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Frame Alignment Checking

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Laverda Dave:
I'm not sure how he centralised the rear wheel Ash. However, he did phone me when he was doing it to ask if I had given him all the correct spacers. Although it was the rat bike frame I was having tested I fitted the rear wheel including the brake plate and sprocket from my other yellow 400/4 (the one in my avatar). I did this because the rat bike rear wheel has a wider rim (now cut off the hub as it was much too close to the inside of the swing arn). The tyre was on the wheel but this wasn't a problem.
The engine was bolted into the frame at the back, top and bottom and at the front on the upper engine mounts. There were no mounting bolts fitted in the lower front mounting as I didn't have any and he said it wasn't a problem as the engine was held in three other places. The engine I used consisted of an old pair of upper and lower crankcases, this was all he needed.
I know from the photos he sent me he was using spirit levels and an angle gauge. He did comment the head angle was quite steep but that was because the 400 was designed as an easy bike to ride.
This was the first frame I have had checked that didn't need tweaking despite it being in a front end prang.
I thought it may have been previously repaired but he said there were no signs whatsoever of any repairs as it was still original frame paint and no sign of any cracking or twisting.

AshimotoK0:
Had an email from someone I greatly respect, suggesting that whilst the index marks on the sides of the swing arm were useful, the only accurate way to get the rear wheel aligned correctly is to set the distance from the centre of the swing arm pivot to the centre of the rear axle to be the same on both sides of the bike. So that's probably what I will do to start with .... it will also give me a good gauge of the accuracy of the markings on my particular swinging arm.

The swinging arm on this 250RS model  is evidently notorious for rotting out   ... but not on this one.. the PO worked in the paint shop at BAe Systems aircraft factory in Brough near me. I found he had coated some parts in a really thick layer of yellow chromate primer as used on aircraft. The black paint fell off with  'Paramose' 'proper' paint stripper but hardly touched the yellow primer.

Bryanj:
I seem to remember the marks comment in the old handbooks, distance between marks is same each side but marks are not necessarily aligned side to side, i also remember that i never saw one that wasnt accurate, one of those just in case there is a rare one warnings

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