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Good ol' swingarm hashmarks, never to be trusted...

12K views 29 replies 13 participants last post by  mpar6704 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
soooo, i was preparing the bike to put a 15t counter sprocket and for the hell of it i did wanna check how off are the hash-marks on the swingarm from factory to align the rear tire, i put it on a rear stand and used the string method, i double check that the front tire was strait and i was just kissing the rear tire edge and this is what i find...




just by looking at it there are not the same gap on both sides, i dont even had to take measurements lol, good thing i am gonna fix after i install that 15t, cheers
 
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#9 ·
lol that is a toe btw, i was confortable
back to the story, the back tire was not align to the front tire, that is what you see there on the string , one side have more space than the other side,
since i have to lose the rear axle to install the 15t, when i am tightening the rear axle back, i proceed to align the rear tire to the front via the string method. once it is align, then you adjust the slac with the adjusting screws, once that is done, torque the rear axle and done, i give you a pic but i dont have one now
 
#10 · (Edited)
#13 · (Edited)
I think the idea of the string is to be able to physically see that everything is straight as the naked eye can't do it ideally.

Adjusting the chain isn't one of my strong points as I haven't learned to do it yet so I never did it. I let the dealer do it every 600-1000 miles. They want $40-$45 to remove, clean, and adjust the chain completely, but they do it for me for like $15 because I tell them I clean it myself which I do very well, and I just need them to adjust it. The service manager loves me there so he does anything I need. They're super friendly. I'm so stoked I have a reliable dealer which is so hard to find.
 
#17 ·
Am I correct in saying that the string method aims to align the front and the rear wheel?

There is also the alignment of the chain with the front and rear sprockets to consider as well.

Ultimately, do you guys go to the extent of making sure everything mentioned above is aligned?
 
#19 ·
I found that the MotionPro Chain-Alignment tool works a treat and you can avoid all this string business. Chain-slack is quite-easy, but chain-alignment is tricky without some kind of straight-edge that locks in place while you tighten the wheel.
 
#26 ·
maybe im not understanding but shouldn't the rear tire be close to the line seeing how its much wider than the front? maybe if you tried to align under the center of the tires? I think like was said above the line should align the rear sprocket and front sprocket?

wouldn't a tape measure be much easier? and just measure the gap from the back of the swing arm to the arrow pointing to your alignment marks?
 
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