Removing fork top nut: alignment issues?

[gog]

Im hoping to drop the forks out of the top triple so that I can slide a new pair of headlight brackets on. It looks like I have to undo the pinch bolts on lower T and the large top nut in order to drop the forks.

The bike is an 1987 R80 mono with the large solid fork brace.

I read the following on Duane Ausherman's site:

"See the messed up fork retainer bolt? That is from some idiot using a Cresent wrench and letting it slip off. Don't remove that part, or you will have big troubles. It releases the fork alignment. You will have a really big job ahead of you." - http://www.w6rec.com/duane/bmw/forkseal/index.htm

Im naturally a bit concerned about this. Does anyone have any option to get the new brackets on (they must slide, they wont open enough to pop on around the fork), or any thoughts on the above quote?

Cheers
Gordon

 

[cookie]

i think it's bollocks.

 

[gog]

I had hoped that it was bollocks

 

[cookie]

it's odd that his link to the terrible job that is fork alignment doesn't go anywhere.

 

[gog]

i think maybe he is keeping the magic technique a secret

 

[Jeremy Wilton]

When I read all about 'stiction' on fork legs and using a bit of glass to true them up after undoing the fork braces etc, I felt a bit worried... I had to change the brace tho, so I slid the forks out, renewed the fork brace (r100gs) and slid the forks back in...no worries... there's a slight judder when braking - but only noticeable at slow to stopping speeds...I think it's easy to get hung up on everything being absolutely perfect on the bloody bikes...they're agricultural panzer tanks and will plod around even with my rudimental knowledge of spannering. Just give it a go!

 

[cookie]

i'm old skool.

do everything up, but not tight.

run the bike gently into a wall a couple of times.

tighten all bolts.

always worked for me

 

[litelfun]

well if you have a pit in your grage licke me its easy to du just put your bicke on its center stand remove front wheel remove the boards from the pit coverng whier the front wheel is slacken of the pinch bolt for forks and twist them throu ! then du the revers to re erecht you could try duing this with your front wheel of the kerb on its center stand !!

 

[Steptoe]

i'm old skool.

do everything up, but not tight.

run the bike gently into a wall a couple of times.

tighten all bolts.

always worked for me

That's the way to do it, also hold the front brakes on and bounce the front up and down before the final tighten. - it's called freeing trapped stresses, which is the cause of fork stiction.

 

[gog]

excellent

looks like I will just be removing the top plate and sliding brackets on from top. doing just this, should i still loosen slightly the other bits and do as suggested? thinking that re-torquing the top nuts may cause issues even if i havnt loosened the lower triple or brace, so still worth doing as 'belt and braces'. question is, which bits should be loose, and how loose?

 

[Beemerboff]

That article on alignment was mainly for bent forks with the flat plate top triple where all alignment has been lost, and they are a bit harder to align/ easier to get misaligned.
With the large top triple which clamps to the fork stanchions things are much easier.

Just do your job from the top, remove and replace the top triple without touching the bottom one , the fork caps or anything else.

By now your fork parts will have bedded in to each other, and the wear will have "adjusted " any slight initial misalignment , and possibly bends in the stanchions , and your forks will probably be working smoothly.
IMHO upsetting this equilibrium is more likely to cause problems than solve problems that don't exist,

Even then a little bit friction in the fork is not always a bad thing - just think of it as two way damping and it sounds just like the friction dampers on old girder forks - it is stiction which causes the problem.

Removing most friction, and stiction ,from a set of forks can sometimes end up in the forks performing worse and highlighting the fact that your forks really need a better damping system- DAHIK