misaligned forks - help?

Hi all,

I've been working on my project bike, a 80 KZ550.

I recently removed the wheel, brakes, etc from the front.

I had a new tire mounted, and today I replaced the fork seals. When I put everything together, the forks seem to be misaligned somewhat. Almost like the lower tree is off slightly from the top tree?

Any ideas? I followed the instructions in the service manual - I loosened the front wheel axle nut, then I compressed the front suspension several times, then tightened the nut again. This doesn't seem to fix the problem.

Help!

PS - This was all I needed to get the bike on the road. It's running so-so (I had to clean the carbs and make some choke flaps), next up is paint...

wreckedmyteg wrote:

...I had a new tire mounted, and today I replaced the fork seals. When I put everything together, the forks seem to be misaligned somewhat. Almost like the lower tree is off slightly from the top tree?

Any ideas? ....

I had the same thing on one of my 750s. The trees were off from each other. So, I figured I had tightened the neck too much or something, and took off the front wheel, I just loosened up all the fork / tree bolts (including the neck stem), and let it all fall back into place by following the shop manual steps for re-assembly very specifically. It worked for me.

I never removed the trees or loosened the neck. I just pulled the 6 pinch bolts and pulled the tubes out.

I put it back together the same way.

Does that make a difference?

You have the right advice above:
LOOSEN EVERYTHING AND RETIGHTEN.
I suggest having someone straddle the front wheel while everything is loose. Wiggle the handlebars aaginst the resistance and that should get evrything straight.