The $6 Wheel Alignment Jig

Written by Keith owner of BlackMagic

Friday, 11 June 2004

Reprinted by Permission from Mr Tidy's Tech Tips

With 20,000 miles on BlackMagic I'll bet I have screwed around with the rear wheel alignment 40 times in 2 years. I just could not get it right since having new tires installed and losing the factory alignment pre-sets.

I tried every suggested method of aligning the belts and tires and nothing worked right. Either the belt squeaked or the bike pulled to one direction or the other when I took my hands off the handlebars.

That was until I discovered the $6.00 cure. I figured that the way the factory aligns the bikes is to clamp the two wheels in a jig until the back tire is aligned with the front, then they tighten up the back tires alignment bolts. A foolproof assembly line procedure. (This procedure depends on the type of bike stand or jack you use also)

So I invented a way to (almost) duplicate that procedure for short money. I bought two 3/4" by 10' pieces of straight electrical conduit at the hardware store. With the rear of the bike jacked up and the bike in gear I zip-tied the conduit to the rear tires. (You possibly could use bungee cords substitute for zip ties)

With this arrangement a very small adjustment on the rear adjustment bolts shows up as a very large movement of the conduit as it straddles the front tire.

Fiddle with your adjustment bolts until the conduit is the same distance on either side of the front tires and your wheels are now in perfect alignment!

Questions should be asked in our forum (Use discuss link below). The forum is very active and you stand a good chance of getting your questions answered there. If you would like to leave feedback for the author, or have additional information you think will benefit others, please use the comment section at the bottom of this page.

Discuss this article on the forums. (2 posts)

DISCLAIMER: This information and procedure is provided as a courtesy and is for informational purposes only. Neither the publishers nor the authors accept any responsibility for the accuracy, applicability, or suitability of this procedure. You assume all risks associated with the use of this information. NEITHER THE PUBLISHERs NOR THE AUTHORs SHALL IN ANY EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OF ANY NATURE ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE USE OR MISUSE OF THIS INFORMATION OR LACK OF INFORMATION. Any type of modification or service work on your motorcycle should always be performed by a professional mechanic. If performed incorrectly, this procedure may endanger the safety of you and others on your motorcycle and possibly invalidate your manufacturer’s warranty.

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Comments (5)

Stand
Written by vf99, on 11-05-2012 08:03
Very new to this great site. I'm was getting readdy to build a wood stand as described in another article, but am interested in what you have used in the picture. I'd be grateful of any information regarding source of this stand. Jon

Written by emma12, on 08-26-2010 10:19
(sorry) let me try this again,. I did try tis and it worked great!!!!!!!!!! :grin

Written by emma12, on 08-26-2010 10:14
tryed this and it worked liea champ :grin

Vernon

changing that back tire
Written by 06 midnight, on 04-26-2008 14:09
i am getting ready to chang the back tire on my bike it is my baby so i ready as much as i can so i do it right any help that you can give me on how to do this it would be great and also when do i need to change the belt how many miles can you put on the belt before you need to change it thanks for the help and keep you ride sunny side up and we will see you on the road.

Written by fastjohnny, on 03-26-2008 17:06
where did you get that stand?

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