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General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: ray bear on June 03, 2026, 08:00:06 PM

Title: loop frame fork alignment
Post by: ray bear on June 03, 2026, 08:00:06 PM

I have installed new fork sliders , seals, upper and lower bushes to my Eldorado and am now plagued with a bike that does not steer as well as it used to and has a squiggly feel in long sweepers more so in right handers , I have loosened lower pinch bolts and top nuts and tried to re position forks in relation to bars  left and right but  can not get it back to the bend swinger it used to be, I thought with the top taper on tubes  they would self align fairly well , If I let go of the bars it tends to steer to the left however not as bad if i travel on the right side camber of the road (Australia) but still noticeable  What am I not doing right or are the tapers on the tubes not machined straight ??? I have lost confidence in corners , I could drag the centre stand before but not now   thanks Ray
PS when I rebuilt forks I replaced stock springs with wurth progressive springs, should not make any difference, I travel a lot on unpaved roads which was never an issue but now I have to concentrate a lot on loose gravel

Title: Re: loop frame fork alignment
Post by: bigbikerrick on June 04, 2026, 02:53:25 PM

I had to put almost 10 oz of 30wt fork oil in mine for it to work right.
Rick.

Title: Re: loop frame fork alignment
Post by: Antietam Classic Cycle on June 04, 2026, 06:27:26 PM

If you can, sight down from the center, straight section of the 'bars and see if they align with the ends of the axle. That a "quick and dirty" alignment check.

You wrote "new fork sliders" - did you mean new fork tubes? Some of the aftermarket tubes don't fit well into the taper of the top plate.

Title: Re: loop frame fork alignment
Post by: ray bear on June 04, 2026, 08:30:05 PM

thanks charlie ,Rick, and rodekyll  and yes I meant fork tubes , I am going to strip it down again and recheck my work , I also replaced the steering stem bearings at the same time  so ill go right back to that . I replaced the original 50 year old bearings that were in good condition with new ones that have a dust seal because it seemed like an improvement , funny because the old originals had last 50 years and still good, I ask myself WHY. whats wrong with me , more money than sense.. Ray

Title: Re: loop frame fork alignment
Post by: guzzisteve on June 05, 2026, 06:49:42 AM

I have a slide hammer tool connected to an old fork cap for seating the tubes into the top triple. Comes in handy.

Title: Re: loop frame fork alignment
Post by: n3303j on June 05, 2026, 07:23:14 AM

In the days of Airheads we'd install just the tubes into the upper and lower clamps then place a flat plate across them to see that they were not twisted. Then we'd run an indicator between the parallel tubes to be sure they were parallel in both axis directions. Then we'd continue assembly being sure the braces and fender mounts were not fighting the adjusted tube's locations.
We'd end up with a suspension system without "stiction". Pain in the butt, but it worked.

Title: Re: loop frame fork alignment
Post by: Don G on June 07, 2026, 12:07:04 AM

Maybe the steering head bearings are not adjusted correctly....  DonG