Topic: 1975 CB750 Front Wheel Moving Side to Side about 1cm in Fork - Help!

[andyvclifford]

Hi,

My name is Andy, I am a first time poster long time reader of the forums.  I have a 1975 CB750 that I recently picked up about 2 months ago.  I have been slowly working on it bringing it back to road running condition.  Recently i was working on the front brakes and noticed when I had taken the brake off that the Front Wheel of the bike has about 1cm of play Left to Right on the axle as it sits in between the forks on the bike.  If you turn the handlebars all the way to the right it moves one way, and if you turn them all the way back it moves the other way.  I have included pictures below of the gap both open and closed on the left side (disc brake side) of the bike.  What could be the cause of this, is it a simple fix or a symptom of something larger?   I have not removed the front wheel yet, nor have I Ever removed it or worked on it, although the wheel seems to be true when I spin it.  When i was riding the bike there wasnt front brake drag that i could notice, so it must not be moving too much while riding, as it seems to mostly move when the handlebars are turned to their extreme (which really only happens for me when doing a U-turn or turning the bike around while parked).

The first image is of the disc brake side of the wheel with the gap open and the second two are shots of the disc brake side of the wheel with the gap closed.


Thank you very much ahead of time!
Andy

[70CB750]

Either missing spacers or your bearings are shot.

[calj737]

More than likely the front axle is not torqued properly, OR, you may have the axle clamps backwards on the bottom of the forks. Can you post side-on pictures of each side with the focus being the axle and a 12" radius outwards?

[andyvclifford]

Sure, I will take some photos on my Lunch break from work!

In regards to the spacers - how do i identify the missing spacers / is that a part that i can easily find and put on myself or should i bring this to a shop?

[madmtnmotors]

Looks more like 1mm as opposed to 1cm.

[Stev-o]

Dont bring it to a shop!  I would remove the front wheel and then compare the parts you have to the parts fiche, here is the link...

http://www.westernhonda.com/fiche_select2.asp?category=Motorcycles&make=Honda&year=1975&fveh=132839

[andyvclifford]

Thank you that site is very helpful!  I will remove the wheel this evening if i can get a jack to get my bike up.  How likely is it that the forks are too "wide", that seems unlikely, the bike is in really good condition overall and i dont think it has been in any major accidents with only 14,000 miles but i suppose anything is possible on a 40 year old machine

[70CB750]

The best way to jack the front up is to use a piece of 2x4 on top of the jack against the frame  cross tube up front.

It does not need much, just few inches of the ground.

You may also be able to rotate fork tubes to eliminate the gap, I seen it before.

[robvangulik]

Looks more like 1mm as opposed to 1cm.

My thought exactly. No big problem, just loosen the bolts holding the front axle , screw the axle bolt tighter, jiggle the front wheel a bit, and see what happens when you tighten it up again.

[andyvclifford]

Thank you!  I will jack it up tonight hopefully after work and take it apart and try these suggestions and report back.  Yes i meant 1 mm that was my fault.  Still getting used to the metric system 

[robvangulik]

  the difference is a factor 10, 1 mm can easily be corrected, 1 cm would be a bigger problem, I wouldn't ride with a front wheel shifting that distance

[calj737]

1cm is about 0.393" for reference

[Powderman]

1cm=10mm. No way I would ride with that kind of gap.

[seanbarney41]

looks to me like the axle nut is not tight

[jonda500]

Personally I wouldn't like to use such a long piece of wood balanced on a trolley jack - I use a small piece of wood under the oil filter housing to jack mine up - it doesn't take much force to rock it back on the centre stand till the rear wheel gently kisses the ground.
You can tighten that axle nut without jacking it up - loosen the two fork cap nuts just on that side and use an open ended spanner to tighten the axle nut. Then lightly tap the bottom of the fork in 1mm with a piece of wood and retighten the cap nuts.
The fork caps should both have the "F" mark at the front and the front nuts tightened first so that the gap's at the back.
John