How to allign rear wheel HAWK ?

[tonycstech]

I must be dumb or dont understand or there is a problem with the swing arm ?


Rear swing arm has allot of gap between the wheel when axle nut/bolt is loose, like 1/2 inch gap. Is that normal ?


With that, when i loosen axle nut/bolt, chain also becomes loose without touching the adjustment nuts at the end.


I would set the tension i want and then tighten the axle nut/bolt and all goes to hell . Chain becomes tight as a string again.


How in the world am i suppose to align my rear wheel to the frame when it shifting when i tightening it

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by tonycstech

I must be dumb or dont understand or there is a problem with the swing arm ?


Rear swing arm has allot of gap between the wheel when axle nut/bolt is loose, like 1/2 inch gap. Is that normal ?


With that, when i loosen axle nut/bolt, chain also becomes loose without touching the adjustment nuts at the end.


I would set the tension i want and then tighten the axle nut/bolt and all goes to hell . Chain becomes tight as a string again.


How in the world am i suppose to align my rear wheel to the frame when it shifting when i tightening it

The gap is normal for a Hawk lol. Not that normal otherwise.

I set my chain tension by first setting it loose, then spinning the axle nut down to compress the swing arm until all of the gap is gone and there is a bit of resistance put on the adjusters, but the axle nut itself is not torqued down. Then I turn my adjusters to take up the slack until my alignment is good and the proper slack has been set. If you go too far and the chain needs a bit of slack again, a good ol slap or two to the tire should shove the wheel back forward.

Then I snug the axle nut up a bit more and then tighten it (35ft-lbs). The slight resistance of it being turned down to eliminate the gap also does a good job of providing just enough resistance to keep it from shifting. Once the axle is tight I then snug up the adjuster nuts, and then tighten the locknuts (not standard, but worth adding).

[tonycstech]

Thanks, will try that.
Also do you think i could take swing arm off and make it have less of a gap or just add spacers ?
I am not used to gaps like that, i owned multiple kawasaki ninjas, none of them were like that.
What reference point do you use to align the wheel ?

[Baskt_Case]

Originally Posted by tonycstech

What reference point do you use to align the wheel ?

Center knobbie on tire with lower shock mount.

It used to bug me that my tire is not exactly center with my rear fender but I finally got over it. China bike is China bike. Center it with shock mount and call it a day.

[Megadan]

When I removed my swing arm to grease the pivot I used a measuring tape and measured back from the swing arm pivot to the slots for the rear axle with the rear wheel installed to compress the swing arm and take up the gap. I then marked my own reference points for adjustments with an engraver. It's rather amazing how inaccurate the factory marks are.

[tonycstech]

Great trick Megadon.
I measured my swing arm and it seems to be accurate on both ends.
Factory marks are not so i can use end of the swing arm as reference point.
Measuring to the pivoting bolt is kinda tricky because i have to hold the tape at the center of the bolt/nut guessing where that center is, but at the very least, there is room for the tape to go from point A to B.


Also another trick i thought was worth mentioning is to use a piece of wire and compress chain with it to a desirable tension and THEN align the wheel.
Once wheel is aligned, release the chain tension and it will drop to desired slack.


I aligned the wheel using your suggestion, getting it tight and then banging on it.
Too bad even kicking it was not enough, i had to hit the bolt/nut with a hammer through a wood block to get it moving, but that gave me precision i was looking for.


At 35LB torque, i was still able to realign the wheel by hammering the nut/bolt with a wooden block. That gives me little to no hope that it will stay aligned for very long as there is ABSOLUTELY nothing other then bolt/nut tension holding it in place.
Very sad. In 2019 i expected more.

[Megadan]

I never said to get it tight before adjusting. Just wind the nut down until all the gap is gone. It might not move super freely, but it shouldn't be tight enough to require a hammer. Maybe back it off just a hair next time you get around to it.

35ft-lbs is the CSC Torque spec for the TT250 which uses the same basic style of swing arm and adjusters. You can go tighter if it makes you feel better, just be warned it isn't hard to overtighten things and start crushing some things. Maybe take it up in 5 ft-lb increments until satisified that way you know what to use next time around as well.

In 2019 I would expect more from mainstream big name bikes, but expectations should be kept reasonably low with no-name rebadged bargain basement bikes like these. It's part of their charm lol.

[OneLeggedRider]

Baskt_case should post pics. He welded thin washers to the inner adjustment spacers to take up the slack.

[kingofqueenz]

I had recently tried to set my alignment on my TBR7 by eyeballing it and it just didnt ride right. Not enough knobby on the tires to use as a gauge on the rear shock and the plastic fender is far from straight I assure you.

Finally caved and just purchased and used the Motion Pro 08-0048 Chain Alignment Tool thing for around $15 and boy was I off.

I'm sure there are people for and against the tool, for me it worked well and I just took it for a spin and it is MUCHO better.

Nifty little tool for my toolbox, I suppose I can use it on my bicycles as well.

[timcosby]

the wheel is always being pulled forward so the adjusters should keep it in one place. there was a post where someone had put too much torque on the axle nut and dimpled the swingarm and every time the nut was tightened it went back to the same spot.