these were 57mm and fitted.

Ariete 09974 Coppia Soffietti Forcella Neri Corti K100 Diametro 43/57 Lunghezza 190mm

Off road range but road range must be somewhere.

www.ariete.com

ARIETE FORK GAITERS - Ariete is you!

Ariete Fork Gaiters: the best quality and experience to help you win every challenge!
www.ariete.com
 
Thanks kommando and Tony. Tubes are 43 mm, and lowers are 62.8 mm, but most gaiters will stretch at least a couple of mm with no problem. I'll see what I can find. There seems to be a lot of "out of stock" stuff lately in the on-line suppliers (and my local Triumph dealer), particularly OEM bits.

Ken
 
lcrken said:
Thanks kommando and Tony. Tubes are 43 mm, and lowers are 62.8 mm, but most gaiters will stretch at least a couple of mm with no problem. I'll see what I can find. There seems to be a lot of "out of stock" stuff lately in the on-line suppliers (and my local Triumph dealer), particularly OEM bits.

Ken
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How about Kyle, the Ohlins bloke ?
 
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