Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Ok .. so I seemed to be chewing through the front going through RH corners ... First I thought it was just my riding style being more comfy through the lefts and hence on the gas more . . .

Anyway ... I have noticed that the bars are slightly to the right when riding so I checked the rear adjusters (inverted) and all seemed ok . .

Got the string out (first time Ive tried this method) and it was actually out by some degree . .. so have adjusted one side by quite a margin to get it back into alignment.

Now ... its riding wickedly better, however this means the adjusters are way off accurate (normal ?? )... also, I read somewhere that the 1200 wheels are out of alignment from factory anyway Is this right???? . .

Plus .. now that Ive aligned the wheels .. .will the chain now be out of alignment ??? . .

What method do you lot use to get it all going straight ?

Ta much

String lining it is the best way, which sounds like you have already done it. Most stuff is out a little bit from new anyway. I know my race bike is like +3mm on the RHS!! Yeah, it improved the steering a touch when I fixed mine too!!

As for the chain alignment, I just line it up with my eye. My good one!

On my Rex, I wouldn't have a clue if it's true or not. It never gets ridden fast enough to worry about a few mm's here or there! Matter of fact, I think it's a little bent still from it's last crash, so string lining it might not help much!!

i seem to recall something with phil tainton talking about how he prepares his bikes for the ASBK and specially with the 600s cos there isnt much work to be done he basically runs the ruler over the whole bike to get it as straight as possible, the get what ever advantage that may bring...

plus its kawasaki we're talking about here, so anything is possible

Six Addict wrote:i seem to recall something with phil tainton talking about how he prepares his bikes for the ASBK and specially with the 600s cos there isnt much work to be done he basically runs the ruler over the whole bike to get it as straight as possible.

Ruler?

I chewed out the front right pretty bad on my Rex for the first set of tyres. The cause was me and throttle control. Backing off mid corner and loading the right side of the tyre. I have since learnt to take right handers better. The current front has no sign of wear like the last one did. Amazing what a person can tell about your riding style from a tyre...

Allignment is something i should do as well. I spent 6 hours working on & Cleaning my Rex last weekend and still have more to do. 8mm socket, 10mm socket, hex key set, 2 x phillips head screwdrivers and a keen eye for anything that could be tightened.......

robracer wrote:

Six Addict wrote:i seem to recall something with phil tainton talking about how he prepares his bikes for the ASBK and specially with the 600s cos there isnt much work to be done he basically runs the ruler over the whole bike to get it as straight as possible.

Ruler?

yeah a fucken long bendy one ya prick

you will fin your r/h side fron and rear will always wear faster due to roundabouts and the camber of the road.

especially fronts.

but yes, a good old straighten up is ideal every once in a while..

If you are stringlining, do it at a few different points of the back wheel to eliminate any error in the rubber of the tire.

Thanks guys ... I figure that if the bars are straight and its tracking sweetly round the corners, it cant be all that bad (Which was neither the case previously)

Now to raise the forks a tad more

To align the chain get a long piece of angle aluminum, (90 degree angle about three feet long), remove your chain guard and run the angle aluminum fore and aft along the chain extending it to the rear of the rear tire, (on top of the chain) and measure the distance between the angle aluminum and the rear tire at the front and rear of the tire. If they are equal distance between angle aluminum both front and rear your chain is aligned if not adjust it accordingly. Brown is the color of my true loves' glass of Jim Beam.