r/dr650 • u/DemoDemo4 • 2d ago
Front end seems loose, is this normal?
I did drop the DR on a trail last week, nothing too crazy. I was riding throughout the week and the front end felt a little looser than normal. I’m sure the Tusk D Sports aren’t helping. Is it normal for the right fork leg to have this kind of movement at the axle while on the kickstand?
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u/christmascandies 2d ago
Torque axle to spec, 47 ft-lbs
Finger tighten (just barely) pinch bolts top then bottom.
Compress/cycle the fork a few times.
Tighten pinch bolts top then bottom 7 ft-lbs.
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u/DemoDemo4 1d ago
That’s exactly what I did, twice actually. That was at 7ft lbs (according to my torque wrench). I went a little further to 9.5 ft lbs and it seems to be much better
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u/DemoDemo4 2d ago
As far as I’m aware there aren’t any shims that go under that clamp that I could be missing. So the only solution is to make the bolts tighter right? (The bolts that everyone says not to over tighten haha)
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u/Wholeyjeans 1d ago
There should be no movement.
The plate with the four studs/nuts are what hold the axle in place; it's a clamping friction fit. Is the bike new ...still under warranty? If so, then it's "bring it to the dealer time".
Something is either missing (like some kind of split sleeve that fits under the plate) or something (the axle or the plate) isn't machined properly.
And don't ever add additional torque above and beyond the spec. You can put too much of a stress on some component that later fails when you take it apart and reassemble it. Metal has a memory. And with cast aluminum and steel, in concert, you really need to be careful with tightening torques.
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u/DemoDemo4 1d ago
This is kind of what I was thinking. Triple checked the parts diagram to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. The bike is new and still under warranty, we’ll see if they’ll help me out. Hopefully nothing else is damaged from over torquing ~11ft pounds (I’m assuming I’m buying a new axle and plate whether they help me or not)
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u/zappyguy111 1d ago
Tyres aren't the cause of this. I'd be pulling the whole thing off and examining the axle, plate and studs for signs of wear or misalignment.
Failing that, towing it to the dealership would be the next best bet.
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u/liftdriver104 1d ago
Missing the left side spacer? Something is very off.
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u/DemoDemo4 1d ago
Spacer is in there (flange facing out). I can get the movement to stop but it takes well over the 7ft lbs that everyone talks about haha
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u/Human_x_Bean 1d ago
Not normal. My guess is that the end of the axle that the 4xm6 nuts clamp on has been ground off/worn off so there's clearance even when they are tightened. Maybe someone took an impact wrench/breaker bar to the axle end while they were still tightened?
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u/Human_x_Bean 1d ago
Also, that clamping plate has a specific orientation -- there should be an up arrow or some sort of indicator.
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u/pearlmoonman 2d ago
No not normal. The four nuts holding the front axle need to be tightened. But be careful not to over tighten. The torque spec on them is not very high. If you not using a torque wrench and are tightening by hand do not use a lot of force.