Has anyone checked wheel alignment on their NC700 yet?

I've been meaning to check wheel alignment on my NC when I got my center stand. I have mounted the stand just now and hope to do the alignment check soon, but I wondered if anyone else has. What I'm talking about here is making sure that the chain adjuster marks on the swing arm are accurate, and that the rear wheel is actually aligned with the frame and front wheel. You can find instructions on alignment methods on the Web. The technique I use simply involves two pieces of string.

I have noticed when riding, that if I sight down from the handle bars to the joint on either side of the bodywork near the top triple clamp, that relative to the bodywork, the handlebar appears to be turned slightly to the right while I'm traveling straight. This is consistent no matter what the crown of the road, the side wind, etc. I recently had the forks out of the bike and during reassembly, there appears to be no twist or misalignment of the front end. So either, A) The bodywork frame tabs may be welded on just such that there's a slight asymmetry in the bodywork. B) The bodywork is designed this way and the bodywork joints are not intended to be symmetrical. C) The rear wheel is misaligned and the bike is dog tracking down the road.

Mind you, the bike handles great, and this is not a problem; rather it's a curiosity. Still, as a matter of being thorough, the rear wheel alignment should be tested on any chain drive motorcycle. So back to the original question: Has anyone yet checked rear wheel alignment on their NC700(X,S,Integra)?

I have not checked the alignment on my bike, but I noticed the same thing you did with slight turn to the right of the bars when traveling straight. My bike is stuffed away in the garage right now, so it will probably be spring before I mess with checking the alignment. I did however let a friend of mine ride my bike, and as I was following behind him, the NC didn't seem to dog track down the road. Front and rear wheels seemed to be pretty well in line.

If you check, let us know what you find!

To me, the alignment that matters is that the front and rear sprockets are parallel and aligned. I do this with a chain and sprocket alignment gauge. I have never trusted the marks on the swingarm, nor would I .

I agree with Lee as to what the important alignment is. I do that alignment with a carpenter's square or a steel rod I have.

670cc said:

the handlebar appears to be turned slightly to the right while I'm traveling straight

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Maybe what you have un-aligned is the top and bottom yokes? (not sure if "yokes" is the work in english). I see this happening in my off-road bike when I hit some big stone of so...

Beemerphile said:

To me, the alignment that matters is that the front and rear sprockets are parallel and aligned. I do this with a chain and sprocket alignment gauge. I have never trusted the marks on the swingarm, nor would I .

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+1. You can also sight down the chain from 2 or 3 feet behind the bike with a Mark 1 Eyeball gauge. Any gross misalignment is easily seen in the curve of the chain - it should straight.

duk2n said:

Maybe what you have un-aligned is the top and bottom yokes? (not sure if "yokes" is the work in english). I see this happening in my off-road bike when I hit some big stone of so...

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Yokes works fine in the UK but I believe it is known as the triple clamp in the US. I do however stand to be corrected on this

Triple clamp is the more-common term here, but I think most of us recognize yoke as the same thing. At least all of us with any semblance of agricultural background or education.

Ah the one thing I miss about chain adjustments on a SSSA. Release the pinchbolt, turn the adjuster and torque the pinchbolt

duk2n said:

Maybe what you have un-aligned is the top and bottom yokes? (not sure if "yokes" is the work in english). I see this happening in my off-road bike when I hit some big stone of so...

Click to expand...

I had the forks out to do the Gold Valve Emulator mod. When reinstalling the forks, they slid up through the lower triple clamp and passed smoothly right through the upper clamp. I presume that to mean there is no twist in the forks/clamps, so I don't suspect it to be the issue, if there even is an issue. Like I said it's a curiosity worth investigating but not causing any problem as yet. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

Greg