front wheel alighment

[fjfool]

i am finally fitting the '91FZR wheel to my FJ
the wheel seems to be off center of the forks to the left(facing bike) about 1-1.5mm
just scraping the rotors on the calipers
i want to run my plan by the members here for advise
i think if i remove material at the face of the speedo drive(1-11/2mm) where it meets the fork leg and then have a new spacer built for the left side wider the sane amount as removed from the speedo drive it would do the trick
would i be better off removing the material from the fork leg?

i need to dig up the old wheel and check the width of the original speedo drive and spacer

anyone know what the distance between the fork legs at the axle is supposed to be?

as always, thanks for the help

[aviationfred]

My advise is.... Do not remove any material from the fork leg unless you have no other choice. 

Take 1mm off of the Speedo drive and add a 1mm thick washer to the throttle side and see if the rotors center up in your calipers.


Fred

[Pat Conlon]

My advise is.... Do not remove any material from the fork leg unless you have no other choice.  

Yes, I agree with Fred, except with stronger wording....For centering purposes NEVER remove any material off the fork leg***
Remember your triple clamps dictate the spacing of the forks. If you remove any material from the fork leg, when you tighten the axle you will be putting a bind (lateral load) on the sliding action between the stanchion tubes and lower sliders. Bad idea.

** Of course it's fine to open up the axle holes from 15mm dia. to 17mm dia. for the larger axle... no problem there.

You really don't need to know the dimension between calipers or fork legs...that distance is already set by your triple clamps (assuming you have straight triples and straight stanchion tubes) Use the center slots on your mounted calipers for your spacer reference.

[edit] I overreacted, I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote the above ^^ of course you will put a washer in the opposite side to compensate for any material shaved off the fork leg so there would be no binding on the fork tubes....Geeeze
Still I'm with Fred, only shave the fork tube as a last resort...although might be easier shaving aluminum than that steel speedo drive.

[fj1289]

I'll offer the dissenting opinion...

I think you may be better off taking the mm off the fork leg in this case.  If you take it off the speed drive it all needs to come off the OUTSIDE - if I remember a previous screwup of mine...if you take it off the inner portion then it doesn't seat properly against the bearing - instead it "seats" to the drive portion of the wheel and puts the drive housing in a bind. 

Just make sure you eyeball it closely before cutting metal and putting it to the test!

As a general principle, I try not to modify a stock part unless I have to.  Then I try to modify either:
1. the least expensive part (and get a spare made at the same time)
2. The most durable part and least likely ever to need to be replaced
3. Or the part requiring the least amount of modification and the easiest to duplicate if needed later

[ZOA NOM]

I believe your axle should be inserted from the other side as well. Probably doesn't make a difference, but the pinch bolt on the fork should crimp onto the non threaded portion of the axle. My axle nut is on the speedo side.