Posted by Tumi on June 30, 2002 at 00:53:11:
In Reply to: Re: Skewed rear end II posted by Mark on June 29, 2002 at 21:13:28:
I never trust the swingarm alignment marks. The string method works like this:
Get a 10 feet lenght of string. Tie the other end into a rear wheel spoke, ideally at a spoke that´s facing rearwards and close to rear axle height. Run the string around the rear tire and towards the front of the bike at its left side, as high as possible without any interference from engine etc. On a Savage the string will be really low as the side stand will interfere.
Now you have to keep the string straight and tight. I tighten the loose end between two bricks.
Next you´ll need to adjust the string (by moving it sideways) so that it just touches the left forward edge of the rear tire. It should run forwards parallel to rear tire. This takes time and lots of kneeling and peeking behind the bike. Next you turn the front end so the front tire runs parallel to the string. That´ll propably alter the previous step so recheck everything twice at this stage.
Finally, the distance from the string to the front tire´s edges should be half of the difference between rear tire´s and front tire´s actual widhts.
This method does take a lot of time but if you do this properly it is very accurate.