The correct way to tighten your dirtbike's front wheel

When fitting your front wheel you must ensure that you do not pull the forks out of alignment and cause binding of the forks. This is the right way to do it. Please visit my other website here - www.printerpages.co.za

[@pmvester]

First video that I've encountered that properly explains how and why you should torque your front wheel in a specific way! Thanks a lot for making it easy to understand how it works!

[@jondoe6618]

Great video. Straight to the important stuff. Thumbs up.

[@rexstonbull250]

this is a really important video for the front wheel well worth watching .

[@atvlifefam2424]

rexstonbull250 .stephen. varian no that is not the way you do it

[@rideroftheweek]

Check your fork alignment. Loosen all the bolts on your fork tree and the bolts on foot of your forks. Then twist the forks back and forth and try to get everything to settle into a neutral position. then tighten everything back up. Check that your forks are level in the triple clamps.

[@TimMoffett]

I just found out how much the correct process matters! Thanks for the great info!

[@robyz250]

Great Video and advice !!! Thank you

[@117LIGHT117]

@rideroftheweek yea had a few wrecks that messed up my bike pretty bad.. gonna give it a try, thanks a lot for the info.

[@scraggsds]

What stand are you using? Thanks for the tip as well!

[@240fxst]

Thank you good point.

[@motocrossXisXawesome]

thank you for clearing this up :)

[@117LIGHT117]

nice vid... I have a problem with my bike if u can help, its an 02 cr250 and the front wheel is turned a little more to the right, the forks are straight but on the top triple clamp when u tighten the bolts the little gap in between is pinched in so there isnt a gap... Not sure if thats the problem or do i just have to do what u did to the wheel, if you can give me some advice it be much appreciated

[@rideroftheweek]

Does this occur under braking or acceleration? Are your forks out of alignment? Have the triple clamps been damaged or tweaked in any way? Is the fork action smooth or is it binding somewhere in the stroke? It's hard to know what the issue is without dismantling the front end and inspecting all the components for wear or damage.

[@DatGloriaVires]

There's a lip on the axle that will pull from the other side so do the pinch bolts up on the other side to do the axle nut up as the axle is flush with the base of the forks on the other side and will pull through as the other side squares up. Then as the video suggests release those pinch nuts. At that point the axle will be done up exactly as it needs to be without pulling the axle through.

[@JohnnyLee8355]

2:07 my forks are older version (1980 dt125) when I tighten the nut I can see the fork leg moves in.. should I add shims?

[@AlexanderSimic]

Thanks for vid!!

[@modernrider1398]

My ktm manual doesn’t say any of that sheet haha. Big help thanks!

[@chargerzrsik]

thanks

[@bittechslow]

good stuff, bought a yz 450 ,the service manual dosnt have anything on the front wheel and iv only worked on cartridge forks where the axle tightens into the fork leg and i was stuck as to procedure ,thankyou very much.

[@rideroftheweek]

@117LIGHT117 It's ok for the top of the triple clamps to be tight - as long as the lower bolts do not crimp the tube. It's possible that the forks have been tweaked out of alignment in a crash. I would loosen all the bolts on the triple clamps and on the feet of the forks as well as the axle nut. Grab each fork tube and work it back and forth a bit. Then work the front wheel back and forth a bit and try to get it to settle straight before you tighten everything up again.

[@mozer30]

i dont know what bike you've got but in most cases the axle it machined with a larger diameter on the opposite side to the nut.So by tightening the nut it pulls the against the spacers on the hub and holds everything in place regardless of if the pinch nuts are tight.The pinch bolts are there to secure the forks in place once the axle nut is tight,but can be used to hold the axle for tightening as long as the are loosened again to allow for realignment as demonstrated in the video

[@DatGloriaVires]

That's exactly right but most fail to understand the actual mechanics behind this. They follow advice based on the fear of doing something incorrect but ironically can end up doing something wrong because they don't understand the 'why' part.

[@redordead7771]

tighten 2 clamp bolts right side. torque collar nut to 40nm. loosen two clamp bolts right side. take off stand. press front brake and compress forks 4 or 5 times. torque 4 clamp bolts to 10nm.

[@331moto]

You can always put a 17mm into the axle to keep it from spinning....

[@brapbrapmafucka]

Most people dont have a big allen key. Everyones gona have a 10mm in their hand already. I used a bolt and welded a nut to it for bikes that are really stuck lol

[@stevenpacey7473]

Great tutorial ..can u make one on snaped pinched bolt removal

[@joelcr250]

I snapped a pinch bolt off once too !

[@kevinstearns4198]

CR2504life use a torque wrench that wont happen

[@steveringer7143]

+Joey Fnuts That's hilarious!!!

[@stockcar4d]

tap it out ?easy outs?

[@rideroftheweek]

It's unlikely to make the seal leak right away, but over time it could cause problems with excessive wear and premature leakage of the fork seal. You should be more worried about your fork bushes getting worn and binding of the forks affecting performance.

[@killabee7060]

can someone please help me my front dirt bike tire does not move freely it moves but if i put it up on my bikestand and try to spin it it has no free play can someone help me i think it's because my brakepads are touching the but i don't know how to loosen them.

[@blagojajoncevski2585]

Can I tight the front wheel with 1 bolt from up?

[@TheIJoystick]

my alignment got fucked, ill try this and hopefully it works

[@mmaman88]

just snug up all the bolts and tighten them tight. once forks aligned properly

[@IcedOverLord]

my front tire has a alot of play, what do i do?

[@framelawncare6671]

Wheel bearings

[@brodyrichard263]

Is it normal to hear the front disk when spinning my front wheel? Kinda gritty sound? It's a new bike so I'm paranoid

[@george65608]

Yes, it is normal. Dont worry if you hear it a bit, like it only rubs on a point. If you hear it rubbing a lot and constantly, then you might have a bent brake

[@doubleagent6951]

If you don't back those snug nuts off too much, you don't need to do this. Looks like your bushings are worn. Mine was so tight I had to turn my axle bolt in with wrench. Then tighten the 2 snug nuts. If your axle bolt slides in and out by hand, it's the bushings are gone

[@bikerdude6119]

Okay afte rocky mountain atv and a couple other videos ,now i get why bilts must be released to become true

[@MrJayrodwhycart]

Why don't you just put an Allen socket on the other end?

[@redordead7771]

always use a torque wrench.

[@alexanderbondestam]

No real need in this case...

[@XaircraftX]

seems like the guy recording said *hmm*

[@yamaha12395]

The right fork won't go up against the spacer if you push down like that and tighten the fork

[@alexanderkay6400]

I have this problem as well, did you find a solution?

[@kevinstearns4198]

i didnt see a torque wrench?

[@redordead7771]

here here

[@stefanlilly]

new wheel bearings

[@lespaulbeauty]

THAT MY UNCLES BIKE!! uncle sams!

[@montecarlowithahellcat9288]

Rico Moschetta you need to take speech therapy ASAP because what you just said doesn't make sense good luck

[@RedRangerDanger]

i will trade you my 87 yz 125 for this bike....

[@HonkieHokie]

Why do you not tell people to get the right tool? You need an axle insert to hold the axle from spinning while tightening. After you think you have the nut tight by the way you describe, and you loosen the axle clamp, and the axle pulls the forks back together against the spacers, you could have a loose axle nut again, in theory. Just get the right tools and do it correctly.

[@agentsmile9726]

Pro instruction

[@johnrichardson8048]

Years ago I got a second hand 1994 cr125 for $1800 cause dad told the seller the forks were fucked, because the seller had done the axle nut up really tight with 2 bolts on the free side up first and pulled the forks in so much at the bottom of the stanchions that the forks wouldn’t even move, we took it home and loosened it up and they were fine...... I shattered my tib fib and patella on that bike....maybe it was karma 😝

[@ruudiutsenikov609]

Well your bike is crappy when it doesnt have proper spacers