Delboy's Garage, 'How-To' Re-align motorcycle forks the easy way.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ต.ค. 2012
- Bump up a curb, hit a pot hole, not hard to knock out the fork alignment, here's a really simple way to set it all back straight again in a few minutes.
- ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
if any one that is following Delboy's helpful advice and doesn't have a piece of sheet metal for front tire, Use a folded trash bag, heavy duty leaf bag is best, and your tire will turn like butter, thanks again Delboy, keep the advice coming, Your a Gentlemen and a shade tree mechanic scholar.
Top tip, like it!
This man know his stuff and again.. Thank you for posting I’ve learned a lot
Thank you so much for the video. It got my bike back on the road. Now my wind therapy can continue.
Great news Justin, ride safe!
A decade on and Del is still helping me work on by bike!
Most welcome mate, thanks for the support.
This just saved me $$$ ! I had no idea on how easy it is to re allign my forks . Had a fall due to oil spill on the road . Thanks mate ! All the way from Singapore !
Hi mate, glad to hear the video helped, that's what it's all about... !
Thanks for taking the time to make these videos. This was a job that concerned me and I have left the job for about a year and then followed your instructions and fixed it in less than an hour.
Thanks and keep up the great work.
Oh man, this nearly decade-old video has saved me from possible replacing a perfectly good fork! Thanks so much Del! :)
Glad It could help mate! thanks for watching.
Excellent video and in your usual informative and perfecting teaching style with no BS .. love it!
This is pay per view stuff man !!
Thank you so much for the relentless priceless information !!
keep up the good work !
This method is proven over many decades (probably as long as telescopic forks existed) and used by many motorcycle mechanics.
Good video.
+Ob Fuscated Thanks buddy, learned it when i was 16, so yeah.. decades...lol
its just who did not know this method by the way i bought my first motorcyle last 2016 thanks for the tutorial
Thanks for this and your other helpful video's , changed my fork lowers to chrome ones so your fork rebuild video along with this one made it an easy job.
Appreciate you taking time upload these videos my mk1 bandit restoration project is flying along and very cheaply :)
Hi Del, thanks for this tutorial. I came back to this after I low-sided my bike on black ice just before Xmas. This video tutorial is what has got my bike back in the road. Thanks once again for another lesson that has got my bike back on the road & thanks for keeping me riding. Patreonage worthy every penny 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thanks buddy, am glad it can help you, this is a simple little trick aye?? And not difficult to do, even a decent pot hole will through your fork alignment out... really glad you enjoy the videos and thanks so much for you constant support, we are what we are cos of you, our Patrons!
That's great news buddy,....and exactly why we load them... well done getting to it yourself.... Del.
Thanks Robert, it's nice to know you're out there watching. It's videos like this that the Discovery team want the most so just paying the bills, mate (well not actually because they don't pay anything but fulfilling the obligation all the same!), take care and keep it real, Del (hi from Penny P too!)
WHENEVER I HAVE A JOB TO DO ON MY MOTORCYCLE,AND AM UNSURE,YOU ARE ALWAYS THE FIRST STOP,WELL EXPLAINED AND ALWAYS DOES THE JOB,MANY THANKS FOR THE TIME AND EFFORT YOU PUT INTO VIDEOS VERY MUCH APPRECIATED,KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK SIR AND RIDE SAFE
Thanks Anthony, coming from a paid mechanic that is praise indeed, appreciate you watching! Del
Perfect! I was so worried my forks were bent. I followed here instructions and they're totally straight!
Excellent videos one and all! Even if there was nothing wrong with my VFR 750 (fat chance) I feel compelled to retire to the garage and do stuff. Many thanks to you both
Thanks for explaining this procedure. I have my forks off my bike now while I replace the oil seals, guides and o rings so I will make sure to do this as part of the reassembly.
Using the nut for an Allen key to loosen the axle is really clever.
Simple ideas aye mate!
I bought a nut and bolt that was same. ran nut on all the way and the cut off the excess. Then no fidgeting trying to get the nut to be half and half
Throw in a thick spacer with a smaller diameter or 2 in front of the nut it will prevent the nut from sinking all the way into the allen wrench slot
Only thing I had was the end of a tap, stuck in a chainsaw type wrench with a screwdriver in the holes to hold it.
If you jam some T.P. in there before the nut it'll keep the nut from falling in too...
Thanks for making this video, been having issues with my fz6 not 'riding straight' since I got the bike, throwing my right hand corners and most importantly my braking completely off. I'd just about had it till someone mentioned the front forks, they looked straight by eye, but I thought I'd give it a go following your video.. feels like a brand new bike.. actually turns and brakes as it should, found joy in riding once again.
Cheers buddy, glad it helped you, this is a good little maintenance tip to do once a year, today's rotten roads, pot holes, and bumping kerbs can throw your forks out dead easy!
I've been watching piles of your videos. Thank you so much for your tips and insight! As you have shared so many tips with us, I thought I would share back a bit. You used a 24mm nut for the axle. When doing that, you can either space it off with a few washers or "make a tool" with a 24mm bolt that is tightened on and cut to length. That will make your 2-hand job a 1-hander.
Thanks for the really helpful video. Another how-to in the toolbox for when I need it!
excellent tutorial - thanks! You have real skill at teaching.
+CyberPsyLen Thanks, glad you enjoy !
try taking two nuts and lock them together on a bolt now you have a axle tool! thanks good video
Delboy's always delivers the goods!
Followed your instructions in this vid today on my Zephyr. And i also lowered the fork by pushing the tubes 12mm through the yokes. It worked surprisingly well. I also raised the back using the excenters in the swingarm. The bike steers *much* sharper now!
Perfect advice, will do in the morning :)
Another handy tip - when using a nut as a large hex bit, screw it tightly onto a bolt. The nut never lines up perfectly with the bolt head and prevents you pushing the nut in with the socket. You can always pop a weld on it to make a useful tool for future use - also stops the nut coming undone if the thing you are loosening was done up strongman style - I can't be the only one to loosen and re-tighten everything I've had done by someone else!
Good luck with the job mate! Hope it all works out !
It's like giving cpr to your bike, lovely method.
+Earth Inc. Thanks buddy, simple but effective aye?!
Moonfleet41 Indeed, sadly I found a bend in my fork, so i'll be replacing it, THEN I can use this trick lol.
@@Box545x39
Hey bf, glad u found the bend in ur fork, and l hope u kept it...
They/U can rebend them back to straight and hav a spare on the shelf. Ride safe.🛵🖖👍🌈🌏💜
They are chest compressions, not CPR.
Thanks for the video! My yz250 took a nasty spill and I could never find any video that explained this so well! Thank you!!!
You killed it! Thanks! Cheers from Wilkes-Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 🇺🇸
STUPID EASY. I did this on my 1981 Honda CM400C in 5 min. it was really jacked up so I had to kick the wheel to break it free, but after that, push push push push and boom... straight as an arrow. Thank you so much!
I DONT CARE Glad it worked for you buddy, simple little trick, old as the hills aye?!
For people with a wonky sense of level,straight and angles there is a trick you can use called "Boning" (no not that sort) It's a joiners method of checking parallel.You need two straight pieces of wood, metal bar or similar. With two people get one person to hold a straight edge across the lower end of the forks (the lower the better). Now take the second straight edge and place it at the top of the forks, Across the handlebars or some other place you can check it is not angled. Now stand on the pegs and lean forward and look out at both ends of both straight edges if they line up at the tips the forks are true. If the ends are looking a bit like a very flattened x in comparison to each other then the forks are out and the flattened x will show you which way they are out. If the left bottom tip of the straight edge is in front of the top left tip then your bars need to turn to the right while the wheel stays straight ahead. If it's the other way (bottom right tip is in front of top right tip and the other end the bottom tip is behind the top right tip) then the bars need to turn left while the wheel stays straight ahead. It sounds complicated but print this off and practice with your bike to find the best place to put the straight edges (through the front wheel spokes or above but the further apart the better) then you will get it fairly quickly. Ride Safe and keep it shiny side up.
+Jeremy Markham that's simple and good bro,thanks for sharing
Jeremy Markham awesome thanks for info
This actually helped clear some paranoia doing it alone. Thx ^_^
Best motorcycle maintenance channel in you tube👏👏👏thanks for making the maintenance so much easier when working on our bikes, greetings from Florida USA😎
Thank you most kindly sir, we're glad you enjoy the videos, it's an honour to be able to inspire you.. take care.. D&Px
I want to thank you for making this video, I had changed the top clamp to lower the my hayabusa an inch and I hit a pothole and my alignment went out bad. After watching this video it's riding straight, thanks.
agnzalez1 Nice one buddy, glsd it helped you out... ride safe aye.. Del.
How is possible to differentiate whether the forks have a bend or whether they are just twisted resulting in a mal-alignment?
Bend can be seen
did you loosen that big silver bolt in the center of the handlebars?
Sure did Oscar, just forgot to mention it in the video....its important to back it off so the two clamps can move independently of each other and re-align.
@@Moonfleet41 when do you re tighten this?
@@elliotfricker4631 at 11:31 he says to tighten from top down.
You do mention the center bolt in the vid, very usefull tips, really like your way of explaining, thanks for taking the time. ( need this one right now too )
Magic, thanks for that. Very informative. I rebuild a crashed Gen 1 in 2004. It had bent forks so I replaced them and never did the alignment thing. Never had a problem but wish I'd seen this video prior, would have been able to check it easily. My local mechanic berated me for tightening the forks up to much for the same reason's you say. Delboy's Hayabusa is a world of knowledge - love it.
Thanks mate . Putting my ST1300 forks back on after an overhaul. I was thinking about lining the front wheel back up . Now I can. Thanks again !
No problem 👍
Wow the most practical presentation ever . 70 year old ex Donnington GT champion in 1980.. You are the man .
My Suzuki 650Burgman I have just bought steered like a dog .. weaving along happily. The steering head bearings were almost dry.and there was quite a lot of preload . (not noticeable through the handlebars .) Yet to test ride it .still awaiting the refurbished wheels .
Hi Richard, how kind of you to make such generous comments Sir, and coming from a true veteran of the track too... you know how it is, these things aren't difficult, they just need laying out in basic terms without all the stuffy mechanic jargon... we all own bikes, we all like to keep them safe and working right, and we none of us have the money to pass them to the main dealer with their comedy hourly rates... not least for simple things like this anyway! Thank you most kindly for watching, and again, for your amazing comments, many thanks, ride safe, Del & Penny!
Thanks for all the great videos you work hard on for us.
Hey Del, since I purchased my 883 Iron, I've been very reserved to do anything but ride it. I emailed you about a video on installing a pigtail to the battery. Then, I thought to myself, "What would Del do?" I know, he would say, "Mate, time to get your hands dirty and go for it!" Today, I did just that, and installed my pigtail by myself! Your videos gave me the confidence to do my own work! For this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! My offer still stands on a video. Thank you!
I've just got a new set of forks due to an off I had last week and was puzzling about how to realign my forks and came across this video which did the trick quite nicely. Much appreciated, I've been a fair shadetree car mechanic the last ten years, but am new to bikes, and learning all the new tricks is rather fun!
Nice one buddy, glad the video could help you - welcome to the darkside !
Awesome. Just got a new motorcycle that was out of alignment, followed your directions and now they're straight. Thanks again...
Good stuff buddy, glad we could help !
I took a hard spill off road on my Africa Twin yesterday, enough to bend the bars and twist a riser in its mount. Luckily, I was able to limp to a Honda deal 35 miles away where they put on a bar that'll work temporarily and the riser corrected itself on the installation. Driving home, though, I saw the bars still didn't seem square with the wheel (they should've checked that, I think). I came across your well-taught video today and did the process just as you describe. Problem solved.
You have a great teaching style and nothing was left unsaid that needed said. Thanks for this.
You are now my teacher maintenance motorcicle here from brazil
After being involved in an accident with my 04 hornet. Found my handlebars weren't inline when riding straight. With some help from my dad holding the rear grab rail, and me jumping up and down on the bike, got everything straight and back to normal.
Have watched a lot of your videos and have been very helpful.
Thanks delboys garage!
Nice one mate, thats excellent news, we love to hear that the videos have been of use... good on you... and ride safe aye.. Del.
Thanks for the reply Del - I've already swapped out the handlebar riser bolts - one was bent. I'm going to work on the re-alignment tomorrow. Cheers. Jon
Thanks for the info dude, really saved me some time and money who knew it was so simple!
I do a lot of services on my bikes and I can tell you got very good hands, how you show all little things that important, very good touch and feel when you hold a tool.
You're videos give me a lot of tips how to improve and do stuff easier.
Keep it up, and many thanks to you.
I appreciate that Alex, thank you for your feedback mate!
Ah yes, I did delete the other one because I composed it before watching the full video and when I went back and viewed it I realized you went a different direction than I anticipated. Thanks for putting out your videos ... they are great!
Thanks so much for this "how to". I had a lay down the other day in the rain. Tire pointing straight, bars pointing right. With this information, I will be able to get it all back to normal. Thanks again.
Thats great Michael, glad we could help, hope it goes ok... Del.
P.S. hope you weren't hurt buddy..!
Some people half ass these do-it-yourself videos. But you've honestly got me sold. Great video, can tell your confident in what you're doing. Tried it today on my 08' zx6r (never even realize how out of alignment my forks were) worked like a charm. You've just got yourself a new subscriber! Look forward to watching more of these.
i appreciate you going through this trouble ( one hand camera,,,,one hand allen key )..thanks very helpful
You're welcome buddy, glad it could help!
Just followed this procedure on my ZX6R Del and we're running perfectly straight and true, if i ever bump into you one day i'll make damn sure i buy you a pint mate, thanks a million! Jack
My bike was in a local shop for three weeks and they couldn't figure out (or didn't bother to) how to get my alignment right again. This did the trick. I wish I had consulted trusty old TH-cam before going to a "professional" first. Thanks for the help!
Hi mate, glad you got it sorted out and the bike is now right for you. i have also found that many garages cant seem to get this simple adjustment right....like you say, maybe they just cant be bothered...lol
Excellent video in every way. Well done mate.
Wanted to say thanks a bunch for the the video! Did this with my old VFR 750 and it worked great. Really happy with the result.
Well done mate, glad it worked for you. take care..
hit a big pot hole the other day and managed to up right the bike mid corner..but it knocked the forks out a fair bit!!..your vid Just brill... so easy to do.. I had no idea it was that easy to do. Sod the garage from now on.. thanks again & ride safe.
I did the same on my Blackbird thanks to your video, and it made a world of difference now is perfect, thank you !!!
Glad it helped buddy and you got it sorted - ride safe, Del
thx a bunch, will re-align my fork on sunday. i wouldn't even have noticed that it's off if it wasn't for your superb channel. keep it up mate, you are helping me (and obviously a whole lot of others, too) a lot. i will keep spreading the word about your channel.
Very helpfull like many of your clips. Thanks for posting.
Excellent my friend ///calm clear crisp precise ! loved it
Dacali Man Thanks mate, glad it helped you..
I really appreciate this video. I lowsided my CBR250R after my front tire took on a clump of mud at 10 mph in a slight corner and bent my handlebars out of alignment. This really helped. It took about an hour of me fiddling around before I got it aligned to my liking, but I later realize that I never loosened the top center bolt. I went back and loosened it and tightened it back up in case there was some tension that needed to be released after the adjustment had been done without loosening it. Thanks Del.
Soviet Tiger Nice mate, glad you got it sorted... next time, now watch out for those mud clumps lol! RSMF
Thank you very much. Detailed explanation makes it easy to understand. Subscribed👍
Thank you, welcome aboard - ride safe!
Boss Man, cheers from portugal!
Thanks so much for this, it's the same with my CBR600RR and I first thought the problem was the rear wheel was out of aligment with the front wheel, but now I'll try this!
THANK YOU! MY forks were misaligned after a parking lot spill, this had me perfectly back in alignment in less than 15 minutes.
You're welcome, glad it helped you.
Awesome, glad I came across this video. Thanks!
Thanks for this! I had a bit of an off on my Honda VFR, noticed that the forks were twisted when I was bringing it home from the shop.
Never thought the fix would be this easy!
Nice one Jackson, it truly is as easy as that mate! The fork legs are only gripped by the yokes with friction and actually allowing them to move this way in an impact prevents them getting bent... well done buddy, take care and ride safe, Del
Thanks for the video was very useful after servicing my fork seals, installing the forks back is simple yet details like this are very important to follow. I did use a torque wrench and used a service manual but your video made the difference.
Thanks buddy, glad it could help, sometimes seeing something is a bit easier than reading it in a manual, eh? Ride safe, mate, Del
I must say, you really do teach me Things I already should know about! I've been riding bikes since -83 and I've never thought about fork alignment! Well, taking the fork apart for some Black paintjob and progressive springs will be finished off with some fork alignment, fur sure! Splendid! Thanks Del for sharing! ("Del" Means "share" or "part" in Scandinavia! Suitable name for you, indeed!)
HI Jon, Thanks amazing, i had no idea of the 'share' meaning....how spooky is that?..lol Thanks for your kind comments my friend, im glad the videos can help you, its just basic stuff we can all benefit from.. take care, have a great Christmas and ride safe in the new year... Del.
Thank you for sharing this ! I'm have the same little problem on my scooter.
Again another brilliant video, thanks buddy learning lots, to save loads.
You're most welcome Michael, it's a simple trick and I'm glad it worked for you mate...!
Brilliant! Thank you for the video, helped me sort out my steering.
Awesome vid, good information and clarity spot on! Fixing my forks this weekend!! Keep on keepin on brother!!
Cheers buddy, good luck with yours at the weekend, hope it goes well!
Thank you brother
Very good video. Useful information presented competently. Thank you very much.
Thank you for share that knowledge. Greetings from Austin - Texas.
Glad it was helpful Sir, and thank you for watching..
glad i found this video. i've only been riding for about 3 months so i was freaking out, thought i had really messed something up lol quick realignment and life is good
I went out earlier this evening and tried your procedure on my 2006 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 cruiser bike. The machine had been in a crash with the previous owner. The wheel was cocked to the left making me steer to the right a bit. It worked perfectly. Thanks my friend for posting this.
sporsterini You're most welcome buddy, im glad it worked for you... ride safe chap.. all the best... Del.
Yes thanks. I am going to use your front caliper rebuild video to rebuild my front calipers. Woul have cost me 200 dollars to do it at the local repair shop. Thanks again.
Thanks for the advice I did get this issue taken care of today, and the bike feels normal again, and I am glad that I fixed this, if anything it bugged the heck out of me it was a distraction , I could not stand riding down the road and occasionally glancing at my handlebar and speedometer both orientated toward the right while my tire was pointed straight ahead.
Great straight forward video mate. Checking my gsxr alignment this weekend now!
Thanks, Moonfleet! Tumped my KLR 650 over on an East Texas log road and misaligned the forks. You've saved me a lot of money!
Thanks Tad...glad you could use the video, no need to pay garages for this kind of basic stuff...and sounds like you use your KLR like you're meant to... top stuff sir.. ride safe aye... Del.
Thank you sir! Going to give this a go on my R1.
Thanks for this great video! I needed to do this on my dirt bike and now I can do the same to my 1290 :-)
I chuck a £1 coin or two behind the nut to keep it proud. (I also have a few double length nuts for connecting threaded bars to make life even easier.
Great video.
Thank you man! Greetings from Austria 🇦🇹
Laid my ladie'a cbr600rr down, forks were misaligned. I was one moment from taking over to my mechanic to get them fixed but decided to see what Google had to say on this. Uber happy that I found your video, worked out perfectly for me. Thank you and cheers from California!
Thanks Ezzy...thats great news, and you saved the money at the garage...top class buddy... thanks for getting in touch.. ride safe, all the best.. Del.
Excellent advice mate really enjoyed watching your tutorial !
Kev Mason Thanks Kev, glad it helped you mate.. !
Making the difficult look simple as usual 👍👍
Had my first accident today a got my forks all askew.
Major relief watching this vid knowing I can fix it up myself!
Thanks man!
Hi Matthew, sorry to hear about your 'off' mate, hope you weren't hurt... and yeah, you just need to release the grip on the clamps and everything will pop back straight.. good luck with it, cheers, Del
Excellent tutorial on how to straighten up the front end, I used to struggle with this and I am going back to the 60s, I now have a Honda DN01 shaft drive, which makes axle stands a little more difficult, so it is statues for my wife. Thanks.
Ha ha, "Statues", i like that...lol
Great knowledge you have. Thanks for taking time to share this info...How handy and simple it really is (when you see it done). i'll do the check and adjustment for sure. Triumph Sprint 955 and TRX850 cafe..Cheers bro.
You're most welcome buddy, glad it could help you, good luck with it and ride safe!
great stuff mate, replaced the front tire today and used this method to set the front wheel up again, works great, cheers, keep up the good work :)
Love it. Thanks Delboy's Garage. You are always helpfull!!!
Very helpful. Well done. Thank you. Trying this on my Z1000. No fairing on my bike so this should be more simple to get to all the bolts. Keep these cool videos coming.
Michael Chambers Thanks Michael, give it a go and see how it goes, and obviously drop me a line if you get stuck..!
Thanks Del. This was extremely helpful and informative. It probably saved me a couple hundred bucks in repair costs as well. ..very much appreciated. :)