[Flipper]

Does anyone have any tips on aligning the steering.  My steering is tight, but the steering wheel is not centered when going straight.  I set it straight and then look at the front tires, and they appear to be out of alignment. 

Thanks,

John

[NMKawierider]

Does anyone have any tips on aligning the steering.  My steering is tight, but the steering wheel is not centered when going straight.  I set it straight and then look at the front tires, and they appear to be out of alignment. 

Thanks,

John

Are you dead sure...because I know I looked at mine a hundred times and could swear it had to be off but when running on a straight smooth road the wheel is near center but looking at it in the shop it looks off..and it looked like it had tow-out. One day I broke out the equipment and checked it...and the toe was exactly what the book said it should be..that and the when actually running near center told me to.. leave it alone...lol

But if yours is off, its just a matter of coming in with one tie rod and out with the other while the wheel is locked centered. You can use the string method as we do with ATVs. Works just fine.

[Flipper]

I am pretty sure it is off.  I will double check with the string method.  Wasn't sure if that would work with SXSs

Thanks,

John

[WalkinTarget]

Are you dead sure...because I know I looked at mine a hundred times and could swear it had to be off but when running on a straight smooth road the wheel is near center but looking at it in the shop it looks off

When I test drove a z800 near me, I noticed that right away ! I ALMOST made a comment to the saleperson, but once we got it going, it was indeed straight as an arrow. I find it very odd that it can look so OFF, but yet be properly aligned when it gets up to speed. Note that this was on a non-EPS 800 as well, so power steering or not, it is still noticeable on these models. As such, it is not a problem per se, its more of a catch your eye type of thing.

[Jogon30]

Yea I had the same issue and I also busted out the OCD tools and checked and it was stright for some strange reason this is the way it is !

[rmezenen]

i just picked up an 2016 800 ex eps. after we got it home and drove around  just a few miles the steering wheel was not straight even when we got going up to speed. i haven't been able to dig into it yet to see why its doing this.

any ideas?

i need to have it fixed before going to Moab, Ut before the end of the month.

[NMKawierider]

Probably OK, just a little off on wheel centering. Just check the toe-in. Use the string method to align the wheel. Set the toe-in 0 to 10mm total. I like mine about 2mm. These are easy to do.

[REDRIDER]

When I picked mine up I took it for a ride. The machine went straight but the wheel was at 1 o'clock. I told the guy, he popped the wheel off and reset it, was off a couple splines or something.

[Sockman]

I'm chewing up my front tires pretty badly.  They are getting cupped, moreso on the right side.  I measured the alignment, and it looked fairly straight, so I toed it in slightly.  Not sure if this is caused by an underinflation issue, or what. 

Also, my steering wheel was off, so I ended up taking the steering wheel off, and moving it over one spline.  That seemed to correct that.

[NMKawierider]

I'm chewing up my front tires pretty badly.  They are getting cupped, moreso on the right side.  I measured the alignment, and it looked fairly straight, so I toed it in slightly.  Not sure if this is caused by an underinflation issue, or what. 

Also, my steering wheel was off, so I ended up taking the steering wheel off, and moving it over one spline.  That seemed to correct that.

I hadn't seen any wear on mine even after 800 miles on the Reapers and having found it had 3/4" of toe-in. I'm almost never on pavement though. I reset it using the string method to 2/32s(because I wanted it as close to zero as possible but with just a hair of toe-in) and it is much better at speed on fire roads and quicker reacting on fast trails.

Your "cupping" is usually an indicator that something is wrong. Being the same on both sides usually points to a toe problem but having it on both sides but more on one usually also means one side has an additional problem with camber...which can happen with loose bushings, wheel bearings, loose a-arm bolts or something bent like the frame or an a-arm.   

[Sockman]

Well, I have a leaker on the right front tire, so I'm having to air it up a bit more.  I may have let that one get a bit too low.  To get to where I ride, I have a few miles of hard road to ride on.  I'm not sure what the problem is.  The machine is new.  I haven't hit anything, there's no slop in the suspension.  Camber I don't believe it adjustable.  Would spring load cause a different camber?

[NMKawierider]

Well, I have a leaker on the right front tire, so I'm having to air it up a bit more.  I may have let that one get a bit too low.  To get to where I ride, I have a few miles of hard road to ride on.  I'm not sure what the problem is.  The machine is new.  I haven't hit anything, there's no slop in the suspension.  Camber I don't believe it adjustable.  Would spring load cause a different camber?

It can. The more the suspension rides either side of the center of travel, the more it will be off...but it needs to be way high or low to make enough difference to notice in tire wear. Low tires-yeah..riding on low tires also effects wear.

[Sockman]

I'm going to try to keep the air pressure around 10psi in the front and see if that does anything.  Gonna throw some green goo in there, too to hopefully seal it up.

Looking at the spring preload and it seems a bit much, but lessening it I think would have a further effect on the camber, or it would push the tire out at the top further.

[NMKawierider]

It's where the axle or hub rides in the ark of the travel. If you take the shock off, then move the a-arms from top to bottom, the center of that travel is where the engineers have set the caster and camber to be the optimum. It stays within its operational limits to ..I would guess within 5 degrees of either side of it's travel.

You are probably fine...just get the leaks fixed and get the toe set just under zero. After you put slime in then it's a bitch to get them patched though.
 

[Cosmosdan]

No slime, it won't help a leaking bead and it is a pain to deal with later. Take it off and use soapy water to find the leak. Bead seal has worked well for me in the past.