It’s the little things like this that people miss. 27 years as a car mechanic and I’m still learning stuff like this. Love your work Dave

Dammit i been doing this all wrong for so long. This makes alot more sense. I was locking in the calipers and not leaving them loose and I never tightened them down while holding the brake. I learn something new every video I watch.

Damn Dave Moss your deep into bikes man. Been riding for 44 years and am a mechanic by trade. Your videos are excellent and carefully thought out. Thanks for your contribution to motorcycling man. Cheers

I wonder how many bikes leave dealers without any of this being done properly, never mind those of us messing around at home or at the track? Yet another really useful video.....keep them coming Fella!

Besides your owners manual and shop manual specific to your vehicle, this gentleman is a goto for how to work on and properly set up your motorcycle for maximum enjoyment.

Dave did a video on this a long time back, I’ve been doing this ever since and it certainly makes your bike run true! 👍

i used to do this years(20)ago regulary with my dirtbikes when changing tyres. i havent had dirtbikes for 2 decades and lost this important knowledge. thanks very much for reminding me of this. youre instructions are clear and precise. thanks again.👍

I LOVE the simplicity of setting stuff like this up correctly. Also thanks for highlighting the potential issue with the step I skipped when mounting my calipers

Finally - we waited for that to come now for serveral years, thank you for your service!

I just did this to a bike I had rebuilt the forks on... Suberb. Now rides like it should. Thank you so much... Everyday is day to learn something new. 👍

2:14 "Don't you die on me!"

Dave is _the man!_ This is superb information. I just put new tires on my VFR and wasn't aware of this protocol, but now that I've seen it, it makes perfect sense. Thank you, Dave. I had Dave set up the suspension on my CBR600F4i at a track day at Miller years ago, and it _transformed_ the handling of the bike; the bike's handling was *on rails* after Dave set me up. 👍

Ooopsie, I’ve learned something today

Thanks Dave I have found your channel useful so many times and I love to learn more and more. Too bad my thirst for knowledge began at a later time in life.

Dave, you are a good man for sharing your extensive knowledge with the motorcycle community.

Thanks for the tips and the tuning Dave. You set up my suspension a few months ago at Streets of Willow on my 2023 V4. It made a big difference at the track and so much better on the street. Hope to see you at the track again in November.

I learn something new every video I watch, thank you for your time.

after all those years i just learned quite a bit in this video thanks Dave

Perfect timing on this video, have to do this today! Thank you.

Glad I saw this, It`s good to see a Professional show how it should be done !! >>> Thank You Dave !!

Thanks Mr Moss brilliant advice👌 Most of us just don't know these intricacies and encounter problems when we least expect it

Hi Dave thanks so much for making and posting this video. A so called bike mechanic ripped me off royally and made a right mess of my bike a year ago. Still trying to put everything right. Could have been killed riding home it was so bad. This video has given me something else to check. Certain he wouldn't have done any of this. I get a violent wobble on my steering at any speed no matter how slow.

I'm doing my first track day this weekend and just put on fresh tires for it. Glad I saw this video beforehand as I learned something new and it makes perfect sense to me why you did the things, in did in that order. I will redo my front end first thing tomorrow, thanks Dave!

Dave glad to see you're doing well and looking forward to seeing you again up here in Canada or at the Ridge when this mess is over :)

Thank you for this video. I am learning every day something new about my bike and your videos are pretty much the best.

Learning is occurring. Thank you Dave!

Dave, about twenty years ago (!) I was a customer at the GMD Computrack shop in El Segundo, just outside LAX. They did work for the American Honda roadrace team in AMA, and I'd seen their CBR600 Supersport bikes in back of the shop. Morris told me that the team was chasing setup problems at the track with one of those CBRs, and it was traced back to front end misalignments which occurred when cinching down the straps inside the truck! One crew was doing it correctly (Miguel Duhamel's, if I recall) and the other crew was twisting things up. A simple matter to fix, once the problem was understood and the knowledge was shared. Even the professionals will mess things up sometimes!

Excellent and thorough video thank you Dave

Muchas gracias! One million likes. Very instructive. Saludos desde Guatemala!

Definitely was taught the proper way thanks Dave

Thank you dave moss. Learned something really useful.

Would be great if my service place knew this

Awesome as always Dave, thanks for sharing the knowledge, Nice mask 👏

This is a great video , after watching loads of different people and doing my own bikes I learnt the proper way here . I tightened the caliper first

Thanks Dave! I didn't know any of this. I'm about to use your tips to align the front end of a 2003 CRF150F dirt bike. They have a similar fork design as the sports bikes you were working on (a threaded left fork for the axle and pinch bolts on the right fork).

My workshop manual says to use feeler guages to check clearance between the calipers and the rotor. (Brembo calipers without guide bushings). I've just carefully eyeballed it every time with success so far.

Thank you, can’t believe in all these years I didn’t know the correct process for this.

The exception to this is the forks on an 06/07 zx10r that has a "normal" bolt and nut as an axle (neither side floats). The guy I bought my zx6r race bike from put on 06 zx10 forks and I get a bit of excess stiction in the front with no way to correct it. I might send one fork leg to a machine shop to bore the axle hole out and get a spacer made to float the fork. But that will be a winter project

Wow, thanks a lot, I bought new bike and hear and fell some repeating friction from front wheel increasing accordingly with speed, so have to align wheel and brakes properly. Thanks for sharing !!!

great vid, helped me a lot for my 1st front wheel removal. My addition ? a zip tie to hold the break leaver :)

Tons of great content on this channel!

I had major issues with calipers binding on my BMW S1000R following the replacement of fork seals. This will be the solution - thanks very much Dave!

Never ever done it that way but I will from now on. Excellent tutorial.👍

Thank's from Nice,Azur Coast, good job ,nobody do this,I've learned something too Nicolas

I'm so glad my bike can't watch Dave's videos. I feel it'd be pretty upset with me if it could.

Sir that's been very very helpful thank you very much for your time and dedication very good

Thank you for this! I have R6 and always tightened everything at once!😅 well the bike has been working still great nothing is bended, but next time I will do it this way☺

Thank you Dave that's an essential video

Brilliant. going to share this with so many home mechanics. thanks for the awesome information...

Spot on Dave 👍🏻

You're awesome. Thanks Dave!

Dave, you helped me tune my suspension with your video's. But there was a glitch I couldnt tune out of there. Ocassionally I would feel some unbalance in the front. Not all the time, but enough to notice in certain pieces of road. Sometimes the bike wanted me to lean at slow speeds, and 2 seconds later not Etc. Continuous small adjustments... . A motorcycle mechanic fixed a leaking fork seal couple months ago. I figured the oil must be old on one side or different viscosity... They claimed to me the other one was recently replaced already... Today I did what you showed here. And jezus, the floating axle side exluded about 1mm now, before it was flush. 1 hand springing the front imediatly felt a change in smoothness and balance/preload etc. between left and right. Not like the seals where binding... Drove today, and it cuts the cornerline way more stable. Bro, your my hero. Again you indirectly saved my life, and improved my driving experience.!!!! A question, I didnt release the calipers, should I calibrate those again to the new wheel position?

Dave, how did you know I was going to need this vid ? Thanx !!!!

Great info in your videos love it! thank you Dave!!

u can use the bending on the free leg to square it.. with same procedures but instead, bend it (free leg) far in then out, measure it if u want to, and half the distance should be the middle.. for some its quicker and no bounce needed. whatever u comfort with:)

wow never thought of doing this. thanks

Thank you I’m going to be removing my wheels and tires for new rubber and I had no idea you had to do this

fantastic video thank you!

EXCELLENT INFO. Thank you.

I found this video because lately when I put the fork brace back on my '04 V-Strom 1000 after changing a tire, I get massive stiction. When I remove the brace, all is well and I can set sag as normal. I thought maybe I was putting the tire back on incorrectly. So of course I looked up Dave first, and - very timely - found this new video! I followed these instructions exactly tonight, and...when I put the fork brace on, I still get massive stiction. (Remove it, and all is well.) Any idea what causes the forks to stick when you put a fork brace on?

Pooof and just like that I learn something new thanks dave

Very understandable and logical with the sequence that these steps are done. If the rotors are not tightened last, is that why you can warp your rotors?

Hey @dave moss tuning, can you do a video about how to vertically align the forks in the triple clamps (so the wheel sits perfectly level left to right)? great video by the way!

i wish you were closer to the east coast man

Same here had no idea thats what needs to be done!

Good instruction - for safety sake - double Check all screws before riding: leaving those calipers loose and tightening them later is a risk because you may forget them. My advice: never interrupt work when your assembling the wheels and brakes. Paint marks can help to be 100% sure.

Wow....been doing it all wrong then for years. If you haven’t already, please make a video on setting up the rear wheel properly. Every day is a school day!

Advice us on Adventure Tourer

Great vid. Thanks.

I pretty much do it this way, but instead of just bouncing it up and down I also take it for a short spin and brake a few times.

Dave, can you do an indepth video on a post crash check? Like resettling the frame, forks, engine, checking to make sure the frame isn't bent etc.

Nice quick and efficient

thanks for sharing!

On my cb300r the forks are a little different. I plan on changing the fire tire and was wondering if the process is the same? It has clamps on both forks and is a single rotor set up

Hi Dave. Thanks for the awesome video my 04 zx10 had a spindle the goes in from the right but the left hand bolt acts as the centering spacer for the spindle. So neither side locks up against the wheel spacer unless the wheel is tight both sides. How do I make sure the calipers are seated correctly on this case

To Joao Santos. Your comment is not accessible. Yes, do it by tightening the pinch bolts on the bolt/nut side first and then tighten the free leg second.

Oh wow that was useful. I'll definitely do this next time i get me tires replaced.

Thanks awesome. A velcro strap be good to hold lever

I’ve ended up here after watching you replacing fork seals on the R6, making it look a simple job! Not sure if should be attacking the job or not, or if should just pay to have the job done properly. If I was to carry this job out, what fork oil would you recommend.? I’m a bit of a fatty weighing in at 14st, 200lbs! Great advice on the front wheel alignment tho Dave, I to will be following the great advice given in this video as I’m a sucker for being meticulous 👍🏻

This thing help me alot.Thank you.🥰

Hi David, can you do a video on Yamaha R3 suspension setup

Thanks

Surprisingly, my 1985 BMW bike owners manual describes it the same as shown (single pinch bolt)

For one set of pinch bolts on the axle, if im trying to straighten my forks and have the lower tree clamps loose as well, would i still torque the axle first before pumping the forks? This video has helped a lot since i believe having the axle threaded into one side has made all my attempts at aligning my wheels go all wrong.

Dave Moss, I hope you have many children, they all tune suspension, and they would be craftsmen and prosperous.

Ooookaaaaay... gonna re-do my front end today...

I know that bike has less suspension travel than my dirt bike, but I have learned not to be a fan of any method of getting the fork legs parallel if you are not measuring it somehow. Using this method on my dirt bike is also standard YT procedure, but after I actually made a gauge, (1" dia. round stock aluminum that fits through my brake disk, faced off on a lathe on both ends to 5.661" long, the distance between my plated fork legs, calculated from a triple clamp.), I found the pump and brake method to be off about .030". After I got the legs parallel within + or - .001", I found that I had to go to the next stiffer fork springs because I eliminated the binding. Lots of riders are wearing out their bushings prematurely, and not getting the best action from their forks. It does not matter if the axle is threaded on one end, or clamped on both ends. The forks should be parallel, and not many are. :)

Glad I watched did not know all this thank you

the r6 and the r1 and the same ?

My hero!

Hey Dave great video, but i think there is step missing from this if the legs are considered to move left right about a pivot then the lower triple clamp should be loosened but still tight to hold so the pivot is moved to the upper triple and the fork let has more room to move straight, be interested in your/the communities thoughts on this, thanks for all your vids

Good tipper. It's what I do. I have to keep everything taut but wrenchable. 58mm marzocchi that apparently I'm the only person alive who has one on his Harley. They were huge money new. I got mine off a custom chrome buyout in 2007 for 100.00 trees also 100.00. Wanna hear something fun about brain injuries? I just realized this year why it vibrates so hard. I had a bad day and never oiled them. Yeah...get em in boys. I never said I was 100%.

thanks Dave! I need this for my Yamaha R1 2004 :D

Great video without any needless chit chat. Thank you. Great work. Got a question also: When aligning a 4 pinch bolt fork, would it make a difference, if tightening the calipers after pushing the forks down and before tightening the second pair of pinch bolts? Instead of tightening the calipers right after tightening the first pair?

Thanks Dave, CBR F4 looks similar to he R6

Very clear and very helpful, thank you. A quick question - why do we centre the calipers before bouncing the forks? If the 'free' fork leg does move, since the caliper is fixed to it, won't that mean that the caliper has moved slightly too and will need to be re-centred?

4:00 I recently removed and cleaned my three piston front calipers and was surprised how much static drag they seem to have. They spin, but the dragging makes a sound much like this one, so I guess it’s normal?

Yay I was doing it right - for once!

Hi Dave, I did notice with the first bike it was missing its mudguard I know its not practical to remove every time but is it worth slackening it's fastenings before finishing with the pinch bolts..

Dave, I just put a new front tyre on my Husky 701 Enduro and reinstalled it. The first ride noticed the front brake is very stiff and doesn't modulate. Assuming the legs being misaligned with the brake caliper is the cause? Will try this trick tonight.