Article [13] ST1300 - Maintenance - Front & Rear Wheel Install and Front Axle Animation

Thanks for the expanded detail.

That illustration is not in my service manual. I had installed the wheel per your article. I just checked and both sides have a greater than 1mm gap from the bracket to the rotor/disc. Rain rain rain here so it won't get a road test for awhile to see if it pulls in either direction.

Very good info. Recently purchased my first ST1300 and it needs both front and rear tires. Ordered tires but stealership wants an arm and a leg to install so I'm going to do it myself. I have more time than money sort of speak and at least I will know that it's done right.

Anyone out there in the Great State have a tire changer to help this young man out?
@RyanO give it a minute; with all the Texans on this list, I'm sure some of them have a machine for that job, and this gives you a splendid opportunity to meet your ST neighbors.
It IS sad to learn many dealerships charge as much as one of your tires, to put them on.
Often, an independent bike shop will have better rates. I can get a tire mounted and balanced for $30, if I bring the wheel off-bike.

Sadlsor said:

Anyone out there in the Great State have a tire changer to help this young man out?
@RyanO give it a minute; with all the Texans on this list, I'm sure some of them have a machine for that job, and this gives you a splendid opportunity to meet your ST neighbors.
It IS sad to learn many dealerships charge as much as one of your tires, to put them on.
Often, an independent bike shop will have better rates. I can get a tire mounted and balanced for $30, if I bring the wheel off-bike.

Click to expand...

I am pretty sure that @Mellow has a tire changer. He is in the DFW area so @RryanO might need to make a little road trip.

^^ You will get first rate service from Joe. He might be hard to catch though, he does have a new Beemer.

Dave Pitman said:

Thanks for the expanded detail.

That illustration is not in my service manual. I had installed the wheel per your article. I just checked and both sides have a greater than 1mm gap from the bracket to the rotor/disc.

Click to expand...

That is good, and to be expected. Normally, the left (clutch lever) side of the axle sits flush with the face of the hole in the left fork leg. After bouncing the forks with left pinch bolts undone, that is where it will be.

If you move the fork legs in or out, it also moves the caliper bracket, and the bracket may then catch on the brake disc / rotor because the wheel stays in position.

The check is to verify everything is aligned properly, and if wrong may indicate that the distance collars are on the wrong sides or are the wrong way round; new wheel bearings have been inserted incorrectly; axle tightening procedure has not been followed to the letter.

Basically if the gap isn't correct when the axle end is flush, then something else is wrong.

So you want the left pinch bolts tight enough to keep the axle form spinning, but loose enough to pull the leg through?

Auron said:

So you want the left pinch bolts tight enough to keep the axle form spinning, but loose enough to pull the leg through?

Click to expand...

A paradox.

No. I understand what you are thinking, but that wouldn't be possible.

The left fork leg has a little lateral movement and will 'float' on the axle. Clearly the fork legs have to be the correct distance apart. This is achieved when the axle bolt is tight and the left end of the axle is flush with the face of the hole on the left fork leg.

Moving the fork leg away from its correct position will put unnecessary pressure on the bushes in the fork legs. But the movement of the left leg on the axle is easy. Nevertheless we don't want to move it too far from its natural pisition.

So push in the axle - finger pressure should be enough to do this. Insert the axle bolt at the right hand side. Finger tighten to bring everything together as best you can and clamp the left hand fork leg so that the axle end is flush with the face of the hole.

Tighten the axle bolt on the right hand end of the axle. The axle will be drawn across a bit and the fork leg will move slightly with the axle into its correct alignment..

Tighten the right pinch bolts, slacken the left pinch bolts and bounce the forks a few times to let them find their own position. Check the end of the axle against the face again and tighten the left pinch bolts.

It is much easier to use the hex socket in the end of the axle to hold the axle while the bolt is being tightened. But no harm is done by using the pinch bolts if the axle is drawn in as much as possible before the left leg is positioned to clamp the axle.

So what purpose does that serve? To snug the left fork pinch bolts?

I it is to keep the axle from turning as you tighten it. As John mentioned above "It is much easier to use the hex socket in the end of the axle to hold the axle while the bolt is being tightened."

And after tightening the axle bolt, and tightening the right hand pinch bolts, you must then undo the left hand pinch bolts so that you can bounce the forks and let them find their 'comfortable' position. Then you re-tighten them - having checked the axle end is correct.

With the left hand pinch bolts tightened so that the axle doesn't turn - when you tighten the axle bolt on the right it will still try to turn the axle which will then try to tilt the left fork forward, which may have an effect on the suspension or the angle that the front wheel is pointing. Not much but there are so many things that can be put under a little bit of strain. But that slight twist in the axle will continue to try to tilt the left fork forwards.

Bouncing the front forks helps to remove any small stresses that you have put onto the components by fitting the front wheel, tightening the axle etc.
But to work it needs the left hand side to be disconnected from the right hand side. Hence undoing the left hand pinch bolts.

Got it and install went well. Thanks

jfheath said:

you can bounce the forks and let them find their 'comfortable' position. Then you re-tighten them - having checked the axle end is correct.

Click to expand...

But what about when that doesn't work out? What then?

Several times I have encountered the scenario where after all is said and done, the axle end is not flush with the fork leg. In order to get it flush the fork leg had to be moved inward or outward ever so slightly. The amount is extremely small but, it is enough that the fork wants to move if you remove all tension and allow it to, but then it is no longer flush with the end of the axle again.

So the question becomes which is better, having the left fork leg flush with the end of the axle, or having the fork leg in its 'comfortable' position?
The first will apply additional stresses to the fork leg, mostly the internal bushings I would presume. The second presumably means that the distance between the two fork legs is not correct.

For discussion purposes, let us accept that all of the associated parts are in good condition, and that all of the parts were correctly assembled in their proper order.

Good question. I don't know. I would be speculating.

But I'm happy to speculate.

My feeling is that if the axle is flush at the end then the forks are exactly the correct distance apart. That is where it should be.
Also, if it isn't in that position, the .7mm gap between brake disc rotor and the slot in the caliper bracket will not be there. So if that is the case, after bouncing the forks, I move it. I think that brake disc clearance trumps having to adjust the fork leg position.

The left fork in my first 1300 needed to be moved a fraction after bouncing - in the early days, but not later on. My current 1300 has never needed to be moved.

But if everything else is installed correctly and the forks aren't bent, then the forks are the correct distance apart if the axle end is flush.
If they don't bounce into the correct position then something else must be preventing it from moving of its own accord.

So it might be an indication that something isn't quite right. @Igofar had a nice post somewhere about checking how easy it is to push the axle through with one finger, and what to do if it needs that extra oomph to slide through the wheel.

One issue might be related to bearing installation. It matters which order you fit the bearings, and that order is different for the front and rear wheel. ***
If you get it the wrong way round, the wheel is too far over one way and your caliper clearance disappears.
Also it is possible to have one bearing slightly cocked.

Other issues could be the alignment of the top of the tubes and / or the relative position of the bottom of the fork legs.
There may be an issue with the mudguard fittings or the brake line fittings linking the two forks. eg if they have been tightened when the forks were not quite aligned, then it might be holding them in the wrong position. edit - I'm not talking here about the actual metal tubes - I mean the securing of the junction blocks and/or the delay valve on the fork legs. If they were tightened before the wheel was installed ........

And then of course there is the strain put on when a previous owner has put those collars in the wrong way round.

edit - Another thought just jumped into my head. I do some things automatically these days - its just the way that I work. Most people will probably do the same, but there was a time that I didn't so - I never, ever assemble things by tightening each bolt in turn. Eg reinstalling the front mudguard. The 6 bolts are located and inserted into the relevant holes and turned just enough to hold the bolts in position. Then they all get screwed in most of the way, so that everything is positioned correctly, then at some stage they get tightened. I never leave a bolt looking as though it is tight. Its the sort of thing you do when putting wheel nuts on a car, or when tightening cyclinder head bolts. Otherwise tightening one bolt affects how the rest of them seat. As I say, I suspect most of us do something like this anyway.

I'm not an expert on this, so I am speculating. I'm wondering now whether the issue on my first 1300 disappeared when I first looked up about changing bearings and started doing them for myself. Its possible - because they last much longer these days.

*** The front wheel - install the right hand bearing first (brake lever, ABS pulsar ring side). Rear wheel install the left hand bearing first (single race bearing, brake disc/rotor side)

John,
You make an excellent point with respect to the mud guard and break line supports.
I found that I needed to Tap the axle in to position a little more than I wanted to because I had torqued them up prior to fitting the wheel.

mr.m said:

John,
You make an excellent point with respect to the mud guard and break line supports.
I found that I needed to Tap the axle in to position a little more than I wanted to because I had torqued them up prior to fitting the wheel.

Click to expand...

If you had to "tap" the axle into position, this indicates that your forks are not completely true, and that your axle is binding

Igofar said:

If you had to "tap" the axle into position, this indicates that your forks are not completely true, and that your axle is binding

Click to expand...

Right I figure it was mud guard, fork brace and break line support causing some misalignment.
What could be the consequence of this? Need I loosen all that and reset the wheel?

Most of these advices are common sens, but at the end there is a number of variables that are not so obvious.
I have religiously applied the manual and the "Great" John's guide step by step many times and I rarely get it right on the first try.
Sometime I got lucky, but often I have to redo the sequence without knowing what I did wrong earlier.
My bad!

Sidekick said:

Most of these advices are common sens, but at the end there is a number of variables that are not so obvious.
I have religiously applied the manual and the "Great" John's guide step by step many times and I rarely get it right on the first try.
Sometime I got lucky, but often I have to redo the sequence without knowing what I did wrong earlier.
My bad!

Click to expand...

I was just looking for that Post. Can you send a link to it?

mr.m said:

I was just looking for that Post. Can you send a link to it?

Click to expand...

The attachments are in post # 1 of this thread.