Fork alignment

[NAOS]

Hey guys, my front for is out of alignment for my Ninja 300. This came about to the bike sliding on gravel at a very low speed. I'm having to turn slightly to the right to counteract this, to steer straight. I have no leakage at the moment.
I heard its quite easy to fix my self. But i need to torque the triple clamps right, once i have loosen and aligned the forks. I have called my dealer and they said they will "call me back in 30 min" with the information. other wise id have to spend $360 for them to do it...a bit steep for me.

Would you have any advice on how to to do this job, and the right way to do it?
Thanks

[NAOS]

I have seen Betlog's guide for the ninja 250 (http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=49448) just wondering about any changes for the 300, and how much i need to torque the triple clamps.

[Motofool]

Use the grade 8.8 column:

http://www.cncexpo.com/MetricBoltTorque.aspx

[NAOS]

thanks

[old3]

Pull up to a telephone pole or solid structure, get along side it with about 4-6" between the tire and pole. Be sure your fender won't hit it and simply turn the bars firmly to smack the wheel hard into it to knock it back. This is a constant event on dirt and sumoto bikes and no big deal. If it is off to the right, wack the right side of the tire on the pole. It might take 2-3 before you are hitting it hard enough.

[tnr4]

Originally Posted by old3

Pull up to a telephone pole or solid structure, get along side it with about 4-6" between the tire and pole. Be sure your fender won't hit it and simply turn the bars firmly to smack the wheel hard into it to knock it back. This is a constant event on dirt and sumoto bikes and no big deal. If it is off to the right, wack the right side of the tire on the pole. It might take 2-3 before you are hitting it hard enough.

Yup, exactly what I clicked here to say. I had to do this on my Streety after she ate dirt. Sounds like a weirdly low-tech solution, but it's very common after you apply pressure to the forks in an accident.

You might not get them PERFECT, but you get them to the point that they are unnoticeable; then, next time you have it in the shop and up on the stands, just ask the techs to loosen the triple trees to realign -- they'll spring right back into place. My mechanic did this and double-checked the measurements for just a couple bucks. Good luck!

[jaybo]

Loosen the lower pinch bolts, Have someone steady the bike while you stand in front of it and put the front wheel between your legs, clamping with your knees/shins. Grab the bars and wiggle the bars back and forth a little and settle on straight. Then sit on the bike, grab some front brake and compress the forks a few times as far as you can. Then tighten the lower pinch bolts back up. Out on the trail I do it like old 3 says but if I have a bike stand and tools I do it the long way. I can not believe a stealership would charge 360 bucks for a two minute job.

[NAOS]

Originally Posted by jaybo

Loosen the lower pinch bolts, Have someone steady the bike while you stand in front of it and put the front wheel between your legs, clamping with your knees/shins. Grab the bars and wiggle the bars back and forth a little and settle on straight. Then sit on the bike, grab some front brake and compress the forks a few times as far as you can. Then tighten the lower pinch bolts back up. Out on the trail I do it like old 3 says but if I have a bike stand and tools I do it the long way. I can not believe a stealership would charge 360 bucks for a two minute job.

I did exactly this. i didnt take any faring off, and it took about 5 min.

-Loosened the lower triple, and loosened the axle bolt.
-My mate was on the bike (not seated, so no compression) while i put the wheel between my legs and i moved the handle bar to realign the wheel.
-we switched places, and i looked at my bar, and the wheel, to see if it was just like the day when i rode it out of the dealer.
-I then compressed my suspension a few times (5 i think), pushing/applying force on my handle bar, perpendicular to the ground, not down the fork axis. As apparently this helps to align them.
-Double checked that the alignment was good.
-Tightened everything up, and torqued correctly.
-Did a slow test ride, at some point did no hands, to test if the bike suddenly started veering to the side. It was all good.
-Took a longer ride (15-20 min), with a few bends. Then stopped to see if the alignment had changed. It was all good.

NOTE: All of the adjusting was done, on a flat concrete ground. Much easier than doing it on the grass.

Yes, and i agree with you! I have no idea how the dealer could charge so much for such a simple job like this.

It was faster for me to do this job my self.

Thanks to this forum for helping, and saving me a lot of money!