[Beattie_Yo]

Just recently purchased a 2002 RC51 SP2 and love it to death. Upon initial inspection i found no evidence of damage. the previous owner said nothing about the bike being involved in any accidents, and judging by my own inspection i took his word as the bike looked very clean, the clipons, barends, levers, mirrors, rearsets, fairings, mufflers all were clean with no signs of abuse. Steering stops lacked any signs of a crash. When i test road the bike it was night time and the test ride went well and i did not notice any discrepancies, so I purchased it!

The next day I take the bike for a ride in the daylight and noticed that while riding in a straight line the handlebars/triples arent straight, they are slightly cocked to the right by a few degrees. now if i just keep my head up and pay no attention i dont feel the bike pulling to one side or the other, it feels fine and the ride is smooth without any vibrations. But when i look down at my bars i see them cocked rightward it just pisses me off

Question: Is there a way of fixing the alignment? What parts should i be inspecting closer? How can i troubleshoot this issue? Or did i just get screwed in the sale? I think im leaning towards I got F*cked

[J-Pip]

It could be a simple fix, I don't know everthing about it, maybe someone else can chime in with exact instructions. I learned of this as my friend got into racing this year, he and a team mate had a couple of crashes and this was a result. I think what happens is the forks turn inside the clamps. ON both of their bikes they only need to loosen the clamps till they "popped" and then torque the clamps. They're crashs ranged to an easy lowside and some wicked tumbling through the gravel. this occurred about everytime the bikes went down. If it rides fine, i'd bet that the problem. Take it in to a shop and show them how the steering is off. It's wither that or bent forks, and I think you'd feel it if the forks were bent. Here's a link to some info about resetting the forks. http://http://www.utahsba.com/forum/...pic.php?t=7474

Good luck.

[Beattie_Yo]

thanks! Now do i need to have a front stand or do i need a jack to raise the front wheel off the ground while doing this? (dont own either) or can i do it with both wheels on the ground?

[J-Pip]

If you're going to be loosening the triples, you will probably want to have it on a "new front" type stand (the kind that goes in the headstock) or jack it. However, I don't think you have to loosen them all that much, you may be able to do one at a time and not have the fork move up the triples. Like I said, I have never done this, just know people that had the same problem.

Or possibly even just pull it straight by hand with the front wheel between your legs. But the guy that did that was doing it on his Honda Rebels for his MSF class, I don't think that would work on the RC's stronger front end.

[zerogara]

Well I have a 2002 and I went crazy after my second ride thinking the same thing. So I took it back triple checked the rear alignment, loosened the top and bottom triple clamps, wiggled it a bit to take any tension out, retightened everything and went for a ride. Same thing! Bike turned left and right the same way, didn't accelerate or brake with a tendency to pull off the line.....

So I went back and thought and thought of what could be wrong. Fork tubes upper and lower seemed parallel.....

It is the crossmember of the tank to mirror brace that is welded crooked and since it is the best frame of reference when riding and looking down the triple trees it makes you feel the sterring is crooked. It was so obvious after I noticed it that I almost kicked myself. The fairing is perfectly straight and there is no sign of damage ever but clearly the welding was not done properly. Not that it matters, I presume they have the two side bars on a jig and someone or a robot (doubt it) comes along and welds the little tube between them. Maybe the guy that did this in 2002 had "issues" at the time and just didn't care enough (in Honda fashion) to make sure it goes on straight!

[Hammer]

You can also hang the bike from a rafter in a garage to lift the bike if you do not have a stand