I was pulling it down for the winter to redo some paint and cleaning. On the center stand I noticed it looked like my rear tire was cocked I thought it might be loose but spinning it doesnt effect the lean. I checked the bearings in the swing arm. they are fine. only thing I figure is last year I had to replace the drive shaft. all was fine then. I know I have over loaded the rear weight limit more then once I think I have bent my swingarm. Has anyone else seen this? I found one thread about this but was never resolved.

Hi welcome to the forum. when you get a chance go over to the introduction thread and say Hi to this crazy gang and tell us a bit about yourself and a very important thing is some piccies of your ride (the mob here like pictures I think it's because they don't read well).
Back to the strange wheel, first is grab the wheel top and bottom and try to move it back to the straight position. If there is movement then I would suspect the rear drive bearing is colapsing. It's very unlikely the swingarm is bent or twisted, being cast aluminium it would more likely break but that would take a lot of force and not the forces one encounters in daily riding but a crash. I would presume you have turned the wheel to check its not bent.
I notice you dont say which model as this can have a bearing on the reason. Not a bad idea to put the model and year in a signature line that way it appears on every post and makes the trouble shootong easier.
Let us know how it goes.

ok will do its a 1985 k100rt I tried the moving the wheel and nothing. The angle doesnt change when the wheel is spun so not bent rim. I did drop a drive shaft a year ago got some gouging inside the swing arm guess im going to spend the 30 buck and get another one and see. need to make a jig to check the new one against the old one thanks for any and all help

Does the back face of the drive appear vertical. Not the part the wheek bolts onto but the face of the casting.
Not saying the swingarm isn't twisted but it would take a memorable event to do something like that. Something I didnt ask is how much is the lean?

it has a good bit of lean maybe a inch or more to the right of center havent thought about that ill check the diff for being square with the floor the alignment pin from the diff to the swing arm are good and that all fits tight. i down loaded some pics waiting for them to post

Checked the swing arm bearings and locating pins.??

yep i have checked and rechecked everything i have spent hours on line looking for anyone who has had this happen i guess i shouldnt have jumped those 5 buses

Pull it all apart, start from scratch, measure your swing arm against another. :-c:

YEEEEEHAAAAAAA

Umm...post a couple of photos please desertbeemer?

perhaps compare to these shots...

wow klompy i'm impressed ....carpet in the garage ..? strewth ..cushy or what ?

Desertbeemer,

I know this sounds stoopid, but did you check if the center stand is level? Is it possible that the whole bike is angled slightly to one side, and it is most noticable at the wheel, since it is sort of standing out on it's own?

Since it is shaft driven, I am at a loss to see how the wheel is out of line otherwise, when you consider that the shaft holds the brake caliper, but the wheel holds the disk. The bevel is bolted on with four bolts, and the swing arm is held on to both sides of the bike. I just cant see how a wheel, on it's own, is out of alignment on a K.

(of course, I could be completely wrong- it has happened before )

I will get some pictures toady I have it on a trailer right now. but Ill get it unloaded and on a slab and get some good shots from the rear. the bike sits level but from the rear is not centered in the wheel well but leaning I just need to get sme pics

Gday mate maybe try putting the bike against a wall or get some one to hold it vertical for whilst you check if wheel vertical . Also wheel the bike /ride slowly forward to see if wheel is square as well. Tyre wear should be more to one side if out of alignment
cheers Tony

charlie99 wrote:wow klompy i'm impressed ....carpet in the garage ..? strewth ..cushy or what ?

When you live in the garage most nights....I also have a fridge and an old CRT TV....what more could you want?...oh yes upside down milk crates with wood screwed to the top.

Hi desertbeemer, welcome to the forum.
Don't mean to nitpick and its probably a typo, but looking at your photo, you have an RS not an RT.
Is the rear mudguard twisted?
Maybe its an optical illusion.

The four bolts connecting the FD is straight related to the svingarm bearings.
Balance something long and straight on the upper bolt heads would give you
an idea if the svingarng is bent or not.

Removing the rear wheel and shockie, and get the svingarm level would make
it easier to judge.

To be shure (and if you got a straight floor) remove the footrest bridges and
measure the the height on the svingarm centre on both sides, shims the
centerstand as needed.

Then measure if it's any height difference on each end of the straight piece
which resting on the upper bolts heads.

ok got some pics i dont think i missed anything [img]https://i.servimg.com/u/f12/17/98/94/10/05010.[url=https://servimg.com/view/17989410/6]jpg[/img][/url]

I have a swing arm you can have for the cost of shipping. It is a part that never sells. It is kinda grungy but I am sure it is not twisted. It was going to go to scrap. Call me.
Ron @(732) 742-6007

yep that is a lean alright ...looks as though the bevel box is straight ....but the bearing could be the issue as the verticle line from bevel box to rim is different .....but i got wonky eyes anyhow ...what would i know .

Does it feel easier to corner one way than the other?...is it possible that the wheel assembly is straight and everything else is on the piss?....the wear looks ok notice the same tyre pattern as mine and wear looks similar too....

I don't reckon the drive is straight you have a close look at the bottom shock mount stud it is at the same relative angle as the wheel. I may well be wrong but I am begining to think the swingarm is twisted.
First remove the wheel and put a straight edge verticaly on the surface the wheel bolts to and see if it is vertical or not. I think it will be at the same angle as the wheel was and that only leaves one thing that can be wrong wrong. Because if the bearing was that bad the wheel would have heaps of free play sideways and it hasn't.

Was the front wheel square with the ground when you took the pictures?

The ONLY way to check the alignment is to compare the back wheel with the front wheel.

You have to place shims under the center stand until your front wheel is perfectly square.
You then check the back wheel.

A slightly bent top frame (part where the seat rest on) will produce the same visual effect as what you get, but the 2 wheel will be still in line and this is important.

CF

[quote="Crazy Frog"]

A slightly bent top frame (part where the seat rest on) will produce the same visual effect as what you get, but the 2 wheel will be still in line and this is important.

I think you have hit the nail on the head there....it looks wrong but feels ok?...so then it is ok but just looks wrong.

Or, just tilt the bike 10 degrees.

The back wheel will no be in line with the plumb lines.

Well using Photoshop First I took out the fisheye distortion then set the bike as close to vertical in relation to the brick wall, which usually are fairly good at being horizontal and I reckon that the wheel is laying over 22mm futher at the top than the bottom but it is also cocked to one side so that the wheel is 14mm left from center at the bottom and 8mm to the right at the top and I will bet London to a brick (of either type) that it is also bent to the right at the front.

hmm i was just looking at the verticle casting mark ...to me they look pretty uniform distance from the hub drive side housing ...but a dump and bent frame sounds more likely

The frame has little to do with it but it is sitting square to the brick line. Well components bolted to it are square The center stand is on the gearbox and so is the swingarm.
I will bet a beer on a bent and twisted swingarm. 3 days ago I would have said extremely unlikely but on seeing, I reckon that the arm is bent. Now for a cast aluminium component to be bent that much is a rare thing but I will bet ya a beer. I have seen a few broken but never a bent one before.
The alignment of the wheel and bevel drive to each other is the same as I would expect from an undamaged setup and the center stand is attached to the gearbox and it is sitting within 1-2mm of level, the swingarm bearings are OK so that leaves the swingarm itself.

I am really gonna stick my neck out here, I reckon its had a big impact low down at the back of the wheel from the right side.
It may not be the wheel that was on the bike when the damage happened. The wheel may have been replaced without the rest of the damage being noticed.

could well be ..

that offer from rj trucker sounds a good solution

Before Desertbeemer starts to strip the swing arm, I would be very interested to know how the back wheel is in relation to the front one.
One wheel has to be used as a reference to check if the other is aligned. If the rear wheel was leaning so much, the tire would be worn in less than 3K.
Unless the front forks and front wheel are square with the floor, The plumb lines don't give any indication.

Plumb lines should be installed on the front of the bike too.

As shown on the next picture, the wheel is not in line with the plumb lines. (The bike is leaning a lot, but I want to make my point )

I am more thinking of a problem with the center stand.

CF

ok I just went and checked the square of the front tire it was spot on. im pretty sure i know when the bend took place i was on the trip from my pic. I had a blow out and being loaded as it was I was all over the road I managed to get stopped but not after some wild fish tailing. The bike does not ride right I have to put pressureon the left side on the handle bar to keep it tracking right.since that ride last year i havent put many miles on the bike so im sure thats why the tire doesnt show odd wear. Im going to replace the swing arm (Thanks Ron) and we will see. at least we will be able to narrow this down. oh and that is the same rim and tire

Good to know that the front wheel is spot on.

I am just thinking about something

If the locating pins were missing at the junction of the swing arm and the final drive, when reassembling, you could swing the final drive by few degrees and it would produce the same result.



Sorry, I have a hard time to believe that the swing arm is bent and try to explore any other possibilities.

CF

the alighment pins are all in ams i even checked to see if they had shear marks

desertbeemer wrote:the alighment pins are all in ams i even checked to see if they had shear marks

another potential fault taken of the list.

Can you remove the right side footpeg holder and remove the swing arm shaft to check that it`s not bent?

This is turning into a very interesting thread.
William you were saying you replaced the driveshaft, was it the spline that failed or the universal joint and did the failure happen after the incident with the flat rear tire.

Here is something interesting....

When looking at the double swing arm of the EML kit, first I thought that the 2 bearings were not in line.
It turned out that the main shaft of the swing arm is made of 2 pieces welded together. The small piece where the bearing sits in (left side of the motorcycle) is welded with an offset of few degrees.Why did they do that? Sometimes your eyes play trick on you and sometimes not.....

Possibly to clear the components like gear position switch and clutch mechanism but I would like to see it in situ and context

Rick G wrote:Possibly to clear the components like gear position switch and clutch mechanism but I would like to see it in situ and context

You got me curious and I just temporarily re-installed the swing arm on the gear box.
It's to clear the clutch arm mechanism. You are right

the universal joint went out. I can pull the swingarm but once its out we can look at it. I think the housing that holds the drive shaft is where the twist is. well got another swing arm on the way I cant wait to see if this is the problem if not were really going to have fun with this.

Yeah that seems like the best thing just take it out and find out what is happening.
I like your signature

ok got the swing arm out both pins are fine no bends or shear marks lol thought is was funny

How is the bevel drive to turn by hand. I would expect it to be free moving except for stiffness of the oil. Probably pay to check the oil for particles of bearing and gears.

yep was on my redo list im going to pull it apart and clean it once i get this swing arm thing cleared up im going to do a total tear down and clean and check everything

Looking at the photos, to me at least, the rear wheel looks cocked in the final drive. Are you [i]sure[/i] there is no play in the final drive itself?

i rechecked the final drive going of the round spot on the finil drive witha level i mesured from level to rim on both sides it was the same spinning the tire didnt make a differince

desertbeemer wrote:i rechecked the final drive going of the round spot on the finil drive witha level i mesured from level to rim on both sides it was the same spinning the tire didnt make a differince

This proves that the wheel is square with the final drive. (It could have been a piece of dirt between the wheel and the final drive).
The next test would be to check the geometry of the swing arm, but it will be easier to replace it.
We are waiting to hear from you when this will be done. We won't let you down and will work with you.

CF

i sent the money for the swingarm should have it today hope to have part by first of the week. I did do something and found some interesting rezults i placed the swing arm on a piece of glass with the bearing one right side from the rear so the housing for the drive shaft was on the glass also the bolt flange for the final drive was kot flush had a 1/4 inch difference Ill get a pic of it and post it

Perhaps too much torque on this shaft...it looks twisted...

Thats about as twisted as twisted gets.
Now who took me up on that beer