Replacement Tires II: What the #&@^! did they do to my bike?!!

[Cogito Ergo Zoom]

Hey guys,

A little steamed right now and hoping to get some informed opinions from some of the more experienced group members.

To make a long story short, took the bike to the local Michelin distributor to have the PP 2CVs put on yesterday. Got the bike back on the road the next day and noticed a "groaning" sound coming from the front hub and a slight grinding sensation through the bars at lower speeds. It makes the sound on and off the front brakes.

Tends to go away at higher speed. No vibration or oscillation through the bars at high speed.

At first I thought they may have overtorqued the bolts on the fork and twisted them up. My second thought was a bent brake disk or bad front end bearing.

I took the bike over to the Ducati dealer service shop and he wasn't too concerned about it. He checked the forks and tensions on the pinch bolts, etc....said they looked okay. His though was that they may have slightly bent one of the brakes disks. Doesn't sit well with me though because it's doing it off and on the brakes.

One last thing: when I took a closer look (looking from the front) the carbon shroud at the lower end of the fork on the right side of the fork isn't lined up perfectly vertical anymore. It's offset fairly significantly to one side. I know that part it's attached to is cast, so it would take quite a force to bend it. Could be related or just poor QC I never noticed before, dunno.

Anybody able to shed some diagnostic light on this for me? I need to take it up with the shop ASAP.

Thanks,

[colacin]

Do you have a front stand so you can spin the wheel and have a look? Send me a message if you like- you're welcome to stop over as I can at least get the wheel off the ground and I have some experience with a tweaked front end...

nick

[sick50ford]

wheel spacers bushings on the wrong sides?

[dave2riff]

Originally Posted by sick50ford

wheel spacers bushings on the wrong sides?

Spacing from the inner edge of the fork end casting to the wheel bearing is
14mm on both side.

There is no way the carbon fork guard should not be vertical. I would take off
the crooked one and see what's up.

My policy for tire changing has always been to bring the _wheel only_ in to a
good motorcycle tire shop. That way, you don't have rushed mechanics who
have never wrenched on a Hyper (or whatever) before learning on your machine.

Groaning and grinding at low speeds sounds like a damaged wheel bearing.

[Monstaman]

Check the disc pads as well, unlikely they are out of their socket as they would be gone BUT check the detent spring on the back of the caliper as they should both be level and clipped down evenly.

If you have a bent disc you will feel pulsing through your brake lever which you don't say anything about?

Lastly, check to make sure the stanchions are parallel, undo the pinch bolts at each leg end and bounce up and down on the forks, even grab a handful and pull them side to side to see if they are sitting in a relaxed position.

[hyperdookie]

Originally Posted by Monstaman

Lastly, check to make sure the stanchions are parallel, undo the pinch bolts at each leg end and bounce up and down on the forks, even grab a handful and pull them side to side to see if they are sitting in a relaxed position.

+1 what Monsta said.Just loosen the pinch bolts, no need to remove them. Then find another shop.
From workshop manual.
Lubricate spacers (3) and (9) and fit them in the seals on either side of the wheel hub.

Insert the complete wheel between the fork legs.
Grease the wheel shaft (10) and thread.
Fit the tool no. 8000.70139 to the wheel shaft (10).
Push the shaft (10) fully home into the wheel hub and insert the tool reference pin into the special notches at fork bottom end.

Grease the washer (2) to the wheel shaft end.
Grease the thread and underside of the shaft check nut (1) and then fit the check nut.
Tighten the nut (1) to the specified torque (Sect. C 3, Frame torque settings).

Refit the front brake calipers (Sect. G 3, Refitting the front brake system).
Check that the brake discs run smoothly inside the calipers.
Before tightening the pinch bolts (8), lower the bike to the ground and press up and down on the handlebars to load the suspension so the fork legs will become properly seated onto the wheel shaft.
Lubricate the bolts (8).
Smear the screws (8) with recommended grease and tighten them to the specified torque (Sect. C 3, Frame torque settings) working in a 1-2-1 sequence.

[dave2riff]

It is true that one of the most common errors in replacing a front wheel (particularly
on long travel forks) is having the lower fork mounts not seated perfectly parallel
on the axle. However, the symptom of this condition is generally poor action
as the forks move through their stroke. In my sheltered existence I have
never heard of slightly non-parallel (unbent) fork tubes causing a groaning sound
and vibes felt in the bars, given the thing is mechanically correct as far as
spacers and such.

That said, it seems that following the procedure hyperdookie spelled out
would be a great place to start getting this thing fixed. One other thing to
consider-- they mount the wheel on some other axle to do the spin balancing,
possibly introducing a burr or some contamination/debris into your hub and/or
bearing surfaces. A quick exam with the wheel removed from the axle will
eliminate this possibility.

Sometimes it's tough to tell axle/bearing noise from disc drag. It can be a good
idea to remove the brake pads and see if the noise and grinding goes away.
Preferably, do this on a stand, I'm not advocating riding without front brakes,
(that's my liability disclaimer and I'm sticking with it!).

[PedroHM]

just take it all apart and start again, make sure the wheel is in the right way round, check the pads (calipers are off anyway), inert axle and hit with soft hammer, make sure spacer is in, tighten pinch bolts on axle in side, put on big nut and do up and then release, bounce forks up and down, do up pinch bolts on other leg, do up big nut, make sure brakes are on tight with loctite

still a prob? warped pads are my bet

[Bill vH]

Originally Posted by PedroHM

make sure the wheel is in the right way round

Can the wheel be installed backwards? Wouldn't the left and right side bushings prevent this from occuring?


Goin' fer 25

[PedroHM]

i reckon i could squeeze it in there!