A forum for owners of Yamaha TTR250 trail and enduro bikes!

Henry · Veteran Member

TTR not tracking/driving straight hands off :/

The Mancunian · Senior Member

Pads ?

Cubber · Super Guru

Ooh, rotten luck, Henry. bleh

You know what the answer is, don't you? confuse

It can only be your front wheel/tyre can't it? They're the only things that have been touched.

Check the truth of the tyre on the rim - look for the line alignment between tyre and rim as the wheel's spun.

Check the spindle fixings left and right - are they all straight, where they should be, correctly tightened, aligned and true?

Check the straightness of the fork legs when the wheel is pointing straight ahead. Is the handlebar straight across and 90 degrees as the wheel's straight ahead?

It's got to be front wheel related. hmm

Martyn

peteBLUEttr · Super Guru

Did a bump cause the puncture? cos yeah you could of knocked the wheel out of true, or made the forks go slightly twisted in the yokes/risers. Or when then the new tyre was fitted it pus put out of balance somehow...good luck

Henry · Veteran Member

Hi Mancunian Martyn and Pete,

front pads , the same, still got life in them.

I checked the line alignment and I even deflated the tire myself and pried it , apply d soapy water high pressure and it fits nicely.

it wasnt a bump that caused the flat tire but an incorrectly placed inner tube that caused a crease.

Martyn ill check
Quote
spindle fixings left and right - are they all straight, where they should be, correctly tightened, aligned and true?
unquote

by any chance does anybody has a copy of the exploded view of the front wheel spacers and parts please?

Ill try to have a deeper look next saturday

Thanks all for your input

Cubber · Super Guru

This is a CLICKY LINKY to a diagram and list of parts for a front wheel set up.

Martyn

Kevingrahambutler · Veteran Member

If you tightened the fork legs first then the spindle nut, that pulls it out of true, loosen every thing off tighten spindle nut first then fork legs,,,, simples,,,,

Henry · Veteran Member

Thanks Martyn, I got the electronic speedo TTR, But I will save the Link great man its free :)
Kevin, that is the procedure as you said and I did tighten the spindle first.

Ill have a look tomorrow.

TTRfan · Super Guru

Front wheel and axle.jpg

Henry · Veteran Member

THanks Brian,

Still I have the same problem,

I unscrewed the 4 retaining nuts
I unscrewd the Spindle,

tightened the spindle, jiggled and compressed the forks to settle the suspension then I
tightened the retaining nuts

Still hands off it wants to turn right.

Lately I did cane the TTR a bit, could it be that I need to recheck any movememt of the rear wheel/spinde and alignment.

Ill give it a try.

Darn !!! hehe

peteBLUEttr · Super Guru

I think if the rear wheel was out of alignment you would feel the bike trying to crab across the road, I would of thought it is related to the front of the bike...the front wheel definitely doesn't have a buckle then? And the forks are definately straight in the yokes? Bikes sometimes do this when something is changed with the wheel, I.e sometimes does it to bikes when you add puncture preventative goop to the inner part of the tyre/tube.... Good luck....

Henry · Veteran Member

Hi Pete,
thanks for the feedback.
what do you mean by this
quote
the front wheel definitely doesn't have a buckle then?
Unquote
Im not English actually so i may have missed the meaning :)

regarding forks and yokes, I could unscrew the yoke and check that area, its a great suggestion.

the only time I experienced something similar after a puncture was 7 years ago when I had my 1200 bandit . i had a front puncture back then and I drove a bit on it.
The weight damaged the tyre somehow altough it did not show it never tracked straight hands off untill I had another set of new tires.

So this time I did not drive the ttr but pushed it home for around 30 meters, and it was nt all flat.

peteBLUEttr · Super Guru

I shall try to speak fairly plainly! smile The tyre is most likely still o.k then. Check the alignment of the forks in the yokes. Then check if the wheel has a wobble(buckle), wobble can either be up and down movement or side to side movement. Does the front end(steering) move from full turn left to full turn right easy with no tight spots?

-- Edited by peteBLUEttr on Wednesday 13th of May 2015 05:31:20 PM

Cubber · Super Guru

After you've exhausted the front end's possibilities then you could check the rear end. wink

Try propping the bike upright with the front wheel pointing straight ahead.
Then squint and look from the front and rear to ensure the wheels would be travelling along the same centre line. blankstare

To help, a piece of string tied to a rear spoke, wrapped around the rear of the tyre and pulled forward to the front wheel parallel to the ground about 6 inches up pulled tightly to pass the front tyre should be equidistant either side.

If not then the wheels aren't aligned for some reason or other and investigation should lead to rectification. confuse

Martyn

peteBLUEttr · Super Guru

If you check you have the spacers correct and its on the same number on the snail cam adjusters both sides then that will rule out both those things if Martyn's string trick turns out an equal measurement.

Henry · Veteran Member

THanks guys :)

hopefully next weekend Ill find sometime looking into it more in detail.

best regards from Sunny 28 degree Malta :)

peteBLUEttr · Super Guru

Its pissing it down here!

TTRVN · Veteran Member

If everything else fails, it might be the ball bearings. You should check to see if they are damaged.

Good luck!

mossproof · Super Guru

Any joy with this problem?

I think if nothing else has been changed, forks are true and operating smoothly, wheel rim is not bent/buckled, and the brakes are not binding, then you're going to have to bite the bullet and try fitting another tyre. (You did refit it the same way round I assume?)

The only way I can think the bike would not track straight is if the centre of the contact patch with the ground is not in line. This could be caused by the bead not seating properly, as Cubber suggested, or the carcass of the tyre is somehow damaged in some unseen way which is causing the shape to be uneven.

Best of luck,

Simon.