What!....no alignment marks?!

[cat]

Or you could find the centre of the swinging arm boly with an engineers square, fit a point to one end of a piece of string and a pen to the other. Mark one place on each side of the swinging arm with the pen, then put measured marks from this datum
I know, you all think I'm a cheapskte, maybe I am, but you should only need to do this once.
Keith

What's an engineers square?

I found some centre finder things in a catalog but they're for lathes and milling machines. Quite nifty, they have a sort of eccentric - you probably know them - centre and you move it around on the end of the work piece until the rotating end-piece - that has a point - is concentric with the other part. [..shees, what a useless description.]

But I get your point about..measuring once / making a mark, so you dont' have to do it again. All the time I was thinking about something that would have to measure from the swingarm pivot every time.

[keithcross]

Cat

Take a look at this

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PRECISION-ENGINEE ... dZViewItem

or even better

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12-ENGINEERS-COMB ... dZViewItem

Keith

[cat]

or even better

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12-ENGINEERS-COMB ... dZViewItem

oh. I've got one of those, but it doesn't have the thing at the left or the protractor in the middle. How do you find the centre of a shaft with it? With that V-thing at the left?

[keithcross]

Cat

Yes that the thing to use. The square itself can also be used with a little inginuity as well. Cant rember how we did this when I was an apprentice, but it is possible

Keith

[DEmark]

I just chocked my axle up in the lathe and drilled a shallow hole with a center drill to find center. Have not done the swingarm bolt yet....

[Fil]

I have constructed a very simple device to centre my back wheel.

It consists of a long straight steel tube (about 10mm diameter, and slightly longer than the distance between the swingarm pivot bolt and the rear axle bolt) with two fuel pipe hose clamps - one slid onto the tube at each end.

The clamps have long screws that protrude so that you can use the end of the screw to centre on the swingarm pivot bolt at one end, and the centre of the rear axle bolt at the other. You can simply measure the distance on one side (by sliding one of the hose clamps to the correct place), and check that the other side is the same.

I have marked the centre of the swingarm bolt with a centre punch, and the centre of the rear axle already has a small dimple each side.

I also find it easier if I undo the read brake pedal pivot so that I can reach the swingarm pivot bolt easily with my measuring stick

[keithcross]

Tried my idea yesterday when fitting a new chain and sprockets. Swinging arm pivot was centred one side, matk the other side with a punch. Use a piece of wire, tied one end around centre punch and tied the other end around a pen. Marked one place each side of swining arm and made further marks 5mm apart from this mark. Should be easy know

Keith

[cat]

I have constructed a very simple device to centre my back wheel.
It consists of a long straight steel tube (about 10mm diameter, and slightly longer than the distance between the swingarm pivot bolt and the rear axle bolt) with two fuel pipe hose clamps - one slid onto the tube at each end.

ah! good one! I have a piece of aluminium tube,..hose clamps, I just need to get the centre of the swingarm.

[cat]

[andyw]

I have constructed a very simple device to centre my back wheel.

It consists of a long straight steel tube (about 10mm diameter, and slightly longer than the distance between the swingarm pivot bolt and the rear axle bolt) with two fuel pipe hose clamps - one slid onto the tube at each end.

The clamps have long screws that protrude so that you can use the end of the screw to centre on the swingarm pivot bolt at one end, and the centre of the rear axle bolt at the other. You can simply measure the distance on one side (by sliding one of the hose clamps to the correct place), and check that the other side is the same.

I have marked the centre of the swingarm bolt with a centre punch, and the centre of the rear axle already has a small dimple each side.

I also find it easier if I undo the read brake pedal pivot so that I can reach the swingarm pivot bolt easily with my measuring stick

Niceone Fil................maybe a photo?

.........and now the 'pro' version Cat - where did you find that?!

[cat]

Niceone Fil................maybe a photo?

it's ingenious you could use any sort of sleeve that slid snugly over the tube, with a set screw to tighten it, it would be less fiddly than a hose clamp.

the picture shows a Muzzy's Precision Wheel Alignment Tool. google doesn't turn up much, just a few references to it in 2 sportbike forums, and muzzys.com itself. the only place you can get them is Muzzy's itself and they don't give the price, just "POA". the rod is graduated so you can also use it as a sag measure.

i need to do some more measuring - the last time i tried, it seemed like the swingarm bolt was partly behind something, so long pointers like the Muzzy's one wouldn't work. and why Fil's does.