I had a clank in my front end and determined I had a loose gusset bearing.
Upon re assembly I noticed that the forks seem to be different height while I was attaching the top tripple clamp.
The bike seems to be ok I guess I don't get a wobble when I let off the bars but not everything is lined up square. it does track a bit to the right when I do let off the bars.
The bike was dropped on both sides by previous owners, whickh I don't know much info about the event or events.
I have a service manual but it doen't give much 411 about the alignment procedures. and what it does metion a groove on the fork tube for the upper but there is no groove on my fork tubes.
Could someone give me some insight on how to set this up and align them.
Or how to check them without pulling the entire front end off and dissasembling. Could it be that they are twisted? I do note that while riding my handlebars are not symetrical and my right handlebar is slightly bent back towards the bike while the left seems to be pretty straight but the whole assembly just doesn't look or feel 100 %. as far as I can tell It isn't too bad but bugs the heck out of me, and I don't have wobble or anything at speeds up to 90 MPH. I took it up there for testing but rarely get to that speed. and I don't do alot of twising or hard turns until I am confident in the bike and the setup.

which is sad I am riding this bike like a moped until I can fully trust it



http://s107.photobucket.com/albums/m...t=DSCN0704.jpg

 

If you were servicing the forks, then you removed them by jacking up the front of the bike and sliding the forks downwards out of the triple tree, correct? So, all you did upon putting them back in was that you pushed them up through the triple tree at different lengths. In the picture, your left fork is obviously a bit higher than your right fork. Also, OEM specs indicate that the top of your clipon clamp should align with the grooves on the fork tubes, also clearly visible. Right now you have them set higher in the triple tree than stock, resulting in a slightly lower right height in the front.

 

I didn't remove the forks though I also did not loosen the lower tripple clamp. I just pulled the handlebars off, removed the big bolt for the upper, removed the two side bolts for the upper, removed the clip around each fork, tightend the slotted nut for the bearings and reversed the procedure.
Are the forks supposed to align with the retaining clip groove?
If so then my lowers are out of whack.
So how do I adjust them to be the way they are supposed to be?
I am just looking to get the bike to its designed config. then maybe later mod it.

 

There should be two grooves on the upper fork leg. The top groove is for a wire retaining clip for the handlebars. The lower groove is to be aligned with the top of the upper triple clamp. I don't see the lower groove in any of the pictures. If you have a front end stand, raise the bike and remove the front wheel. You can adjust the fork leg by loosening the lower and upper pinch bolts and sliding the fork tube into place. I double checked mine by installing only the axle bolt to make sure the fork tube lowers were in alignment.

 

+1 for what GP fan said.

sounds like you've got preload built into the right fork leg cause the left is higher, so for the front axle to go through and be straight, which it will be, the right leg is having to compress some.

Is possible that the left leg slid up some, or that you don't have the upper triple completely de-stressed. I just did the exact same bearing adjustment, and found that if you don't suspend the front of the bike, with the upper removed the fork legs move rearward. I was able to get everything lined back up on mine, but ordered a triple stand the next day, as I have a fork rebuild planned soon too.


you need to get the front end of the bike off the ground - jack it up from underneath (block of wood on the projections on the bottom of the oil pan - they are designed for that) - have a buddy straddle but not sit on the bike to steady it. Buy him beer - he's gonna be locked in that position for a while. Try to line it all up with the wheel installed first - if you can get everything lined up on the factory marks then torque the clamp bolts back to spec.

 

The only marks I have are the clip grooves. I did jack the bike up and opened the tubes I turned the preload all the way to the left and also did that with the fine tune adjust " screwdriver" the jack slid off and all of the setup came crashing down with the tops off. Fork and springs came shooting skyward and the bike bottomed out BIG TIME,
after 20 min to get the suckers front end lifted, I just locked it all into place. It works the fork oil was real nasty and looked like there was a ton of water in it. it was this wierd creamy greyish black color nothing like a normal lube. this looked like lube from a blown lower unit on a inboard boat. old grease water and time. I have bought a bike lift but the carbs are off now so one task at a time. but this gives time for ideas.

 

Sorry bout the mishap, gotta secure these things. Get a front end lift that inserts into the lower triple so you can service the forks off the bike - I just bought a BikeTek brand economy stand for like $100 shipped.

I have a set of 94 forks on my workbench, and just looked at them - there is only the groove for the clip, no lower marks. the forks have wear marks that show there was about 1/8 inch below the clip-ring groove and the top of the clipon. My 92 forks are the same way, so that's a rough estimate of where everything needs to be.

Sounds like you need to pull the forks off, do a full oil service now.
Before you bother with that though - get the front wheel off the ground and remove it. Loosen the triples and clipons, and line the 2 fork tubes to the same spot and tighten them up. Before remounting the front wheel, slide just the axle through the forks - make sure it all lines up. At this point if it doesnt line up, you need to find what's bent before doing anything else.

 

I went on ebay and looked at f2/f3 forks. It looks as though Honda only had the second groove on 91s. Everything else only had the single clip groove. There should be a spec in the manual for regular ride height setting on the fork tubes. If not, I can measure the distance on mine for you.

 

I finally bought a motorcycle lift.
Got it for 50 bucks on Craigslist a central hydrualics #93033
Also was reading about fork oil and noted some people were using ATF for fork oil. I have a quart of that from my Homade "manometer" carb sync tool build.
So I am almost ready to get this done. How much oil in the forks?
Is there a way to purge the old junk out? asides from multiple fills and drains.

First I am cleaning the carbs following the carb cleaning 101 sticky.
after I get them in and synced it is straight on to these forks.
I also have some tie downs to help stabilize the bike.

 

91 F2 forks take 500cc of oil per leg. Honda used a 10 weight oil in forks of that era. ATF might be too light, but could work. Flushing out your forks should be done with a complete disassemble. If you had thick gunk, it can plug the damping holes. Forks need to be extra clean inside. Kerosene can be used to flush and it leaves a thin oil film.