off set? Possible stupid question?

[Nairns_Two_50K]

I am relacing my front rim on my 96 kx250 and after completing it and truing it I found that my tire seemed to be off centered a little bit when looking at it between the forks installed.  Based on my measurements the hub was centered to the rim but am unsure of an off set. According to my manual there is no off set for oem wheels but it should be centered.  When looking at the front of the bike the tire is closer to the left(not rotor side) by about 1/8 of an inch. The tire does seem to be straight with the fender though so I am wondering if perhaps I am concerned with a problem that does not exist.  Those of you with your bike readily available i am curious as to if you have equal distance from tire to fork. If anything I could loosen the one side of spokes and pull it tighter to move the tire over but I would hate to mess with my truing if there is not an issue. Any insight would be great.  Yes this is my first relace and truing but with many many hours into getting it right I dont want to mess with it unless I need to. Thanks Dan

[sandblaster]

Hello.
Measure the distance between your fork and the rim, not the tire.
Sometimes tires are messed up and you can't tell by measuring the tire.
Let us know what you find.

[Burnt1Dragon]

Hello,
Just went out to the stable to have a look at my '97... I don't see any "offset" on it or my '01.  Did you pull the wheel out by removing the axle blocks completely? if so, I would remove it again and follow the procedure in the manual that explains how to reinstall the wheel if the axle blocks have been removed (book has specific instructions for that if the blocks were removed).  The axle has a groove in it on the none brake side that is used to align it to the inside of that axle block.  I hope that you'll see that is the only problem. Also, I don't think it matters, but did the wheel spacers make it back to the same side they came off of? Are the spacers in good condition?  Anyways, hopefully it's minor or just an optical illusion, lol. Good luck!

[Friar-Tuck]

Hey Dan,
 You should never be afraid to ask for help, there is usually someone here willing to step in and help. 
More than likely that's how most of us got here!

  Yes you can put an offset in your rim.  If the rim wasn't centered when you started tightening the spokes it could easily have been set off to one side as there are several things you need watch all while trying to keep an even number of turns on the nipples.
   Unfortunately the only way I know how to re-center the rim is to loosen all the spokes and start over.
I'm not saying it isn't possible, I just don't know how...
You shouldn't have to remove the whole Mary-Ann. 
   Just loosen the spokes enough to get the rim to move.  and then keep measuring, tightening etc.

  There were gobs of pages that popped up when I "Bing"ed  -How to lace a motorcycle wheel-.
It sounds like you have the basics down, and the more you do the faster it seems to go.

The last wheel I did was a TTR125 one of the neighbor kids brought over.   I used the forks of the bike as a stand, and tie wire (secured to the fork leg and triple clamp) as a guide.

  I had to give the kid credit for trying.   I also give you credit for diving in and having at it.  I'm sure you already found out patience is a big part of this type of project.   
  Tuck\o/

[Nairns_Two_50K]

Thanks for your help guys. I spent a little time messing with it last night and was able to get the rim to move over but I could use about another 1/8 inch to center the tire between the the forks. My new question/concern is that if I pull the spokes anymore to the one side I feel like the opposite side will still have threads showing on the spokes. maybe this is not a problem but it seems like that would not be correct. I also had a question in reguards to the front axle. I replaced the bearings not because they were bad but because I had them out so it just made sense. But... when I tighten up the axle bolt it seems like the bolt being tightened binds up the axle. To clarify it seems like the spacers are pushing into the bearing when tightning. The bearing are set all away in so that is not the problem. Any insight would be useful. Also if I tighten the axle bot down just by hand everything seems fine.  I am typically mechanically inclined but just having a horrible time putting the front of my bike back together. Thanks Dan 

[Nairns_Two_50K]

I finally got the rim dialed in, centered and it looks good. Thought I would shoot a picture of the front end back together.......until tomorrow when I take apart the calipers and brackets to get them ready for powder. powder coating is so addicting.

[sandblaster]

Looks great!

[1989kawasaki]

i think it looks nice too

[Nairns_Two_50K]

Looks great!

      It is so funny, I just relized who you are. I was reading up on some of the new shop build and saw you are oem cycle. Between my suzuki quad and kx I have your parts on both. It is nice to see you involved both ways helping fellow riders and keeping our machines tip top with used parts at decent prices.   Here is a picture of my 96 kx 250 two years ago when I contacted you looking for parts. It looks very different now. Thanks Dan

[sandblaster]

That's funny.
I guess that specializing in dirt bike parts I'm bound to run into a few people I've dealt with before on this site.
I'm not on this site to make money or advertise, I simply enjoy all the great advice and articles I've read.
If I can help with some info along the way, that's great too.
Keep riding 

[Spizz]

I too have the powdercoating bug, so much so that I bought the home kit and do all my own stuff. See my post in the AF forum for a few examples so far. Its super easy to do.

[Nairns_Two_50K]

I too have the powdercoating bug, so much so that I bought the home kit and do all my own stuff. See my post in the AF forum for a few examples so far. Its super easy to do.

   Hey spizz, that blue looks great!  Is that the anodized blue? My good friend and I started a small time operation out of our garages doing powder coating.  In my garage I do majority of the prep by sandblasting and then 12 doors down at his house we have a 4x4x6 walk in powder oven and a spray both. We stay very busy as I have been going crazy on my quad, my kx, sons dirtbike, and building his banshee frame up piece by piece. I am one of those people that gets instant gradafaction so watching the parts come out of the oven is a great feeling.  We do parts on the side for a few people just to keep our oven time cost down.

[Spizz]

That is a huge oven for a home operation. The colors used are silver base, transluscent blue, then clear over the top. I`ve found transluscents to not be very durable without clearing over them.
My biggest problem is keeping myself from going overboard and doing too much on my bikes. If I have a rattle can in the garage, I just can`t control myself and will not set it down until its empty. My vice and shop press and stuff probably has 300 coats of paint on it in the last 20 years.
I`m gonna try wrinkle finish black on the engine covers and head/cylinder soon.

[Nairns_Two_50K]

That is a huge oven for a home operation. The colors used are silver base, transluscent blue, then clear over the top. I`ve found transluscents to not be very durable without clearing over them.
My biggest problem is keeping myself from going overboard and doing too much on my bikes. If I have a rattle can in the garage, I just can`t control myself and will not set it down until its empty. My vice and shop press and stuff probably has 300 coats of paint on it in the last 20 years.
I`m gonna try wrinkle finish black on the engine covers and head/cylinder soon.

   The wrinkle finish is really nice. It looks like a rhino liner finish that is very simular to the utility quad racks but way more durable. I will be doing my racks on my quads very soon. Sand blasting can be a pain but we recently found an acid dipper local and affordable so we always have the big stuff prepped from them. We are currently working on a 20 inch set of mustang steeda rims. We are using super durable wet black. That has got to be one of my favorites. Silver vein is really awesome too.  Does your oven run on 110 or 220?  Where do you buy your powder from? We use Eastwood sometimes but mostly powder buy the pound.Take care

[Spizz]

8 years ago when I started I had a 220 oven and did lots of car parts as I was in a hotrodding phase. Long ago I scrapped the oven and only use a small toaster oven as most of my bike parts fit ok. I too buy most of my stuff from Eastwood, but have seen quite a few different colors on ebay, but to this point haven`t tried them. Any special steps I should take when baking the wrinkle finish?