[Cobretti]

Does anyone have any tips on reinstalling the front axel? I replaced the front tire. The axel is being a bit of a pain. It’s a 14mm Allen on one side that just threads into the other side. It appears to be aligned but threads are tight when they start so I stopped there.

[JimDirt]

It is possible (and most likely) that the forks are misaligned ... what you need to do is loosen 1 of the forks from the upper and lower clamp (just loose enough so you can move the tube up/down with some pressure , but still tight enough that it does not just drop out) , and insert the axle , then move the one fork up/down till the axle slides in easily , it should only be a few mm in distance to correct the issue , then tighten and re-torque the pinch bolts on the clamps (most likely 20Nm bottom , 22 Nm top) , and you should be good to go ....

[Aussiecrf230]

Well it is good that you stopped when things weren't going right.
A lot don't so the fix is even harder.
Just try screwing in without going through everything. Bit of a pain but trying to prove it is not a thread problem. If it was previously misaligned when removed sometimes they pull the last thread as you unscrew them, which makes them hard to start back in. Axles should have a decent start taper but most don't.

The misalignment as Jim has stated is most likely cause.

[Cobretti]

You were both right. I eventually got it on after taking both of your advice. Thank you both very much!

[JimDirt]

No problem ... glad to help

[Cobretti]

Now that front tire is on. I finally had a chance to take it on the road today. They are new Shinko 705 tires. I spoke to Shinko Tire USA rep last week. He suggested I run them on the road at 41 PSI and work down a pound or two from there.

I noticed that I’m feeling an up and down type wobble when I reach 45+ mph. Any ideas what I can do to prevent that? I was thinking dropping the PSI to about 36-38. Max PSI on the sidewall of the tire is 41PSI.

[JimDirt]

My guess would be a balance issue ... usually there is 2 Colored Dot's on the sidewall of the tire that needs to be aligned to the valve stem ... the dots should be Red and Yellow , the Red dot is the lightest point of the tire and the Yellow dot is the heaviest , how you can tell if it is in balance is loosen the brake pad a bit by prying it away from the rotor slightly to eliminate any drag , make sure the front wheel is off the ground , now gently spin the wheel and watch were it stops in relation to the valve stem (1 full turn is sufficient).. repeat this a few times , if the tire is balanced , it will stop at different locations each time , if it continually stops at the same location or even rocks back and forth to that location then the wheel is out of balance and you need to relocate the dot given where it is in the location , if the red dot is constantly at the bottom and at the valve stem , then move it to the yellow dot , and so forth , but the red or yellow dot should be aligned to the valve stem

Same goes for the rear wheel , but you have to remove the chain as well as loosen the brake to test .... again look at both front/rear and make sure one of the dots is aligned with the valve stem , if you have to , loosen the axle so the wheels really spin freely , this insures a more accurate test result .....

[Cobretti]

Oh boy. Spinning the wheel sounds like the easy part. If I need to move the dots that would require remounting the tire on the rim in a specific location right?